This is actually a really versatile pattern and I’ve used all kinds of different fabrics for it!
Just to test the fleece I made the Beatrice Bunny you see in that top photo. 🙂
I used camel fleece and the resulting bunny is super cuddly and soft. The slight stretch of the fleece makes a bunny that’s exceptionally squishy. 🙂
A couple of things I did different with the fleece. . .
Use bigger eyes – the pattern calls for 9 mm safety eyes but I used 12 mm. The slight pile of the fleece tends to enclose the edges of safety eyes making them look smaller – so going up a size is generally a good idea.
Use thicker thread to embroider the mouth – the pattern calls for embroidery thread but I used thin cotton yarn. The reason is the same as the bigger eyes – I didn’t want the thinner embroidery thread to get lost in the pile of the fleece.
I used an 18 mm pink triangle safety nose. No special reason – I just didn’t even know about the noses when I designed the original doll. I wanted to try it here and I love it!
For those who want to know the other fabrics – that’s pink satin in her ears and fabrics from the Pretty Pinks bundle for her outfit.
What other fabrics have I used?
I’m glad you asked!
Quilting Cotton
I’ve used quilting cotton for most of the samples. It works just fine.
I used flannel to make my Pip the Cat and I love how he turned out!
Be sure to use good quality flannel so your doll doesn’t pill after just a few snuggles.
Stretchy Fabric
Yes – you can use stretchy fabric too.
That requires a little special handling – mostly using a stretch needle and being careful not to overstuff your doll so she still fits into her clothes. 🙂 I share all the tips in this post – plus a link to a source for special “doll skin” fabric used for Waldorf dolls.
Faux Fur
Yep – you can use faux fur too!
Here’s Spot the Puppy made in some really spectacular faux fur. I love this guy and named him Rumples.
One caution when using fur – the furrier the fur, the bigger it makes the doll. It might make the regular clothes not fit anymore.
Rumples is stuffed pretty tightly into his Play Clothes.
So there you have it! Lots of great fabric options for making Dress Up Bunch dolls!
Happy stitching!
Best,
Wendi
The Dress Up Bunch is a collection of adorable rag dolls with a wardrobe better than mine! All the dolls can wear all the outfits for terrific play value! Shop the pattern collection here.
One of my favorite Dress Up Bunch patterns is this one for a witch costume.
As I was making it, I kept thinking that it could easily be converted to a princess costume – just change to a sparkly princess fabric and make a tiny change to the hat.
Here’s exactly what I mean by “a tiny change to the hat pattern.”
The witch hat is a simple cone with a brim added. For the princess hat (a hennin) you just leave off the brim and add a pretty little fall of fabric to the top.
Take a look at the scraps you have left over after you make the dress. I had a long strip 6 inches wide. From that I cut 3 pieces, each 6 inches wide and 12 inches long. You could use a couple of 12 x 12 squares, or several skinnier strips, or make them longer than my 12 inches, or add some pretty ribbons. Just play around and see what you like the look of.
Grab your fabrics at one corner, bunch them up as small as possible, and sew them into the top of the cone when you sew the hat seam.
See the little bunch sticking out from the top of the cone? The rest of the fabric will be inside the cone (as shown) while it’s inside out.
Make sure you go over that little bunch a couple of times with your stitching. I backstitched over mine a few times. Princess fabric tends to be fragile and you want it to be securely attached. 🙂
This summer Mollie decided to plant a bunch of colorful flowers to attract more butterflies and honeybees to her garden. The results have been amazing! When she walks into her garden she can hear the hum of the happy bees – and there are butterflies everywhere!
She loves her new bee outfit – it makes her think of her little friends. 🙂
I love this picture of her holding that big bouquet of flowers, but maybe you want to see the outfit a little better?
This outfit is so easy to make up that you’ll probably want to make more than one. Your dolls can wear the top with the shorts or the skirt in the free play clothes pattern, and the ruffled skirt will look just as cute with the button-front top in the same play clothes set.
If you make the shirt and skirt in the same fabric (like I did) you can tuck in the top and make it look like a dress. 🙂
Of course, the number one thing bees need is flowers. These felt flowers are super easy to make (no sewing!) and super fun to play with. Kids can “plant” them in blobs of play dough.
Of course the pattern includes a link to my favorite play dough recipe – if you’re in a mood to make your own. 🙂
Sometimes I see a fabric and I know immediately exactly what I want to make with it.
That’s what happened when I spotted this adorable inchworm fabric from Timeless Treasures.
I immediately fell in love with those striped worms with their big, happy smiles. And the little hearts! And then I found two polkadot prints that coordinate perfectly (citron and melon) – and a garden outfit was born. 🙂
I know a lot of you swoon over the same fabrics I swoon over – so I’m sharing! Sharing is good. 🙂
I usually use wool blend felt for the hair on my Dress Up Bunch dolls. It’s durable, easy to work with, and relatively inexpensive and it has a nice, classic look – even when I use non-traditional hair colors.
But you don’t have to use felt.
If you scroll through some of the photos in the Shiny Happy People group on Facebook you’ll find adorable dolls made with printed cotton fabric hair and cuddly fleece hair – but you can also use fun faux fur!
If you use a regular “hair-colored” fur you can make a doll with pretty realistic hair. If you use a more wild and funky fur (like the one I used) you can make a fun pixie. 🙂
Here are some tips to help you out. . .
Cut out the fur just like you would cut out the felt. Make sure the nap of the fur is running in the correct direction. To minimize flying fur bits, cut just through the fabric backing, as shown in this video – Intraux to Working with Faux Fur.
I stuck the fur piece for the bangs down to the top of the head using a glue stick, then appliqued the bangs edge with a wide and fairly open zigzag stitch.
After you get the bangs sewn in place, sew up the doll just like normal. You just need to make sure to smooth the fur into the seams. Here’s what the back of the head looks like – the fur is smoothed down between the back of the head piece and the back of the body piece.
Here’s how it looks when you clip the doll front to the doll back.
The fur on both pieces is smoothed between the layers.
Fur can be fat and difficult to pin. These Klip-It clips work really well with it.
And here’s my finished wild-haired pixie. 🙂
A couple more things. . .
I used Poppy’s bangs with this doll and they come down pretty close to her eyes. If you’re using a very long fur you might want to choose a doll with a higher hairline.
I skip the pigtails or the buns when I work with fur. They just don’t work very well with that fabric.