Dutch Style Dress Pattern for 8 Inch Mini Baby Dolls
such as Gotz Mini Muffin and Zapf dolls

8 Inch Gotz Mini Muffin Baby Doll on the left, and 8 Inch Zapf Mini Baby Doll with Floppy

8 inch Zapf mini baby doll

this is what it’s all about

Nightgown Pattern for Mini Baby Dolls

Shirt and Pants for Mini Baby Dolls

also

American Girl and Tonner Mini Dolls

Supplies:

You’ll need one quarter yard (one quarter meter) of material for the dress, and a scrap of contrasting fabric for the bib collar. You’ll need 8 inches (20cm) 1 inch wide bias tape for finishing the neck edge. Use various colors of embroidery thread for the collar tie.

Patterns:

Here are pattern pieces and sewing directions to make Dutch-style dresses for 8 inch mini baby dolls such as Gotz and Zapf brands.

You may use the pattern for yourself or gifts but not commercially.

You can try printing out the patterns from this page to see if they stay 1 inch square, otherwise make the graph paper and copy.

To make your 1-inch square (2.5cm) grid graph paper

First, take an 8.5x11 inch piece of plain paper and draw 1 inch squares - I do this by drawing horizontal lines 1 inch apart down the page, and then vertical lines 1 inch apart across the page.

Next, looking at the .jpg image you want to enlarge, copy what is in each of my squares into your larger squares.

Seam allowances of 1/4 inch are included.

Note that on the bodice front the center front is a fold line. And the top of the sleeve is a fold line. The center of the bib collar is a fold line.

Skirt Pattern:

Cut fabric 18 inches (45cm) wide and 5.5 inches (15cm) long for skirt to just above ankle length.

Bodice Sewing Instructions:

Bib Collar:

Cut one piece in dress fabric and one piece in white or contrasting plain fabric. Place good sides together and stitch the outside V shape of the 2 pieces together. Trim point close and turn right side out. Press. Lay completed collar over bodice front and baste to bodice at shoulder and neck edges just inside seam line. To finish fold up point and thread different colored embroidery thread 6 inches (15cm) on a needle together and make one stitch and tie in square knot. See photo illustration of completed bib collar. Or, you could let the collar hang down – it will come just below the dress waistline. I visited the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam and sketched a similar bib collar design with the point hanging below the waist from a dress worn by a young princess of Oranje (Dutch spelling) hundreds of years ago.

This photo shows a version of the pointed bib collar flat:

Bodice construction:

With right sides of back and front bodice facing, sew together at shoulders. Press seam open.

Baste right side of lace to right side of neck opening.

Using the bias strip sew one long edge to right side of neckline. Clip curves. Fold bias strip to inside of neckline, turning in once and blind stitch to wrong side of neckline.

To finish back seam of bodice, turn in twice on each center edge and hand or machine stitch to make a one quarter inch hem. Overlap waist edge one quarter inch.

Sleeves:

Roll in lower edge and hem by hand or machine. (I sew sleeve and skirt hems by hand.)

At wrist edge, gather just above wrist of sleeve, (I use quilting thread for strength) just loose enough to slide over doll’s hand and lower arm.

Along armpit edge gather sleeve with basting stitch just inside the one-quarter inch line to fit armhole and with right side of sleeve facing right side of front and back bodice (which are just joined at shoulders and now lay out flat) stitch together with one-fourth inch seam. Clip curve. Repeat for other sleeve.

With right sides of sleeves and bodice facing, sew together sides of bodice and underside of sleeves at the same time. Repeat on other side.

Skirt Construction:

Gather the waist seam to match the bodice lower edge and sew skirt to bodice.

Turn right side out. On outside topstitch just above waistline on bodice all the way around.

Sew center back seam of skirt leaving one inch open at top for ease of dressing.

Finished length ending just above ankle is 4 inches (10cm).

Finishing

For back closure sew on a sticky dot to keep one side of back overlapped a quarter inch.

Article and photo credits Susan Helene Kramer