My youngest daughters love their American Girl dolls. So for Christmas, I have been busy sewing, crocheting, and crafting all sorts of goodies for their dolls. I am trying to be frugal this Christmas. Both my husband and I are still paying on our student loans, plus we are still paying on my doctor and hospital bills that insurance didn't pay from when I ruptured a disk in my back last year. So I am doing what I can to help save money on gifts this year. Fortunately I love all sorts of crafts, so I am having a great time making things for my kids.
One thing I do to save money on doll clothes is to repurpose worn clothing. With 6 people in our family, I have quite a stack of clothing that is worn and can't be mended. Instead of throwing it out, I am finding that it is just perfect for making into doll clothing.
First I remove all buttons and ribbing, as this can be used on other sewing. Then I basically deconstruct the sewing by cutting off the sleeves along the seams, then cutting along the side and shoulder seams so that I end up with large pieces of fabric to use. Pants can be taken apart too. Just remove the waist and then cut apart following the seams. The result is just perfect for doll clothing patterns. While you get more fabric with adult clothes, kids clothing can work too. Just lay out all your pattern pieces to make sure you have enough fabric.
When my husband graduated and went off to work in an office over the summer, we were left with a large amount of uniforms from his previous job. Instead of throwing them out, I thought the knits would make cute shirts for the girls' dolls. I just recently completed a doll nightshirt from one of my husband's old uniform shirts. I used a pattern from the book Sew the Contemporary Wardrobe for 18 inch dolls
by Joan Hinds that I bought at Michaels using a 40% off coupon. 
Since I thought the doll nightshirt was too plain on its own, I cut out a little heart piece from some fabric scraps and appliqued it on the nightshirt.
I know the experienced seamstresses out there would have a fit, but I held the applique in place while I was sewing with scrapbooking adhesive. If you have never appliqued before, it really isn't all that hard. I just used a zig-zag stitch. I found some really helpful tips for machine applique on a post over at Sew, Mama, Sew. It took me a little bit of practice to get a hang of the curves, but it turned out pretty well.
Anyway, the total cost for this outfit was $0 and I kept an old shirt out of the landfill. This little nightshirt will be a stocking stuffer for my youngest daughter. Next up is a pair of doll jeans from a worn pair of my jeans.
Repurposing old clothing for doll outfits works for me! For more great tips, visit Works for Me Wednesday.
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