How to Sew a No Pattern Bubble Skirt for American Girl Dolls
My daughter looks very cute in her bubble skirt so I thought of sewing one for her doll too. I looked at her skirt and figured out how its sewn. This is my own take on it. I am not an expert sewer, in fact I am just beginning to sew so I try to make everything as easy as possible. I had fun doing this skirt that I actually sew four of these. I just wanted to share it with you all AG doll lovers and I hope you like it.
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Materials
The materials needed are :
30 inch long x 9 inches wide fabric (cotton, chiffon, sheer, etc.) for the skirt
13 inches long X 2.5 inches wide matching or coordinating fabric for the waistband
14 inch wide elastic
pins
With right sides together, fold the longest side of the fabric in half as shown in the photo on the right. Sew a casing at the bottom of the fabric by stitching 1/4 inch seam from the edge of the folded part.
This is the photo showing the elastic casing that was created at the bottom of the skirt. Feed the elastic through the casing using a safety pin. Place the elastic all the way to the other end.
This is how it looks like after feeding the casing through the elastic. Make sure that you pull the elastic and adjust accordingly. I suggest securing the ends of the elastic with safety pins so you would not lose it inside the casing. In the photo, I am showing it to you with the fabric on the wrong side.
Now, open the fabric wide, and with wrong sides together, fold the fabric in half as shown in the photo. You are now hiding the casing and the fabric is now on its right side.
Set your sewing machine to its longest stitch and sew 1/8 inch from the edge of the fabric as shown in the photo. Gather the fabric by pulling the loose thread. You can check videos online on how to gather fabric.
Gather the fabric until its the same width as your waistband as shown in the photo on the right.
With right sides together, sew the waistband and skirt together. Stitch 1/4 inch seam from the edge. I suggest you secure it with pins and remove it as you sew.
This is how it looks like after sewing them together. Fold the other end of the waistband 1/8 inch from the edge and turn to the other side to cover the sewn part of the skirt.
Finish the waistband by top stitching on the right side. Pin it so as to hold it in place. The photo shows the finished waistband. Feed a 10 1/2 inch elastic through the casing. Make sure you attach safety pins on both ends of the elastic so you will not lose it inside the casing.
This photo is showing the inner side of the skirt. Match the back seam and sew a 1/4 inch seam to finish the skirt. Flip over to the right side and its done.
I also posted a video in you tube on how I did it. Below is the link.
Video tutorial
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UPDATED VERSION - Less Fabric & Elastic
I noticed that this tutorial has been pinned more than 2,000 times, wow, thank you. With that, I decided to post an update of this tutorial, this time, it uses less fabric and elastic, so I would say it's more economical.
Measurement for the fabric and elastic
Main Fabric - 5" in height and 30" in width
Lining - 5" in height and 14" in width
OPTION 1:
Waistband - 2 " in height and 14 inches wide
Elastic - 10 1/2 inch elastic long
OPTION 2 - 1 inch wide elastic (11 inches long)
Gather the fabric
Gather your main fabric until it's the same width as your lining (14 inches). You can find a lot of tutorial in youtube on how to gather fabric.
Sew the main fabric and lining together.
With right sides together, sew the main fabric and lining together at 1/4 inch seam allowance. This seam will be the bottom of the skirt.
Turn to the right side
Next, after sewing the bottom, turn the fabric to the right side. Then, gather the top edge of the main fabric until it's the same size as the lining. Once gathered, baste the main fabric about 1/8 inch from the top to the lining to keep them together.
Two options for attaching the waistband.
There are two options for attaching the waistband. First, you can follow the same instructions above (the first tutorial) on how to attach the waistband.
Second, you can attach a 1 inch wide black elastic. If you prefer that, you can continue to the next step.
With right sides together, sew the back seam at 1/4 inch allowance.
Elastic Waistband
Sew the black elastic together at 1/4 inch seam allowance. Divide the elastc into quarters and mark with pins.
Divide the skirt into quarters and mark with pins. Now, pin the skirt and elastic together on the marked areas and sew together to finish.
The Finished Skirt
Bubble Skirt Using Silk Fabric
Bubble Skirt using Chiffon Fabric
Comments
vidalianana@yahoo.com on July 28, 2016:
When I pulled this tutorial up I got a message saying, "You should never see this page. Contact Hub...)
layla on April 18, 2015:
thats cool
Dottie B. on March 27, 2015:
I just have a small suggestion in order to keep the skirt a fluffy "bubble". Line the inside of the "bubble" with netting to keep the skirt from being compressed when not on a doll. This would work especially well on fabrics with a softer hand, but also would add body to heavier fabrics such as cotton, brocade, etc. Happy sewing! Dottie B.
LaZeric Freeman from Hammond on February 28, 2013:
so amazed by people who have this kind of talent. great job.
malenk (author) from Chandler, AZ on February 02, 2013:
It's optional to put the elastic at the bottom. I made an update of the tutorial which uses less elastic and less fabric.
Edie on January 08, 2013:
Why do you need to use elastic for bottom of bubble skirt? Could you not pull it out before stitching up back seam? Could you use twill tape instead or seam tape? thanks
Frances on September 23, 2012:
I'm going to try this! :)
Amie on June 22, 2012:
Thank you so much for posting this. I love this skirt and I'm going to try it. I watched the video too. So awesome!! Thank you!
malenk (author) from Chandler, AZ on March 23, 2012:
Sorry for the delayed reply...Just fill the bottom all the way through and you can determine how long you want it.
terlyart on March 10, 2012:
How long is the elastic for the bottom of the skirt?
Hanna on February 28, 2012:
I going to try this. SOOO Excited!!
