Tag: Ball Jointed Dolls

Note: this is my personal opinion about ‘normal’ proportions. All body types are normal depending on the doll or the person! It is a way of describing the differences I see between the dolls as a dressmaker and pattern drafter. All this means is that you have to tell me which doll you have so that you get a correct pattern as there are major differences between the various dolls and some do not share clothes!

It’s been many years since I made this list and honestly I have a much larger naked doll collection and a 3D printer to make more dolls! I’m hoping I can dig into some of my stash in the coming months and start sewing for them again. I have the option to even do some machine embroidery or use a Cricut to cut out patterns more accurately. Yes, I plan to upgrade some of the patterns to SVG files for cutting machines and add some new designs!

My definitions for my dolls: 

Barbies

Old Body is the twist waist of the early 80’s as that is when I was old enough to get a first Barbie! She has a large bust with a very small waist and larger hips. I do not believe she has the same body as a Silkstone or original 1960’s Barbie but I can not be certain as I do not own any of the 1960’s or Silkstone Barbies!

New Body is the smooth 1 piece torso doll who has a belly button and more ‘normal’ looking proportions meaning an average bust, waist and hip line.

Super Size Barbie is an 18″ late 1970’s vintage Barbie

My Scene Barbie jas the New Body Barbie torso which is referred to as a “belly button body” thus they are going to share patterns with the New Body dolls.

Kelly & Tommy: Kelly and Tommy s share a body and just have different face sculpts and hair styles.

Strawberry Shortcake: this little doll comes very close to fitting some of the Kelly patterns but she is taller and thinner than Kelly. Add a little to the skirt length and take in the bodice slightly and they fit perfectly!

Dollfies or Ball Jointed Dolls (BJD): My latest discovery and love. I have a Beauty B & Elegant Collection along with a Goh Guy. These dolls are close to a Barbie and Ken for height but that is where the similarities end. Some of these dolls have a longer torso or a bigger bust or smaller bust and the same for hips. To ensure a pattern fits it’s best to simply draft one from scratch. 

As a side note: I am planning to 3D print a Dummy 13 or one of the many other BJDs soon. I also have some BJDs I found on Temu. Yes, I’m very excited to go back to sewing for these dolls and especially if I’ve actually taken the time and filament to create the doll from scratch. The last dolls I did that for were porcelain!

My Beauty B & Elegant Collection have 2 patterns and the differences between body types is not a big difference to the point where they can share outfits fairly well.

Mini American Girls : There are 2 current Mini American Girls out. The retired version is 6″ tall and was made before 2001 as near as I can tell. The new ones you buy now from E-bay or direct from www.americangirl.com are the new dolls which are 6 1/2″ tall and are a tad different from the originals.

UPDATE: There is only one minor difference between retired and new Mini AG dolls, the skirt length. Therefore all patterns for sale are now for the new dolls with a notation to take up the hem for the retired dolls a little more.

If you have any doubt which doll you have, check what year she was made in on the back of her neck and then also measure her from head to toe. If you still have doubts please e-mail me and I’ll try to help

Tiny Betsy, Stacey, Whitney, Madeline, Ginny & Cloe: Tiny Betsy, Stacey, Ginny, Madeline & Cloe are all dolls I have and share patterns very well. I gave my daughter all of the above for either birthday or Christmas as a child and made almost a dozen dresses that all fit all the dolls. When she outgrew dolls I got them back!

Furga : Vintage 11″ child doll

Horsman : Vintage baby doll

Tiny Kitty & Skipper: Tiny Kitty Collier by Rober Tonner. She is in the 1/6 scale range and an absolute dream to draft and sew for. Skipper is the same height and her body is very close and thus Tiny Kitty’s patterns can be shared!

Harry Potter/Kevin : Harry and Kevin are based on the same body mold the only difference is the head sculpt.

Lamily: I have yet to work with this doll but I have a first generation doll and she has lovely proportions that mimic an actual human being (balanced shape) instead of a stylized human doll. (oversized bust and hips with tiny waist)

Urban Vita: Lovely 16″ lady doll. Vita is also by Horsmann Dolls and can pose with ease all the way to yoga positions!

Gene: 16″ lady doll. Gene lends herself well to designs out of the 1940’s

Vintage Lady Dolls: My vintage lady is 20″ tall and very close to a Madam Alexander type face.

Kitty Collier: Kitty is 18″ tall and very versatile in her ability to wear anything

If there are any other dolls that might be confusing and that I have info on I’ll post as much as I can find out here about them! If anything here is wrong and you have more up to date info please let me know so that I can correct it!

There are now a large number of doll sites to do research from as well as some fantastic books on vintage dolls in particular!

Here are some suggestions for some common items that can make drafting and sewing for smaller dolls easier!

Dryer sheet — can be used for any spot that requires interfacing of sorts as in collars and cuffs but should not be used for the entire garment. I have tried it several times and cutting it away sometimes ends in holes in the actual garment no matter how careful I am.

Tear away stabilizer — this is useful for china silk that is slightly heavy yet still slippery. The bad thing is that tearing it away sometimes will distort the stitching and fabric.

Water Soluble stabilizer — my latest discovery! This stuff is easy to use simply trace the pieces to the stabilizer and construct the garment. When ready to get rid of the stabilizer simply dunk in cold water and it all dissolves like magic leaving soft silk in its place. It is also handy to use in bodice construction as when you turn bodices sometimes pointy or even dull tools can poke through the fabric the stabilizer helps to prevent this thus avoiding the ruin of a lot of work! So far I haven’t found a downside to this yet.

The 2 stabilizers mentioned above are available in the machine embroidery section of any sewing or craft store and are usually very light weight. My current packages of both the Tear Away and the Water Soluble (Solvy) are by Sulky. No I do not sell the items mentioned I just use it and love it!

Machine basting patterns to fabric is a lot of work. I’ve found that hand basting is faster and less of a hassle as you do not have to pin the pieces to the fabric first. Slightly larger stitches are ok for this too as you want to be able to see to take them out later!

The best tools I’ve found so far are crochet hooks. A size 5 crochet hook has a blunt butt end that is smaller than a bodkin which is useful also but the crochet hook also has a rounded end by the hook that is great for getting bodice pieces to turn nicely too. This is especially important for half inch scale bodices!

Got small kids in the house? I did! Mischief makers both. I sew and do it A LOT. I use needles and pins, standard pin cushions aren’t babyproof enough to suit me. My solution is to take the nice childproof prescription medicine bottles and put pins and needles in those. I have a nice fat one for pins and several skinny ones for various types of needles including sewing machine needles. This makes good storage and the kids can’t get into them! Add a magnet inside it and even if you knock it over (or a kid or cat does) there’s going to be less of a mess from scattered pins! (note that my kids are now adults but just in case someone else has little ones around this is still a great idea! I am back to babysitting a little guy now so in a way it does still apply for me too!)

Alternate to ribbon for measuring small dolls accurately is a twist tie.To measure simply place one end at the starting point and the other end you bend then measure the tiny portion before the bend against an accurate ruler. The best rulers are metal rulers that you get at a hardware shop.

Dressmaker’s Ham Pattern (pressing aid) – there are a number of ways to do this including just mimicking the shape of a full size one and stuffing it.

This will smooth out your patterns in preparation for use in creating styles from the basic patterns. These little 90° spots are critical when you go to sew things together to ensure your seams are neat and tidy!

The first draft of each piece should be carefully cut apart and the following places checked for accuracy and 90° angles on both your front and the back

Torso Skirt

Check to be sure your skirt and bodice waists are the same

and adjust slightly if necessary

Trace your bodice front except for the waist. Only mark where it is	Line up the center front/back of the bodice and skirt and the side seams.	Trace the skirt.	Blend the waist.

Repeat for back with side seam allowance

Torso Pants

Check to be sure your pant and bodice waists are the same and adjust slightly if necessary

Trace your bodice front except for the waist. Only mark where it is.	Line up the center front/back of the bodice and pant and the side seams.	Trace the pants.	Blend the waistline.

Repeat for back with side seam allowance

Waist To Ankle (Inseam)

Waist Arc

Crotch Depth

Hip Depth

Outseam

1) Side seam – pants length. Square out at top & bottom to both sides

2) Side hip depth – measure down and square out to both sides

3) Crotch depth – measure down from top crotch depth and square out to both sides

4) Waist to knee – square out to both sides

5) Center back – formula: waist arc + dart intake (see Measurement Chart) + ease (see Measurement Chart)

6) Back hip arc – from center back towards side seam

7) Back hip depth – from hip line measure up and mark

8 ) Crotch bisect – at crotch level bisect (45° angle) and mark out according to Measurement Chart)

9) Crotch curve – using your French curve draw a curve from the mid-point to the crotch line touching the tip of the bisect

10) ) Hip – Draw in hip line with French curve

11) Center front – formula: waist arc + dart intake (see Measurement Chart) + ease (see Measurement Chart)

12) front hip arc – from center front towards side seam

13) Back hip depth – from hip line measure up and mark

14) Crotch bisect – at crotch level bisect (45° angle) and mark out according to Measurement  Chart

15) Crotch curve – using your French curve draw a curve from the mid-point to the crotch line touching the tip of the bisect

16) Hip – Draw in hip line with French curve

17) Inseam (crotch side) – square down to bottom inseam measurement. Outseam (side seam) – From Crotch level measure down Outseam measurement. The distance between the lines at the bottom should be no smaller than the Around Foot measurement.

18) Inseam (crotch side) – square down to bottomOutseam (side seam) – measure over around foot measurement and mark connect mark to crotch level line

A basic straight skirt and a bonus fuller skirt.

Measurements Needed

Copy the following to your paper before you start and fill in with the correct measurements for the doll you are working with. The ones in italics can be found on the Measurement Chart

Waist Arc	Hip Depth	Front	Back
Hip Arc	Side Hip Depth
1) Skirt Length – side seam	2) Side or Back Hip Depth (whichever is deeper) – square out to either side to the left back hip arc and to the right front hip arc	3) Back Hip Arc – at top square out back hip arc	4) Center Back – square out back hip arc at bottom and then connect from top to bottom to form center back
5) Back Hip Depth – Should be only slightly shorter than side hip depth, mark in. If you used Back Hip Depth in step 2 use Hip Depth here.	6) Back Waist Arc – from center back line towards side seam Formula: waist arc + ease (see Measurement Chart)	7) Hip Line – curve from mark to hip level	8) Waist Line – curve from back hip mark to hip
9) Front Hip Arc – front hip arc. At top square out then square out front hip arc at bottom and connect from top to bottom to form center front	10) Front Waist Arc – from center front line towards side seam Formula: waist arc + ease (see Measurement Chart )	11) Hip Line – curve from mark to hip level	12) Front Hip Depth – Should be only slightly shorter than side hip depth, mark in
13) Waist Line – curve from front hip mark to hip

This is a bonus skirt draft for a plain skirt that goes well with a simple bodice and can be as full as can fit around the doll’s waist.

Alternate Skirt

2X	Waist	X Length	= Light Gathers
3X	Waist	X Length	= Normal Gathers
4X	Waist	X Length	= Full Gathers
5X	Waist	X Length	= Lots of Gathers

Measurements Needed

Yes, it’s just a rectangle but the above chart gives a good idea of how full a skirt you will get.!

Skirt Length	*Skirt width (see chart above)
Determine skirt lengthMultiply waist measurement by how full you want the skirt to be (see chart above)Draw 1 skirt length lineSquare out full skirt width from top and bottomDraw opposite skirt length line

Copy the following to your paper before you start and fill in with the correct measurements for the doll you are working with. The ones in italics can be found on the Measurement Chart.

Sleeve Length			Finger Span
Upper Arm			Sleeve Cap Bottom Marks
Wrist			Sleeve Cap Top Marks
1) Sleeve length – Otherwise referred to as center		2) Cap height – 1/3 of sleeve length marked and squared out from the top, 1/2 of the upper arm measurement	3) Wrist or finger span – Mark out 1/2 of the wrist or finger span (whichever is larger) to either side of center	4) Sleeve sides – Connect cap height to wrist level, forming the sides of the sleeve.
5) Sleeve cap bottom marks – 1/8 of upper arm measurement marked from the outside in and up according to Measurement Chart for your size doll		6) Sleeve cap top – Square out to either side	7) Sleeve cap top marks – Using the same 1/8 of upper arm from the bottom marks, mark from the center out and down according to the Measurement Chart for your size doll.	8 ) Sleeve cap mid marks – Measure diagonally from the tips of the small marks and divide in half. Mark.
9) Sleeve cap curve – Form sleeve cap by using your French curve to connect the side to the bottom mark tip, then to the mid point, up to the top and down the other side.

Alternate Sleeve

Measurements Needed 

Copy the following to your paper before you start and fill in with the correct measurements for the doll you are working with. The ones in italics can be found on the Measurement Chart

• Your result will be a rectangle that is your desired fullness wide by your doll’s arm length long. From here you can add seam allowance to the top and bottom length and gather to fit.
• This only does puff sleeves that are gathered at the top and then pulled in by way of elastic at the wrist, upper arm or elbow.

Sleeve length			Armhole circumference*
*Armhole circumference- measure your finished bodice pattern’s armhole from shoulder tip to shoulder tip
Armhole Circumference		X2	X length	= light gathers
Armhole Circumference		X3	X length	= medium gathers
Armhole Circumference		X4	X length	= very gathered

1. Determine how full you want the sleeve (see chart)
2. Measure from shoulder tip around elbow to wrist this will be your sleeve length
3. Measure your armhole of your basic block
4. Multiply the armhole circumference by desired fullness (see chart) draw first line as the sleeve length
5. Label sleeve length
6. Square out to one side only the distance of the armhole circumference from the top and the bottom
7. Now draw the other sleeve length line

Here is the start of the actual drafts. You will need to reference the Measurement Chart for the ease necessary for the draft.

Measurements Needed

Copy the following to your paper before you start and fill in with the correct measurements for the doll you are working with. The ones in italics can be found on the Measurement Chart

Full Length – Front	Back	Waist Arc
Shoulder Slope		Side Seam Length
Across Shoulder		Side Seam Allowance
Center Length – Front	Back	Mid-armhole Mark
Ease

1) Full Length – a straight line the length of your full length measurement	2) Across Shoulder – from the top of the full length line across the amount of your across shoulder measurement	3) Guideline – square down approximately 1/2 of the full length amount	4) Center Length – measure from the bottom of the full length line up and square in approximately 1/2 of across shoulder measurement
5) Shoulder Slope – from bottom corner to guideline	6) Shoulder – from tip of shoulder slope to across shoulder	7) Shoulder to center length guideline and bisected (for bisect amount see Measurement Chart)	8) Neck Curve Part B – from partway along previously squared line touching tip of bisect to almost center front. Leave 1/4″ square with the center front line.
9) Waist – Formula: waist arc + ease (see Measurement Chart)	10) Side Seam – square up from waist side seam length	11) Mid-armhole Mark – measure from shoulder tip to top of side seam line and divide in 1/2. Mark out (see Measurement Chart)	12) Armhole Curve – connect shoulder tip, end of mid-armhole mark and top of side seam in a curve, maneuvering your French curve until it fits.
13) Waist – Formula: waist arc + ease (see Measurement Chart)	14) Center Back Full Length – a straight line the length of your full length measurement	15) Across Back Shoulder – from the top of the full length line across the amount of your across shoulder measurement	16) Guideline – square down approximately 1/2 of the full length amount
17) Center Back Length – Measure from the bottom of the full length line up and square in approximately 1/2 of across shoulder measurement	18) Shoulder Slope – from bottom corner to guideline	19) Shoulder – from tip of shoulder slope to across shoulder	20) Neck Curve Part A – squared down from shoulder to center length guideline and bisected (for bisect amount see MeasurementDraft Chart)
21) Neck Curve Part B – from partway along previously squared line touching tip of bisect to almost center front. Leave 1/4″ square with the center front line.	22) Mid-armhole Mark – measure from shoulder tip to top of side seam line and divide in 1/2. Mark out (see Measurement Chart)	23) Armhole Curve – connect shoulder tip, end of mid-armhole mark and top of side seam in a curve, maneuvering your French curve until it fits.	24) Mark side seam allowance to either side of side seam line

Why are they useful? Specification sheets are very useful to keep track of design details. This is including but not limited to what doll, fabrics, item numbers for those of us in a business or that have a huge doll collection. Most important cost of a project not to mention a copy of the actual design, front and back view with notes and swatches. You can also list where you bought a fabric or what else it might have been used for. Care instructions and anything else you think might be important for future reference.

A specification sheet would be kept with the measuring chart for the doll that the design goes with. If it goes with multiple dolls then the measurement chart for each doll and a copy of the specification sheet should be with each. Later you can also add copies of the patterns in Ziplock bags or file folders and any construction information you need too. It is best to have some form of file folder system for this information if you think you may have a large collection of doll patterns as they are very easily lost!

Permission given by author to photocopy this page.

Specification sheet
Doll:			Size of Doll:
Name of Garment:		Style:	Number:
Season :		Designer:
Yard Goods:
Face Fabric:	Cost:	Sketch & Swatches
Width:	Length:
Color:	Weight:
Interfacing	Cost:
Width:	Length:
Color:	Weight:
Lining:	Cost:
Width:	Length:
Color:	Weight:
Trims:	Cost:
Width:	Length:
Color:	Weight:
Total $:
Notions:
Fasteners:
Thread:	Spools:	Colors:	Size (Yds):
Total $:
GRAND TOTAL $:

The chart on this page is a list of all the measurement amounts for places within the drafting instructions that say ‘see chart’. It is divided so that you can find the right measurement for your size doll that you may currently be working with and use the correct numbers for the step you are on. Most are for all the different types of dolls but one or two are for specifically just lady dolls or just babies and say so in the doll

column. The chart is for just the drafts of the basic blocks – bodice, sleeve, skirt, and pants for the lady, child, baby and man sections in section I. Separate charts will be in later sections for other measurements as needed.

Pattern Piece	Doll Size	Measurement	Amount
Bodice	6-10″	Ease	3/16
	1:12 or 1″ Scale		1/8
	1:24 or 1/2 Scale		1/16
Skirt	6-10″	Skirt Ease	1/4
	1:12 or 1″ Scale		1/4
	1:24 or 1/2 Scale		1/8
Pants	6-10″	Pant Ease	1/4
	1:12 or 1″ Scale		1/4
	1:24 or 1/2 Scale		1/8