TUESDAY TIPS: Sew a Seam on Fashion Doll Clothes When you sew a seam in doll clothes, you will notice the first obvious difference between full-sized clothes and doll clothes. They are almost always one-quarter inch. Occasionally an eighth-inch seam is used in particular circumstances where even less bulk from the seam is needed. In fact, that is the entire reason we usually use quarter-inch seams, is to reduce the bulk. You will notice that dolls’ waists are often much smaller than a human waist. In fact, the whole figure may seem out of proportion. But there is a very good reason for that! Because of fabric thickness, when the dress or skirt is on the doll, she will appear to be in proportion. The layers of cloth are much thicker in proportion on the doll than on a person. The thin waist allows for the thickness of the cloth. Cloth will always appear proportionally thicker on a doll than on a person. So you have to use fairly thin fabric to sew doll clothes. This also means you want to reduce bulk in the seams as much as you can. Avoid Bulk in Doll Clothes Seams You can achieve less bulky seams by avoiding seams that have more than one layer in them, such as in a flat felled seam. Plain seams are often the best. And don’t use too much back-stitching to start and stop seams. A seam which will or is crossed at an angle by another seam doesn’t need back-stitching to keep it from unstitching. In other areas, simple tie a hand knot to avoid too much bulk. Finishing the Raw Edge of Seams For finishing raw edges, there are several ways to stop ravelling without increasing bulk. For instance, I hardly ever used a serger or overlock machine for doll clothes—there is just too much thread in the seam and it bulks up fast! Instead, you can finish the seam with seam sealer—something like Fray Check. Or you can zig-zag over the edge with your regular sewing machine. Or you can hand overcast the seam—besides using Fray Check, this is the least bulky seam finish.
Posted on: Tue, 20 May 2014 14:57:43 +0000
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