Sewing Clothing items I have made from Japanese sewing books (Hanon, Dolly Dolly) + self-drafted patterns

Since the topic of sewing pattern books came up, I figured I would start a thread to include items I have made! I've also included information about the books for those who want a review or additional information underneath the spoiler tag. I have Unoa Freak 2 and 3 and can review those once I sew from them.

When I sew for 1:4+, I add French seams into my clothing (except for set in sleeves - I use fray check and trim the seam to reduce bulk). You don't have to do that, of course. What I do: split the seam allowance between both the wrong and right sides.

I also chose to cut the cuffs and waistbands on the bias and hand finish them with a ladder stitch. After the waistband is sewn on, Hanon has you whipstitching the other side down and other books have you topstitching, but I prefer the stitches to be invisible on the reverse side & the topstitching looks wonky on the inside. But it's all up to you!

Also, all items sewn here are made from fabrics purchased at US big box fabric shops such as JoAnn's/Hobby Lobby unless otherwise noted. Go use those coupons! (I also support my local fabric store, too, but I know not everyone has one near them.)

I really hope that this post will be useful to people because my sewing posts in the BJD hobby have the absolute lowest engagement/interest compared to my others. If you have any questions, please ask, and I will get back to you!

First up! HANON Doll Sewing Book.

Spoiler: Book information/review.

I don't see this book discussed very often, but I think it's a great, readily-accessible sewing book for those who want to essentially cut and sew and make alterations. For those who don't know, Satomi-sensei is a famous doll clothing designer in Japan who has designed primarily for Blythe. (I am super honored to have met her. She is super sweet and ooohed and ahhhed over the clothing items I made from her patterns!) This book has 3 sizes of patterns for Middie Blythe (may fit some smaller BJDs), Blythe, & Unoa. There are also step-by-step photos along with English directions as well as a pattern for a leather bag + boots. Woo!

The latest version of this book has English directions. The initial printing was Japanese only, but since then, English translations were included. I bought my copy over 2 years ago, and it has English directions.

The pattern is printed at 100%, so they just need to be photocopied or trace. I trace onto medical paper and then gluestick my pattern pieces to a light or heavier weight cardboard.

Since Satomi-sensei's clothing tend to be of a looser fit, this should work for many sizes. Unoa is a slimmer doll whereas my doll is slimmer than say the traditional Volks MSD; however, with the pieces I've made, I haven't had an issue with fit.

Since the overall feeling of the Hanon book falls somewhere amongst zakka/mori, the fit is pretty forgiving. For example, the raglan sleeve A-line dress just barely fits my Custom House SD-sized girl.

You can purchase this book from a seller on Etsy, eBay, Amazon, or a Japanese hobby shop.

Here is the coat that's on the cover of the Hanon book. It is shown with the Blythe-sized one I also made. I used a lightweight cotton velveteen. This photo doesn't show it, but the yoke is lined. It's sewn in very... strangely. There isn't any turning; it's essentially sewn wrong-sides together.

Spoiler: More Hanon items underneath the cut.

The coat worn. More information about the other items later. My cat was caught off-guard, but this is unfortunately the best photo I have of it being worn...


Boots! There is also a leather bag pattern in this book as well. Anyway, this is my first time making footwear for my doll. IMO, there's a lot of room for improvement in my attempt, but I'm not too mad at my first shoemaking attempt. For those in the US, you can buy scrap bags from US hobby shops like Hobby Lobby and Michaels.


Lurex terry socks. Very loose weave - I highly recommend using stabilizer when sewing fragile knits. I use medical paper, but tracing paper or even toilet seat covers work -- unused of course lol.


Raglan sleeve dress. This one is made out of rayon and has a very nice drape. The pattern has embroidery on the sleeves, but I left it off due to the pattern.


Bonus WIP photo of the dress:

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Dolly*Dolly + self-drafted patterns
This section is a mishmash of stuff I've made.

This top was made using a general mock neck pattern in one of the Dolly Dolly books. I've noticed that certain patterns get reused in these books. It consists of six pieces: two sleeves, front, two back pieces, and the neck part. Fabric is interlock. I prefer interlock in doll sewing due to how nicely it sews up in the machine, and I can get away with not using stabilizer. Skirt is my pattern in a cotton quilting fabric; waistband is cut on the bias. I hand finished it, but I topstitched across the waistband.

Spoiler: More randomly made items underneath the cut!

Foiled tulle blouse with ruffled collar and sleeves. This fabric can be found in many colors at JoAnn's. I LOVE it. Since it is super sheer, I layered it three times to get the opacity shown. Let me tell you... I felt like I was going blind sewing this. Both the French seams + snap sewing was a total nightmare. There are three black ones on the back, and it was a challenge to see the thread against the fabric. (Sorry the second photo is not so great. I originally had bad lighting and couldn't fix it.) PS - I also made the alpaca wig!

 

Thank you so much, @angelia135 ! I'm glad you like my clothes.

Hi, @JiinLee! When it comes to BJD sewing, it's super tricky, especially if you're new to sewing in general. It can be overwhelming as to where to start, and as a beginner, you would want to buy a pattern that will fit your specific doll until you're more comfortable to alter your patterns and then draft your own. Since BJDs are sized differently, it can be a total challenge to find patterns that work for your doll.

Unoa has been pretty popular in Japan for awhile, so like Blythes, it has a "standard" size. As such, you will find a lot of Japanese mooks that feature 1:4 clothes specifically for Unoa. I have found out that I really dislike sewing on a scale that's bigger than 1:4, so props to you for sewing for your 70cm dollies! And thank you so much for your kind words!

Hi, @Shan! Glad to see you around DoA again! My Peak's Woods doll (old style body) is on par with Volks MSD bodies. Since the Hanon aesthetic is pretty loose fitting, it fits them well - less loose and slightly more fitted due to the more child-like bodies. The clothes kind of swallow my Doll Chateau kid bodies as expected, but I think you will pleased with the fit. Plus, Satomi-sensei also covers technique such as sewing pintucks, embroidery, and making thread chains as a closure for a metal hook.

Since you have Yo-SDs, I also highly recommend Little Amelie by PoppyW patterns. She initially started off making Blythe patterns and has workshops in Thailand, but she has branched out to Lati dolls (both 1:6 and 1:8). You can buy patterns directly from her site or on Etsy: https://www.littleamelie.com/shop. An example is here: https://www.littleamelie.com/product-page/copy-of-pdf-แพทเท-ร-นช-ดเส-อเช-ตและกางเกง-ไซส-yosd.

I actually learned how to sew doll clothing from her patterns. I haven't sewn any of her Yo-SD patterns, but I have sewn quite a few of her Blythe patterns. She has step-by-step photos, some videos linked in her PDFs, and English directions. I highly recommend her for beginners, too. Plus, you can buy a PDF file and get it quickly and start sewing immediately! I have one of her sewing books, which is self-published. Half the cost goes towards registered airmail from Thailand, but it has a plethora of patterns for a wide variety of sizes up to Yo-SD. Those usually come up for pre-order every few months, and she advertises her pre-orders on IG. Happy sewing!

Hello & thank you for your feedback, @raphaelite! 100% - the HANON book is absolutely wonderful for beginners. A lot of patterns do not walk you through the clothing creation process, but this book has step-by-step photographs and the fit is verrrrry forgiving. If you have a slim mini or more traditional MSD size body, you will be happy with the results!

Thank you, @MercutioEx ! I tend to make things I personally would want to wear. One can never have too much mustard!

You're very welcome, @Geekmama! I'm super happy that you liked it!

Thank you so much, @Zavrinas! I would like to make a bottom for the black blouse I made, but I am honestly stumped at what the bottoms should be. I thought about making a mermaid fishtail skirt. Drafting it is a lot harder than it looks. Watch me get lazy and just make a gathered skirt lol.

Thank you, @thatnerdsophia! I want to branch out to sewing for humans, but all the fabric and the fact I don't have a designated cutting space makes my eyes spin in my head. The best thing about sewing for dollies are how all the lil pieces fit on your table! I got the woodland print at JoAnn's; I'm not sure if they still have it, but it's in the children's sleepwear section. They have some great fabrics there, but you have to go in person for sure to see the scale.

 

This is a good suggestion, @Zavrinas! I will admit that I am so lazy and don't want to sew a muslin to get the fit down. I think I may have to suck it up and just do it despite the fact I want to cut and sew. Thank you for the recommendation!

Thank you so much, @chrstphrl! I really appreciate the kind words.

Youu're very welcome, @raphaelite ! If you are a true beginner, I would recommend this book even as just a general resource. If you can get your hands on pattern pieces for SD sized dollies, you'll know what to do with them as the technique is very similar! I have never adjusted the patterns for any other size. In my own experience, when I was brand new to sewing, the thought of doing adjustments off the bat was overwhelming and daunting. I couldn't imagine trying to learn the basics of sewing + alterations, which usually happen at an intermediate level. It wasn't until I was sewing often did I feel more comfortable doing so.

That said, if you are up to it, I would scale it up gradually. Once you get to a size that looks like it will fit your doll (the bodice), I would just sew it using scrap cloth or upcycled clothing. I wouldn't worry so much about making sure it fits perfectly -- even a so-so fit will be okay. The reason why I say this is that practice really, really, really does make a huge difference with sewing. I picked up dolly sewing when I was unemployed, and I learned A LOT during that time because of how frequently I was doing it. When you become familiar with sewing in general, you'll pick up where you need to add length, etc. without the monster of "learning how to sew" sitting on your shoulders. I hope that makes sense!

Awww, you are too sweet, @ngolts87! Oftentimes, I feel like I am still a beginner, but I am happy to share the information I have in my brain. For what it's worth, I started dolly sewing in August 2017 and all of those clothing items, save the black blouse, were made within 6-8 months. Practice and not being discouraged and giving up is what helps. To be honest, I have kind of always been a quitter when I felt like my end product wasn't good enough, but I have stuck through with the dolly sewing!

Yay! I'd love to know your thoughts once you get it, @shan. As for the Little Amelie patterns, I learned how to sew pintucks from her and set in sleeves - but you will get that from Hanon, too. The book I have is the decades through sewing (not currently on her site right now), and it has patterns for all the following sizes: Middie-sized dolls and BJDS like Lati Yellow, Neo Blythe, and Yo-SDs (sizes S, M, L). I'll try to snap a photo of it this weekend, so you can take a look at it!

 

Yay! I'd love to hear what you think of it, @raphaelite. I wrote in another response that I tend to quit pretty early on if my attempts are not good, but dolly sewing is one thing I actually stuck with. Minus the black blouse, most of the items here were shown after sewing regularly for 6 months.

I have made the dress featured, and it just barely fits my old body Custom House SD-sized doll. She is much more petite than the current SDs. It's very tight around the shoulders (my collar band was cut on the bias so if it's cut on the grain, it may not), but it barely closes. Things like the apron pattern (which is also a great easy to sew item) will be much easier to scale. There is also a halter dress that is most likely forgiving for scaling, too.

Good luck!

 

Thanks for the sweet comment, @Idoru! I'd love to see the items you made. Please feel free to share your thread or post here!

 

Omg, it's funny you mention this, but I made this skirt on 1:6 scale, and I agree -- I think this pattern is iffy. I think it sews up unnecessarily complicated as well. Your attempts are good, though! Love the little kitty buttons you used.

 

Honestly there aren't many books that have 1:4 patterns, so the Hanon book featured at the top will essentially be your only option for 1:4 patterns, especially if you are only looking for patterns for this size in a bound book. The Japanese pattern books or mooks will usually have their 1:4 pattern to fit Unoas, which are slim 1:4 dolls. The garment fits are pretty generous, so I don't think you need to enlarge anything. For bust adjustments, you will need to make mockups and compare bust measurements, but since the Hanon style is pretty oversized with lots of layers instead of tailored, it shouldn't be an issue for a small bust.

Minifee is also an extremely popular doll, so Etsy has a ton of patterns specifically targeted toward that.
I like patterns by JDY and ModaVation.

In terms of tutorials and drafting, ModaVation is one of the best pattern makers out there:
https://www.etsy.com/shop/ModaVationDesigns
https://www.etsy.com/shop/JauneyeroID

 

You would just need to compare the Unoa measurements to your doll

I really recommend the tutorials that have a step by step guide if you are new to sewing. A lot of people try to take on too much when it comes to sewing: such as alterations, trying to do perfect fitting, etc. You will absolutely get better as long as you sew. Don't fixate so much on the imperfect parts -- learn what you can per project, remake items, and sew often!

I really do think ModaVation is one of the best for beginners, and she has patterns for Minifee. I would stick with wovens first (vs. knits/stretch patterns). The Hanon book has some weird construction for a few of the items, but the photo steps really do help, and the fit is forgiving.

Happy sewing!!