Tutorial Resizing Human Patterns TUTORIAL

I love this I have thought about it before but assumed it wouldn't work. Thank you! Also: they give the lay out with the downloadable instructions on Burdastyle with paid patterns, so now there are a lot more free patters to choose from You've made me really happy!

 

Thank you for posting this! I can't wait to try it!!!!

 

This is really so helpful! I have hundreds of human patterns and now I can use them for dolls! Thank you for this!

 

WOW!
I kinda had the idea of getting American Girl patterns and resizing them for an MSD but this seems easier.
I need to get patterns, a scanner, a sewing machine, and try this eventually... I have no skills.
Thank you for this tutorial!

 

I can't wait to try this for myself when my girl gets here!~
on second thought....
I might actually try it before hand to get used to sewing so small

In the tutorial when she says to blow it up to %500 that is for an MSD size. Right after that she says to add an EXTRA %125 for SD sizes. The numbers of which she got from another thread showing you how to scale patterns for different sizes.

So for an SD, after the initial scaling up of %125 you do at the beginning of the tutorial, you will scale it up %625 for SD. Not sure what size SD, but I would assume 60cm or something like that. Just trial and error on that front

I hope that helped ^^

 

Thank you for this tutorial!

 

This is so awesome! I can sew from a pattern without too much difficulty and this will make it easier to sew for dollies, so I guess I'll be picking up a pattern to try this out on ^_^

 

Thank you for this ^^ I have a kimono pattern that I'm dying to try this out with. Awesome easy to follow instructions too.

 

i had wondered about using a computer and scaning in like that but can't concentrate enough figure out the details.... I have a doll pattern book (including pattern for the cloth doll 'family') It's all historical clothing patterns... I think you would like it. If I can get my scanner to work I should send you a copy!

 

How perfectly brilliant, even I understand this as you have made it so clear, thank you

 

This is so helpful!
Thank you so much.

 

Pretty brilliant I myself have a graph table rather than a scanner so've been manually resizing - but this will be good for when I GET a scanner

 

One more thank you! I've tried resizing patterns with limited success & a lot of re-learning every time I've tried. It's nice to have a resource to refer to.

 

These are as authentic as you can get for what they are... no stays in corsets and some detais just don't quite sized down and also the patterns are made to go with 'home made' dolls (patterns also inclueded plus sizing explinations, but they expect you to hand re-draw them on different sized graph paper >< which i sux hard at LOL. I will buy some ink I think and make a few copies of the book it came from (ppl here at home want it too ><) I don't have the book cover handy or I would tell you what it is and you could buy the whole thing, half of it is reading 'about' stuff and history - yes, i mangled a book ^_^ just to get the pages lol. Would plain photocopies of the pattern instruction sheets work for you... as in the size they came in... that I can do no problem... I have a nice Civil war bunch with all the underpinings ^^ I love period undies for some reason lol. Especially corsets. ... yup definitely need more ink... If I can find all the stuff I will get in touch and maybe mail you a gifty ^^

 

Lady Tiku this book sounds wonderful! What size is the doll 'family' in the book? Are the patterns usable in that size? Does it come with accessories like hats, bags and shoes? It truly sounds great.

 

the patterns as is won't fit any bjd as is... the patterns are for the dolls in the book which are esentially stuffed cloth dolls (it shows how to stich hair, and even men's facial hair AND the faces themselves are meant to be stitched on). I really need to find what I did with 'the rest of the book (especially the cover >< ). All the 'explinations are in that part lol, I just kept the pattern part handy XD. Flat on the sheet of paper 12-14 inches apx.... don't know what kind of an idea that will give ><. it would take some serious "fitting" after you got a rough size sample done... ticks me off that mom isn't around she and I could fit anything to anyone almost between the two of us ><. I will see if I can scan in a 'sample' page...

 

I am checking to see if something will show up here... it's a realy nice outfit and I even found where to get it lol or parts of it :P anywho here goes

http://www.galleryserpentine.com.au/ProductImages/large/pinstripevillettaensemble1.jpg

with luck that link goes to pintrest pic.

EDIT: nope, not to pintrest where i can upload but if you take everything past the .com part you can get to tht site tho O_o...

 

Wonderful outfit! I'm sure lots of our gals would love to have one!

As to the book, I have seen a book by Estelle Worrel called The Doll Book and it has cloth dolls and period outfits and the patterns for them. Could this be the book you have? But in her book the clothes will also fit a popular play doll. She shows scenes with the outfits on the cloth dolls and the vinyl dolls in the same pics. Does this sound familiar?

Have a wonderful day!

 

YES YES YES the first one! I did a google search of "The Doll Book by Estelle Worrel" then switched to the 'images view.. the 'white books and the pics showing the basic doll pattern are exactly it! (I only found the pattern pages of my book, no cover or anything else to identify with LOL). What play doll dose this stuff fit? I saw 2 versions of the book... mine is not the one shown with the color top/bottom strip. And at this moment I could not even guess if mine had the rest of the info you mention. As soon as I post this I am going to the basement (you have no idea how much I hate that place LOL) and see if i can find the rest of the book. I do not remember an color pics which it seems there might be... unless a different edition came out with some changes lol. But YES! the stuff that comes up in the image search is the one (the samples of pattern pages). So have a look online... I'd be happy to copy it and send it to you ^^, the pattern pages I mean to start with. The book is esentially regular paper size (8.5 x 11).

 

That type of pattern is fairly easy to come by at local fabric stores in the 'costume' or 'historical' patterns, you just might have to buy more than one to get the right set of elements together. then there is the corset thing >< I've looked at patterns for corsets, have a few in my pattern collection, helped make (no sewing tho :P) my medievil bodice.... can u say 'nightmare'. fyi aparently it's not uncommon to use several size pieces to get the right fit... wonder if that would work for ready made doll patterns. get a larger doll pattern and a smaller one to accomodate bust, hip and body length. Eh its a thought

 

LOL! I didn't anticipate such a boisterous response. But I'm glad I made you happy. This book is originally from the mid 1960s so it was for either the cloth dolls from the given patterns or the popular 11 1/2" model doll and her little sister, and another company's sisters were shown too. The popular one is still around now. But I have only seen the earlier version with the color strips so don't know what changes they made with your copy. If you look on the strip cover on Amazon and zoom in then you can see that the doll on the right with the muff isn't cloth. It isn't very clear but you can tell. Have you made anything with the patterns yet? And if so do you have pics to share? Oh, I would love and copy and it is really sweet of you to offer. I looked at the library catalog and it isn't a book you can take out. Sadly all the costume books are central library closed stacks only at this point. Which of course includes Jean Hunnisett and Nora Waugh, though not Janet Arnold. If you haven't seen the books by Hunnisett, Waugh, and Arnold they are well worth looking at - and copying. Hunnisett has hers on a grid for easy use, too. I think Arnold does, too, but haven't seen one of her books for a long time. I checked out the one Hunnisett book I could take out which is for outerwear and not as helpful.

Have a wonderful day!

 

damn right i was excited... i suck at 'searches' (obviously lol) I've tried to find that book before (on the net lol) and since I don't have the cover or anything to identify stuff with... it drove me bonkers. With my luck Dad squireled it away as 'cant throw out but no one needs it' hidey holes. I can't tell you how many things "I've" lost cuz he 'cleaned up' -_-. And mom was the seamstress in the house (and our costume work for theatre - I managed everything else). I go into cold sweats at the thot of sewing on a button in a hurry lol. I will check the other books and the amazon pic when my eyes are not so fatigued. But my first order of business is to duct tape up a doll box as a temp carry case ^^. It needs reenforcing at the very least. I am also in tiny fits working on clearing out some shelf space and digging out moms sewing corner (I have COPD I wind easily, especially in dusty spaces ><,). Eventually I will make some copies of the part of the book i have and send them out ^^. You can gues the size of the dolls in the book by going on this.. the book is standard 8.5x11 inch pages you can guesstimate aproximate size by the page views. I though 14-18 inches for the adult dolls.

 

Well, I'm doubly glad that I got the name and author for you so you don't have to search anymore! And if the patterns also fit the 11 1/2" vinyl dolls it tells you the size of the patterns. So that would be 1/6 scale and double would be just about the size of a basic 60cm SD size doll. And if I remember correctly it would be 137% for the 1/4 scale 'slim' girls. It is very frustrating to have checked out the book, assumed it would always be there and not copied anything! That was when I was doing cloth dolls and hadn't moved to fashion dolls and BJDs.

Have a wonderful day!

 

This is great. Need to try this.

 

Wonderful! I've been trying to think of a way to do this for a while and have a ton of patterns laying around that I'd like to shrink. Thank you for this post!

 

.... oh my god i think i love you...... I've been Killing myself trying to draft doll cloths to match my regular clothing patterns. I never even thought of the stupid instruction diagrams! EEEEHHHHHH!!!!!!!!! I've got 3 4drawer filing cabnets FULL of sewing patterns! (I used to work in a joanns) NOW I CAN USE THEM ALL!!! (Lightning flashes as I desend into madness)

 

Great tutorial, many thanks for putting it up!

 

Well i've hit a snag! What should the printer settings be? i tired just printing it but the xnview program just blew the pieces up to full page sized. but its has a layout section for printing. i used that for a vest piece, it worked great on the general pieces (Front - Back). i did a single custom layout for a width and hight of 5x7. but the smaller/larger pieces are still basicaly not coming out right.

the vest came out great buit now im trying to do teh jacket that goes with it and..... -_- help me

 

That is a great idea! Always thought of doing that for cosplay, but then you could go to Joanns and look at the remnant section!? They are half off the price listed! So you can get some fabric with other textures too.

 

Okay. I've got a few questions.

1.Does anyone know how much you would have to adjust a pattern for SD scale in order to get an extra 1/2 inch seam allowance for French seams?

2. Does anyone have any tips or resources for converting a women's pattern to a men's pattern? (Or vice versa.)

3. Does anyone know where I could find a men's hanbok pattern? For the life of me, I can't find any resources for it, which is ridiculously frustrating.

 

GENIUS!! OMG thank you! This is like the neatest idea ever! I am doing this immediately!

 

Oh my god! This is an AMAZING idea that I never thought of! D: Between my best friend and I, I think we've got about 20 boxes of patterns(vintage, and new) now I just need to get a new scanner(mine bit the dust some time ago and I just hadn't gotten around to replacing it)

I do have one question though; I know you're scanning it in at %125, but how many DPI are you scanning it in at? Or does it matter even?

 

I haven't read all the comments, so forgive me if anyone else has mentioned this already, but it should also be noted that the size of the instruction images can also vary a bit, so while 500% will work on some, it may be off a bit on others. It's all in the experimentation I also work with human patterns (so many more options than doll ones) and I usually just enlarge 590% from the initial scan and that gets me approximate size for a 50cm obitsu.

I also agree that Dale Rae's instructions can get a bit technical, but it's good to have them handy for some of your fitting issues as she gives great advice on that!

 

This is a great tutorial, it was exactly what I was looking for recently. Thank you

 

Very cool! Might try this out on an old costume pattern.
SO MANY THINGS I WANT TO TRY OUT IN THE CRAFTING SECTION UGH.

 

This is pretty neat. I had been wondering if there was a way to do this - though I suspect my scanner automatically enlarges things when I scan them and I can't figure out why. But it will be fun to experiment as I have a ton of patterns I could play with.

 

That is so useful! Thank you so much!
I bought Victorian costume pattern from Walmart but didn't know where to start. Your tutorial just made my day.

 

Yay! i've been looking for something like this Thanks

 

OMG...That is sooo HANDY!!!! Thank you for sharing!!

 

Super smart idea using the small images from the instruction sheet, I will be doing this.

 

Many thanks for a tutorial! Very useful and necessary information! I hope to use it in the future!

 

Oh, WOw! This is perfect! I have human costume patterns that I would love to use for my dolls! Now I can! Thanks!

 

this is awesome! Thanks a lot

 

Never would have crossed my mind to use paper towels as psuedo muslin! Great (and thrifty) tip. Thanks. This tutorial is great as I have tons of human patterns laying around and my girl needs outfits! Thanks a bunch!

 

I have to thank you about a million times for the tutorial. I've used it several times now and just love it. I'm on a creative journey now making costumes for my SD and MSD girls. Who knows? I may buy a boy and start making male costumes! Here are a few pictures of what I've made.

This is from Simpilicity 2525. I just used the jacket.


The Ringmaster by tanglebox1, on Flickr

This on is using Simplicity 2172


Img_1633 by tanglebox1, on Flickr

Enjoy!
Belinda

 

genius! I've been looking for something exactly like this! Thanks for all the work that went into making the tutorial and your willingness to share the technique

 

Thank you so much! This is exactly the sort of thing I've been looking for a long time- math is not one of my strong points.

 

Your tutorial is so well written and i love the idea of being able to store patterns in computer files. I have been using a similar method for years only instead of scanning into the computer I have been using a proportion wheel to figure out enlarge/decrease sizing. Then enlarging/reducing using my printer. Also viva paper towels have been my go to product for mock ups for many garments. I love being able to baste the piece and adjust as needed.

Again excellent tutorial!

 

This is so inspiring. I can't wait to get sewing. I have so many human patterns and now I'll have another use for them and save money on clothes. I think I'll make a matching outfit. I'll have to take pictures of my favorite dress I made and my doll. That would be great if we could get a few people to make an outfit for themselves and their doll and take pictures. Thank you for this tutorial.

 

I'm rather shocked and amazed that this was thought up! It's perfect! I was scrambling around for tutorials for Lafeu but with all the patterns I have now..I'll be able to get a lot done.
Thank you for the wonderful tutorial!

 

THIS IS SUPER HELPFUL!!!
I've gotten patterns from friends before, but I never knew how to make them size down to fit my girls.
Thank you

 

I cannot thank you enough for this tutorial! I'd managed to scale down some small-piece patterns using a pantograph, but was lost at the larger pieces.

I have trouble with the printing/scanning part...my idiot scanner doesn't automatically scan images at 100%. I get around this by photocopying the instruction diagram image, cutting the photocopy into pieces, and scanning each piece separately along with a flat ruler to show scale.

 

A tutorial very interesting .... I'll get it to make patterns .... XD

 

Here's another outfit I made for my SD Tessa with pattern Simplicity 9531.
Enjoy!
Belinda

 

thanks for posting

 

Thank you EilonwyG! Love your girls dress! The print you used is perfect!

I found that pattern on Evilbay; I think I paid $12.00 for it. I'm always looking for costume patterns now.

Belinda