Sewing Using Old Clothes, Fabric Advice?

Repurposing old clothing is done a lot around here. You save money on fabric and you give old clothes a new use. I have lots of clothes that I don't wear anymore but really loved the texture or patterns so it usually gets turned into a new dress or jacket or something else.

I would just say if you're worried about something staining your doll, just don't leave them dressed in dark colors for long periods of time.

 

I think a lot of us do this when we make clothes for our dolls! I get sad a little when my clothes get ruin by a stain or holes, but than I remember that I can repurpose it for my dolls.
I think your fine when it comes to staining since your clothes have probably been washed so many times. But if your worried don’t leave dark clothes on for long periods of time make/buy them a Stain Resistant suit

 

agreeing with the above that fabric from used clothes is often a safer bet than brand new fabric when it comes to staining! I've made doll jeans out of old pairs of my own jeans and never had staining issues even with my doll Living in them. I've also never had issues with textured fabric on resin - unless it's sandpaper level, I think the dolls will be perfectly comfortable. so, if the clothes are otherwise clean, and you have the inspiration, stitch away, I say!

edit: if you're really worried about staining, the Danger Colors in my experience are black, navy blue, and red. but again, most clothes have been washed enough that dye transfer is no longer a thing!

 

90% of the clothes my dolls have a re made form old clpthes - I particularly like men.s cotton button-down shirts for the thin fanrics, small patterns, and the drape the old and frequently washed cotton has.

All of the girls in this photo, except the two in red, are in dresses made from old clothes, mostly cotton shirts, and one baby dress:

Resin isn't as fragile as many people make it out to be

All of the dolls in the pictute have been taken places (work, day-trips, parties, barbecues, historic sites) with me simply by being shoved in my everyday rucksack alongside all my other stuff, with just a piece of cloth to protect the faceup, and none of them have sufferd any damage from it, the touch of fabrich isn't going to do a thing to them unless (possibly) something encrusted with diamantes or other hard elements.... and then only if the outside of the fabric is against the resin, which you wouldn't be doing for clothes.

Also, if you want to soften new fabrics, give them a wash so the finish that keeps them crisp and new-feeling in the shop is washed out of them.

Teddy

 

I definitely would use old fabric: there is so much you can do with it, and it is way cheaper than new fabric.

Wash it, iron it, and it is good to go.

If you are worried about staining, you can line the darker clothes with a light-colored fabric. <

I think resin is not that fragile, while it can be scratched, you must have really coarse fabric to do so? I do not think it is something to worry too much though.

 

New fabric has gotten ridiculously expensive. I use old clothes, mine and thrift shop purchases most of the time. As @Teddy said, men's shirts have great tiny patterns, also, children's and baby clothing are great for knits that are in scale for dolls. I also look for silk blouses.

 

I love using repurposed fabric. And if you have an old sweater you can make a cute one for your bjd.
And you can find free patterns online that range in style and sizes.

 

Vinegar rinse is also used to wash the excess dyes out, but if you are using your own used clothing, chances are there are no excess dyes left. But if you are curious: Clothes and Dyes that stain, and vinegar rinse | Den of Angels It could be useful for clothes that are not usually lined (blouses, leggings, etc.) Not all clothes make sense being lined after all.

If you are motivated, you can also unravel a sweater for its yarn, aka frogging the yarn, to make doll-sized sweaters, socks, blankets, shawls or other knitted/crocheted items. It may be easier to crochet or knit for small sizes rather than sew sometimes, or so I have heard (I only have 57-59 cm dolls XD)

That said, do not overly stress over staining. If you do not leave any clothing on for too long, you will be able to catch any possible stain before it sets in too deeply.

 

Absolutely - and I'd keep ome of the ones with atterns you wouldn't use for dolls too - to make mock-ups of the gaments to test for fit and try altertions on before you cut the "good" fabric an make the real thing. Also plain white shirts are great for both undies/petticoats and as lining fabric, if you're making something more structured.

Hmm - it does sound like it might be thicker/heavier than will drape well in doll scale, unless used for somethign heavier like a winter coat, but it's worth washing to see if it softenes and becomes more drapey.

If it's any help to stop you worrying so much... one of my dolls accidentally went home form a conventon with a friend's toddler and suffered nothing more bothersome thn a mussed wig (which was fine after I'd combed it through):

That's a pain. I suppose it comes down to a choice between keeping your dolls at home, or going out with your dolls anyway, and letting them be judgemental, or going further afield to find places to take your dolls.

Some people have found that judgemental looks sometimes change to curiosity if they're seen to be photographing the dolls (like a switch flips in their perception from "dults playing with dolls" to "working on an art-project"...) but it's not always the case.

I've been to doll meets (pre-Covid, obviously) in public places where mothers hve hurried their children away from the "weirdos with dolls" and at the same event, fathers have brought their children over to ask questions about the dolls.

Thanks some of them are hard to buy clothes for because they're an unusial size or shape - a couple of the girls are 1/3 height, but 1/4 slim so they can wear long dresses meant for 1/4 dolls , they just come up shorter on them, for example (but sleeves are a problem, unless it's a short-sleeved style or sleeveless), ando it looks like a high-wisted style on them. It does mean, however, that I can make clothes for them using patterns intended for 1/4 dolls, and just lenthen everything when I'm at the cutting-out nd making adaptations stage of the process.

YID is the iplehouse size thwt most closely matches the "standard" SD/1/3 sizes. My husband has a YID boy who can share a lot of clothes with my Volks SD boys (but doesn't because of wildly different styling)

I've never seen one in person, but you could start with clothing for Fairyland PukiPuki (which would mean that Barbie's smallest sister clothes might work too - my PukiPuki gang have some of that among gheir clothes):

The boy in the yellow sandals is an a Barbie's sister (Kelley?, Shelly?) outfit.

Teddy

 

RS Mei is considered a slim mini. Regular MSD clothes will look oversized on her. I do have mine currently in a pair of regular MSD jeans, but she needs a belt and to have the legs cuffed so they stay on. I'm okay with it as I too need to cuff my pants and wear a belt to make my jeans fit.

Check out the patterns section on DoA. There are a lot of free patterns for basics in various sizes.

Lomi's Playground also offers free sewing patterns in several sizes and a lot of sewing tutorials on their youtube. (Sewing Patterns for Ball-Jointed Dolls – The World of Ithilear – Home of author Beth Alvarez)

 

Slim MSDs also fit non-topic Ellowyne Wilde clothing. There are a few free patterns on the web out there for that size.

minifee pattern 1 by finananntariel on DeviantArt

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