5 Ways to Stop Your Doll Clothes From Fraying
When you're sewing doll clothes, one thing that's never talked about enough is what to do with the raw edges. More specifically, how to stop the fabric from fraying. Working on such tiny clothes can be frustrating because a small rip in a fabric can ruin your work, let alone a fabric that frays. But have no fear, because I found 5 ways to prevent your doll's clothes from fraying for good.
But first, why does fabric fray?
A fabric frays when the fibers in the fabric become loose. This happens when the fabric is cut, torn, or worn over time; the constant fabric manipulation causes the fibers to loosen and come apart. And once it starts to unravel, your clothes will fall apart, no matter how clean your stitches are, so it's always important to seal your raw edges.
1. Choosing the Fabric
When selecting fabrics for your doll's clothes, it's important to choose fabric that is tightly woven and has a smooth texture, like cotton or polyester. These fabrics are less likely to fray than the more delicate ones, like silk or chiffon.
2. Overlock Stitch
Of course there will be instances where we do want to work on fabrics that fray; it's inevitable. And for that, what we can do is finish the edges with overlock stitches. You can use a serger or do a zigzag stitch using a sewing machine. But if you don't have any of those fancy machines, you can always sew it by hand. Below is a YouTube video I made showing how to sew an overlock stitch by hand.
Stitching the edges like this not only makes the doll clothes durable and long-lasting, but it also makes them clean and professional-looking. Something to keep in mind if you ever want to sell your doll's clothes.
3. Fray Check
4. White Glue
5. Nail Polish
After Thoughts
3 Cottagecore Inspired Dress to Sew for Barbie
Unless you live under a rock (or don't have a social media account), you've probably heard about this aesthetic in passing. Like the E-boy aesthetic, Cottagecore also blew up on Tiktok among millenials and Gen Z. It's an aesthetic that celebrates rural life, finding joy in traditional skills like baking, gardening, sewing, and pottery that promote self-reliance and sustainable living.
That simple lifestyle echoed in its fashion, as cottagecore takes inspiration from western agricultural life. Peasant silhouettes we often see on a Disney princess, like flowy dresses and loose-fitting skirts, are a must for this aesthetic.
And I'm all about making barbie a princess so here's my attempt at emulating this whimsical aesthetic. Below are the 3 barbie dresses you can sew that are cottagecore inspired:
1. If you ever search Google for a "cottagecore dress," best believe this milkmaid dress is the first to show up, so it's only natural that I make a Barbie version of this dress. This dress has all the elements a cottagecore dress should have: billowing balloon sleeves, a milkmaid neckline, and feminine silhouettes.
A good thing about this dress pattern is that it's customizable; you can modify the skirt to how you want it. You can shorten it to a midi skirt or make it a balloon-style gathered skirt, whatever style you want. I made a video tutorial on YouTube on how you can do it; the link is down below.
Video Tutorial: Barbie Tries Cottagecore Aesthetic
Patterns: Barbie Cottagecore Dress -Top
Barbie Cottagecore Dress - Skirt
Don't know how to print doll patterns? Check out this beginner's guide here!
2. A cottagecore dress doesn't always mean a long dress; it can also be a short one. This puff-sleeve dress is a perfect example of that. It has the elements of the cottagecore aesthetic—a flowy skirt and puff sleeves—but it has a twist at the back. If you want a cuter and more playful version of this aesthetic, this dress is for you.
3. For the last dress, we have a wrap-around dress. This dress is actually a stand-alone top that can also be modified into a dress. It's also a flowy dress, but the difference is that it doesn't have puff sleeves like the first two dresses above. And out of the three, this is also the easiest to sew, so if you're a beginner, I suggest choosing this first.
And that is the end of this post. I hope you like all the cottagecore inspired dresses that are shown here. Cottagecore is probably my favorite aesthetic I made for barbie (I have done three aesthetics, btw). The patterns are a struggle to make, but seeing the finished dress on my dolls really made everything worth it.
If you have any questions, suggestions, or maybe an aesthetic you want me to make, leave a comment down below. And don't forget to follow me on all my social media, especially on my YouTube channel, for more DIY doll content.
Happy sewing~
2 Barbie Outfits That Screams Y2K Style
What is Y2K?
Video Tutorial: Transforming Barbie Into a Y2K Baddie
Pattern: Barbie Y2K Dress Pattern
How to Print Doll Patterns (The Right Way)
Cute Couple Shirt to Make for Barbie and Ken
1. Oversized Shirt
Video Tutorial: DIY Couple Shirt for Barbie and Ken
Pattern: Barbie Sweatshirt Pattern
Pattern: Ken Sweatshirt Pattern
2 E-Boy Style You Can Make for Your Ken Doll
After making Barbie a Cottagecore inspired dress, I figured I should make a whole series trying out different fashion aesthetic for my dolls. And what better way than to start with the something big. Let's sew the most popular aesthetic to come from TikTok, the E-boy aesthetic
What is an E-boy?
1. The Iconic Look
When I think of E-boy, this is definitely what comes to my mind. An oversized black tee with a black and white stripe long sleeves layered inside. Tuck in the shirt, add tons of chain accessories and we have the e-boy look. I don't know about you but I think I nailed the look well. To recreate this outfit make sure to check out the video tutorial I made on YouTube where I show you the steps on how I made this.
Video Tutorial: How to Dress Ken Into an E-boy
Patterns: Ken High Waisted Pants
Ken E-boy Shirt
2. Preppy E-boy
This is another e-boy outfit you can make, its more on the preppy side compare to the edgy outfit from before. And if you notice there are a lot of layering clothes happening in this style which is quite a challenge while working on the doll patterns. Fortunately it works out well and the outfits look great.
Pattern: Ken E-boy Sweatshirt
2 Styles of Puff Sleeve Dress to Make for Barbie
If you guys watch my YouTube channel, you know I made my Licca-chan doll a puff sleeve dress. Well I figured its about time I made a Barbie version of that dress.
But compare to the adorable princess-like dress I created before, I alter it a bit to be more mature and sexy feminine. And I come up with two dresses you can choose from, both giving different vibes from one other
1. The Basic Dress
Like the name suggest, this is just a simple basic puff sleeve dress you always see on Pinterest. Only at the front though, because the back of the dress is really where the magic happens. I added strings on the back to tie in a ribbon to make the dress fit more and honestly for the aesthetics. This is the biggest difference between the dress I made for Licca-chan where I utilize the back dress instead more.
Pattern: Barbie Puff Sleeve Dress 1
Video Tutorial: How to Make Puff Sleeve Dress (Barbie Version)
Step by Step Guide to Print My Doll Patterns
2. Peek-a-Boo Dress
Pattern: Barbie Puff Sleeve Dress 2
Video Tutorial: DIY Barbie Puff Sleeve Dress 2
And that's the end of it, tell me in the comments which one is your favorite. And subscribe to my YouTube channel for more doll videos
Happy sewing!
Beginners Guide: The Best Way to Print Miniatures
3 Cottagecore Inspired Dress to Try for Licca-chan
1. Summer Dress
![]() |
Try pulling down the sleeves for a different look |
2. Puffy Sleeves
3. Balloon Dress
Pattern: Puff Sleeve Dress for Licca-chan
Youtube Tutorial: DIY Puff Sleeve Dress for Licca-chan
5 Pretty Dresses to Sew For Your Mini Dolls
(Don't know how to print my patterns? Check out this post!)
1. Make it Simple
2. Add Prints
3. More Ruffles
4. Change up the Skirt
5. Different Necklines
DIY Wrap Up Top For Barbie and Life Update
Hello everyone! And sorry for being mia for a month, dealing with the aftermath of the typhoon Ulysses while also social distancing because of pandemic is a lot. I honestly can't wait for the year 2020 to be over.
Anyways enough about me, If you watch any of my videos on my youtube channel you are probably here for the free Barbie pattern. Well the link for that is down below and as promise, you can download it for free. Just a disclosure that this is for personal use only, so don't go reselling my patterns and claiming it as your own, visit my disclaimer page to know more. I also added the link of the video tutorial for those who haven't watch it yet
Video Tutorial: DIY Barbie Wrap Around Top
Pattern: Barbie Wrap Around Top & Dress
Don't know how to print doll patterns? Check this tutorial out
You can alter the pattern to how you want it to be. Like what I did above where I attach a skirt to make it a full long dress. You can go watch the tutorial on my Youtube channel to see how I did it.