Bulky Under Arm Seams

Recently one of my website fans wrote me the following :

“When working with small doll clothes, it is difficult to get the sleeve under the arm pit to lay right. It often bunches up under the arm. It would be great to see tips on your site about that.”

I think this is a fairly common problem, so I did a picture article. 

I made a prototype of a bodice with a set in sleeve so I could show you how to reduce the bulk and make it hang nicely. When people who have learned to sew on person clothes start to make doll clothes, there are many things they don’t think about or address (which is why I started doing doll clothes sewing seminars—it is totally different than people clothes) and one of those things is, dolls don’t move. When sewing clothes for people we are taught to make nice wide seams so they won’t pull out when people move around, and because even children’s clothes are much , much larger than doll clothes, that  5/8” seam just doesn’t add enough bulk to worry about. When the whole bodice is only four inches across the chest, a 5/8” seam adds a lot—too much—bulk. It also stiffens the garment so it wants to not fit gracefully. So here are the pictures I did for you and the explanation : ( Click on pictures for larger view)

Here is a bodice with the sleeve set in, showing the sleeve seam. As shown, once the sleeve is sewn to bodice, trim the seam to a scant ¼”.

Then, as shown in view 2, clip all the curves.

When this is done, sew up the under arm seam as in view 3.

Carefully clip all the curves as shown in view 4.

When that is done, trim the seam to a scant ¼”  as in view 5.

This will reduce the extra bulk and make your underarm seam give nicely.

I hope this is helpful to everyone!  JoAnn

I see many clothes for sale on eBay and on websites that don’t look quite right. Long ballgowns that proudly say, “Fully lined!” Then you look at the full skirt, and instead of falling and flowing gracefully, it puckers up around the bottom and looks stiff. It is because in a doll dress, even for a large doll, there is not enough weight in the fabric to make it fall gracefully once you bulk it up with a lining. In a person dress this would not be a problem, because there would be a couple of yards of fabric to hang down. On a doll dress, there is only 10″ or so!

Pride in “Fully lining” clothes is a leftover from many years ago, when fabrics were NOT colorfast, and on a person, body perspiration could ruin clothing, so high quality garments for PEOPLE were often “fully lined”, an important thing.

The other reason for “fully lining” is to allow a nice finish on a fine fabric, at the neck and perhaps the sleeves, and for the garment closure. If I make a silk dress with a scooped neck for a Cissy doll, the only really classy way to finish it is to line the BODICE. If the sleeves are sheer, I may also line them, for a fine finish at the bottom. Instead of lining the skirt, though, I will instead put on an attached under skirt that acts as a lining, but does not only not bind up the bottom edge, it also lends a graceful flow to the skirt if it is full. On a fitted sheath or sheath skirt, I would line the skirt–but not sew the lining to the bottom of the skirt.

When I do line doll clothes, I use the lightest weight lining material that is appropriate–often swiss organdy or silk, sometimes very lightweight taffeta. Anything but the very lightest weight fabric will simply add bulk and make the doll dress look “bunchy”–on a person it would look like you were wearing a blouse under a blouse.

If you have every looked at antique French Fashion dolls, and many reproductions of them, you will see that when nude they have slender lady figures. Then when they are fully dressed, they look like they are fat or pregnant. This is because the tradition is to dress them in clothes made exactly like people clothes, including fabrics,linings, and underclothes.  The fashion does not look beautiful and graceful as it would on a human. It looks bulky and awkward. Why would you want three layers of underclothes on a doll? It certainly adds no charm. The outer garment can be made to look on the doll just as it looks in pictures of the beautiful fashion women of the era of the clothes— simply eliminate the bulk of layers of underwear, and heavy fabrics and lining. Substitute the same fabrics ( such as wool ,cotton, silk) in appropriate DOLL WEIGHTS. Underclothes? Are people going to life up the doll’s dress to be sure she is modest? Or will they enjoy the illusion of the beautiful fashions of the era.

Before you decide to line a doll dress, especially the skirt part–ask yourself, is this the best way to finish this? Am I choosing the lightest weight, least bulky materials? Will the dress fit smooth and flowing, if I line it?

I hope you will find this tip helpful. I have been making doll clothes for more than 70 years, so this is the voice of experience speaking.