Voile
Broadcloth is only one of many cottons suitable for doll dresses. The next few posts will be about cotton in other weaves. The types are too numerous for one post, and anyone hoping to make heirloom doll dresses should have a good working knowledge of them. You can’t bake a cake without the right ingredients, and you can’t make beautiful doll dresses if you have no idea what materials you need.
Voile is a very lightweight fabric that is usually 100% cotton but now sometimes a blend with polyester. If you try to make dresses with the blend, you will have trouble with shape and drape. For dolls, 100% cotton is a must for voile. It is loosely woven and in fact sometimes so loosely woven it will fray with small seams like those used on doll dresses, so cutting it with pinking shears and allowing 3/8″ seams instead of 1/4″ seams is a important for easier handling.
Voile is usually so soft that to make pretty doll dresses you should add sizing– spray starch to give fabric better drape is helpful and also makes the small pieces easier to handle. I use Mary Ellen Products Best Press and spray the fabric before cutting. If I need a little more crispness I will spray it twice. This gives a great finish almost like commercial sizing.
Click here to see a dress done in a voile print, and here is another, click here
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