Tutorial: How to Make a Doll Softie

Earlier today Rebecca introduced Whatever the Weather, my new fabric range for Robert Kaufman. In this tutorial, I’ll show you how to make a doll softie using the doll fabric panel from the fabric range.

The doll softies are super straight-forward to make and it’s a great sewing project for kids to try, and perfect for beginners.

If you’re a sewing novice, just follow these simple steps to make an adorable doll softie.

The thing to remember is that they are designed to have a white border. There is no seam allowance included in the printed dolls, so when you cut them out you need to leave just over an inch of white around the outside of them.

1. Cut out a piece of card that’s one inch square.

2. Using the card as a guide, draw small marks on the fabric at about one inch intervals, making sure you follow the curves of the doll’s outline. Then draw a line between each of the marks to create a line to cut along. To ensure that your doll is symmetrical, you only need to draw the outline around one side.

3. Cut outside the line, then roughly cut around the other side of the doll – making sure you leave at least one and a half inches of white fabric border.

4. Fold the doll panel in half. Use the lips and feet as guidelines, and hold the fabric up to a window so you can see through it to fold the doll exactly down the middle.

5. Take a piece of fabric for the doll back and fold it in half. Place the doll panel on top of the backing fabric, with the folds aligned. Pin together, as shown below.

6. Cut around the line and you’ll have a symmetrical doll and matching backing fabric piece.

7. Place the front and back of the doll right sides together and sew around the outside using a quarter inch seam allowance. Leave an opening under the doll’s feet for turning and stuffing.

8. Clip ‘V’ shapes around the curves, being careful not to cut the stitching.