A tiny summer top! Who would have guessed she’d reveal even a hint of midriff. But there it is. Scandalous. You just never know about someone…
A new sewing pattern! And a free tutorial too!
Use your scraps to make adorable dresses and tops for your tiny ladies. She can wear the dress frontwards or backwards for a variety of looks (it would also make a sweet nightgown made from eyelet or a vintage handkerchief).
The dress, top and hat are quick and easy to make. I spent a ton of time working out a tiny dress pattern that does not require lots of hems and has no fasteners. You could use the simple technique to create all sorts of little garments. They are just the right size for the tiny rag doll and the pattern scales well for other rag dolls.
The tiny rag doll needed a summer wardrobe. She is headed for the French countryside soon so a big sun hat was a must. The hat is included in the pdf and I’ve shared it below too.
make a mini straw hat:
A couple material notes – I used cheese cloth – it’s cheap and easy to find. You can also experiment with any very light weight, gauzy, open weave cotton or linen fabric for different effects.
The nail polish bottle is used for forming the hat crown – any similar glass or plastic container can be used. The bottle I’m using made a hat that’s just the right size for the tiny rag doll – it is 5/8th inches across.
I’m using elmer’s glue
Paint – I used acrylic craft paint – mixing shades of brown, ochre and white for a straw shade.
I finished the hat with a mini silk ribbon. I love these ribbons and you can find them here. They are great for lots of tiny details and embroidery too (fyi – the miss thistle society gets a small commission if you purchase through the link).
1. Cut a piece of cheesecloth about 5 inches by 5 inches. Cheese cloth has 4 layers and we will use them all.
2. Mix a straw shade of paint and add white glue (about 4 parts glue to 1 part paint). Paint the top 1/4 inch of the cap. Optional – I’m mixing glue into the paint but if you prefer you can just use glue and paint later or leave unpainted.
3. Center the cheesecloth over the cap and pull it tightly over it.
4. Hold the cheesecloth tight with an elastic. Paint a thin layer of glue or the glue paint mixture on the cheesecloth. Let this dry completely.
5. Remove the rubber band and remove the cheesecloth from the bottle and spread it flat on wax paper.
6. Paint the cheese cloth with a thin coat glue or the glue mixture a little wider than you would like the brim. Brush firmly out from the center. Let this dry completely.
7. When it’s dry lift it off the wax paper.
8. Trim the brim to whatever size you like.
To finish you can add ribbon or a mini flower or stitch a detail on the brim or crown with embroidery thread. I used 4mm silk ribbon (affiliate link – meaning the miss thistle gets a tiny commission if you purchase through this link).
