Making American Girl Doll clothes has been very rewarding for me during this past year. It has been a good way to relax. I enjoyed the process of sorting through my fabric stash and then choosing patterns. Recycling clothes has also been fun and challenging for me. I bought a girl’s red plaid pleated skirt at a thrift store and made two dresses and three pleated skirts from it.
A turquoise dress was made from a child’s dress that I purchased at a thrift store. The pendant on the necklace was recycled from an earring and a broken chain from a necklace.
The polka dot party dress was made from a size 2 toddler dress.
When I was younger, my dolls had an extensive wardrobe of clothes that I made. They had nightgowns and party dresses as well as simple dresses, blouses, skirts, and pants. I used newspaper to draft my patterns. The clothes I made for my largest dolls did not survive the family’s moves and the leak in the storage room. I still have Ginny, the smaller doll, and her wardrobe.
I continued to sew clothes for Ginny long past the years when I actively played with dolls. Ginny went babysitting with me. Jackie Marshall, who was about six years old, loved to play with this doll and she took my doll to bed with her and I retrieved it before I went home.
I was in ninth grade when I created the last dress for my Ginny doll. The lavender fabric was scraps from the dress I made for my graduation from Ashley Valley Junior High School. I loved that dress. It had a drop waist and a very full skirt that flared out from my hips. I eventually outgrew the dress, but the memory of it remains.
When I began sewing American Girl Doll clothes, I purchased patterns online and adapted them to create new outfits. I then tailored the pattern to fit my dolls. These patterns—plus my years of experience sewing—mean that I have clothes that look better than the ones I made years ago with my newspaper patterns.
There are patterns in my life also. My morning routine of prayers, reading my scriptures, exercising, checking on my garden, and time for writing gives each day a pattern. This keeps my day organized and helps me to accomplish more. The scriptures that are an important part of my daily routine give me a pattern for living. The gospel of Jesus Christ is my pattern. I am grateful to have that pattern in my daily life.