Making patterns for doll clothes
Project Larp Doll Clothes
Materials used: Cling film, masking tape, pipe cleaners, duct tape, paper, card, white glue, scissors.
With the bodies done I needed to come up with an easy way of making their clothes. I opted for using fabric rather than crochet as I thought this would be cheaper and easier to get more precise patterns with.
I took inspiration for this idea from duct tape dress forms, if it works for human sized things, surely it'll work on a smaller scale too.
I started with a plain doll and wrapped it in cling film to protect the yarn. I then put masking tape over the top to secure it as the cling film wasnt behaving. The masking tape I used will only stick to very few things, meaning it was happily sticking to the cling film but not the yarn so I had an extra layer of protection.
I then taped pipe cleaners to the masking tape so I had a guide for my scissors. I placed them in places where I wanted seams. One over each arm, one at the back of each leg, one along the centre of the body, making sure to keep tight by the neck and legs so as not to distort the pattern.
Then onto the duct tape, using small pieces I covered the entire doll, taking care around the joints and curves to get an accurate mould. I ran out of the blue tape near the end, and used the green to touch up the last few places, and reinforce the bottom of the feet which I knew was a trouble area for me.
With the doll covered I took a sharpie and drew over the pipe cleaners and then added seam lines, for example adding the edge of the hood on the head.
Then came the long task of carefully cutting the tape off. The masking tape was a good choice, the duct tape wasn't even sticking to it in many places so it was really easy to peel it back as I was cutting, and then go back and cut the masking tape itself without fear of not being able to see it.
With the tape form free, I cut it into the pieces I would need. The tape was jagged from where it had been cut the first time but once I'd traced them onto paper I took the time to smooth them out. I tested each paper piece on the doll before moving onto the card. I glued each piece toa thin piece of card and let it dry. I then cut them out and glued those to another piece of card to make the pieces more sturdy.
Finished pieces (the arms on the torso piece aren't as smooth as I’d like, but until I find my craft knife they will have to stay that way) They are now ready to use again and again. Just trace around the pieces on your fabric of choice remembering to add seam allowances if necessary.
Sorry for the long post :)