Half Pint Hitty Cotton Dress with Gathered Bodice

by Susan Dorchester

*This dress may be either machine or hand stitched.

Cut out dress using light weight cotton.

Cut out facing from the lightest weight non-woven, non-fusible interfacing you can find. A "used" dryer sheet could be used.  Pellon #830, which is a lightweight pattern tracing material works well.

 Seal all cut edges of dress only (except neck edge) with seam sealant or a stitched edge finish.  The interfacing edges should be okay as is.  

 Pin interfacing to right side of dress at neck edge.  Machine or hand stitch neck edge using a 1/8” seam allowance.  Clip curves on neck edge and turn interfacing to wrong side of dress.  Press.  Fold back edges in 1/8”.  Hand tack at neck only.

 Gather stitch neck edge 1/8” all around.  Adjust gathers to fit doll at neck area making sure dress closes at back.  Knot thread at ends to secure in place.

 Sleeves - Fold up 1/8” seam allowance for sleeve hem and stitch in place.

 Fold dress right sides together matching sleeve and hem edges.  Stitch side seams using a 1/8” seam allowance.  Clip underarm “v”.

 Hem – Fold dress bottom up 1/8” and stitch hem in place.

 Dress back – Fold back edges in 1/8” and stitch in place.  Turn sleeves and dress right side out.

 To create a waist, measure 1 1/8” up from bottom of dress edge.  Mark with pins or a washable marker.  Use a small gathering stitch on that line.  Place dress on doll and adjust gathers to fit.  Knot threads at ends to secure in place.

 Attach tiny snaps to back edge – 1 at neck and 1 just below waist area.

Have fun and enjoy your Half Pint Hitty!            Susan Dorchester