How to Choose Small Scale Print Fabric For Doll Clothing with Gathers or Pleats
When choosing fabric for doll clothes or miniature furniture and drapes, you need to consider the effect any gathering techniques will have on how the fabric pattern 'reads' in the design. Take a look at this small scale floral print quilting cotton, and see how different sewing techniques affect the way the fabric looks in the finished design.
The simple floral quilting cotton shown here is suitable for modern doll clothing or upholstery as it has a repeating print design with elements which are no larger than a quarter coin in size. If the pattern is used flat (as shown here against a doll) the flowers appear to be suitable for modern clothing with simple lines. This quilting cotton is fairly stiff, so it works well for items where a flat pattern will show up well.
See the photos below to examine how the pattern is affected by sewing techniques used to add more fullness to the design.
Click on the photos for a larger view if you wish.
Flat styles of doll clothing that suit this type of pattern (and weight of fabric) include:
Here you can see the effect of simple gathers (done with a running stitch) and how they change your view of the floral pattern. The quilting cotton fabric is stiff enough that the floral design still reads almost the same way it does when you see the pattern laid flat. As long as the gathered fabric does not add too much bulk on the seams for your chosen doll clothing, upholstery or drapery, the fabric print will still be visible and easy to view and understand.
This type of print and fabric can be used with gathers to Make a Simple Doll Dress or Skirt from Quilting Cotton
This time the fabric has been gathered by using knife pleats, pleats which all lie in the same direction across the fabric. Ignore the view of the flowers on the unfinished edge on the left of the photo and look at the pleats beside that edge. Although you can still tell that this is a floral pattern, the knife pleats break up the design, making it very hard to distinguish the flowers.
As this is clothing for a doll which does not move, you are unlikely to see the full view of the pattern as the pleats swirl with movement. For miniature drapery and doll clothing, knife pleats do not work well with this fabric.
The effect of knife pleats can be exaggerated when you use stripes (which are pleated to the width of the stripe). This can give some doll clothing and drapery a monotone effect, except where the full pleat is displayed. If the floral print in this example were much tinier, (tiny rosebuds scattered across the cloth for example) the print might work well with the pleats.
Here reversing pleats or box pleats have been made using the same fabric as the other examples. Box pleats have pleats which run in pairs in opposite directions. Notice how the box pleats still allow you to view the pattern as a floral. Box pleats usually show double the width of pattern you would see with a knife pleat, and for this pattern, the box pleat still shows off the floral design.
Although box pleats are a more formal method of gathering fabric than a simple running stitch, they can be positioned singly, or evenly around a waistline or piece of upholstered furniture, to add extra fabric or 'room' without disturbing the fabric pattern as much as occurs with a knife pleat.Another advantage of a box pleat on a pattern of this size is that you can use a single reverse box pleat to add a detail to the front of an a line dress or skirt or at the corner of a bed skirt or tablecloth, gathering fabric to fit the doll or the furniture, but allowing the dress or skirt to swing wide and show off the print.
1. Simple Floral Quilting Cotton
The simple floral quilting cotton shown here is suitable for modern doll clothing or upholstery as it has a repeating print design with elements which are no larger than a quarter coin in size. If the pattern is used flat (as shown here against a doll) the flowers appear to be suitable for modern clothing with simple lines. This quilting cotton is fairly stiff, so it works well for items where a flat pattern will show up well.
See the photos below to examine how the pattern is affected by sewing techniques used to add more fullness to the design.
Click on the photos for a larger view if you wish.
Flat styles of doll clothing that suit this type of pattern (and weight of fabric) include:
- Make a Simple Front Opening Shirt for Any Size or Scale of Doll
- Make a Pair of Removeable Doll Jeans or Pants - This print would work well with this technique to make a pair of colorful shorts for a doll.
- Make a Lab Coat for Any Size or Shape of Doll - Shorten this pattern to use for a printed jacket for a doll, or make a tiny raincoat.
2. Floral Fabric With Simple Gathers - Stiff Enough To View the Pattern
Here you can see the effect of simple gathers (done with a running stitch) and how they change your view of the floral pattern. The quilting cotton fabric is stiff enough that the floral design still reads almost the same way it does when you see the pattern laid flat. As long as the gathered fabric does not add too much bulk on the seams for your chosen doll clothing, upholstery or drapery, the fabric print will still be visible and easy to view and understand.
This type of print and fabric can be used with gathers to Make a Simple Doll Dress or Skirt from Quilting Cotton
3. Effect of Knife Pleats on a Small Scale Floral Pattern
This time the fabric has been gathered by using knife pleats, pleats which all lie in the same direction across the fabric. Ignore the view of the flowers on the unfinished edge on the left of the photo and look at the pleats beside that edge. Although you can still tell that this is a floral pattern, the knife pleats break up the design, making it very hard to distinguish the flowers.
As this is clothing for a doll which does not move, you are unlikely to see the full view of the pattern as the pleats swirl with movement. For miniature drapery and doll clothing, knife pleats do not work well with this fabric.
The effect of knife pleats can be exaggerated when you use stripes (which are pleated to the width of the stripe). This can give some doll clothing and drapery a monotone effect, except where the full pleat is displayed. If the floral print in this example were much tinier, (tiny rosebuds scattered across the cloth for example) the print might work well with the pleats.
4. Effect of Miniature Box Pleats on a Small Scale Floral Pattern
Here reversing pleats or box pleats have been made using the same fabric as the other examples. Box pleats have pleats which run in pairs in opposite directions. Notice how the box pleats still allow you to view the pattern as a floral. Box pleats usually show double the width of pattern you would see with a knife pleat, and for this pattern, the box pleat still shows off the floral design.
Although box pleats are a more formal method of gathering fabric than a simple running stitch, they can be positioned singly, or evenly around a waistline or piece of upholstered furniture, to add extra fabric or 'room' without disturbing the fabric pattern as much as occurs with a knife pleat.Another advantage of a box pleat on a pattern of this size is that you can use a single reverse box pleat to add a detail to the front of an a line dress or skirt or at the corner of a bed skirt or tablecloth, gathering fabric to fit the doll or the furniture, but allowing the dress or skirt to swing wide and show off the print.
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