Drafting Your Own Rag Doll Pattern

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To be honest, I’m not a huge fan of following other people’s patterns. Maybe it’s because I’m self-taught and prefer to sew by hand, so a lot of the terminology and focus on precise measurements just ends up wearing me out instead of helping me out. 

If you’re a classically trained seamstress, I’m sure this article will drive you nuts, so it won’t hurt my feelings if you choose to skip it. But if you’re not too familiar with sewing lingo (like me), and your sewing machine scares you to death (also me), maybe this simple and flexible approach to pattern drafting will speak to you. 

So here’s the general process.  All you really need is paper, pencil, scissors, and your wild imagination.

1.  TORSO

• Take a piece of paper, fold it in half, and from the fold line, sketch out half of the doll’s head and torso with a pencil.

• At this point you’ll need to decide if you want the doll’s arms attached to the torso from the start, or if you’ll be sewing them separately and attaching them later, like a Jess Brown-style doll.

• I usually stuff the dolls at the point where the torso meets the legs, so leave an extra allowance of fabric at the bottom (about ½ inch), which you will later fold under and sew closed after stuffing. You can include that in the pattern like I did, or leave it off if you think you’ll remember to account for it when you’re tracing and cutting out your pattern later.

• Keep the paper folded and carefully cut along your outline. Unfold, and you should have a symmetrical doll head/torso.

2.  LEGS

• Use the bottom of the torso to determine how wide to make the top of the leg. Each leg at the top of the thigh should measure about ½ the width of the bottom of the torso. From there, just sketch away! I usually make the legs about ¾ the length of the head/torso, but adjust the length as you see fit.

• Since you’ll be sticking the legs inside the bottom of the torso before sewing it all together, leave another sewing allowance at the top of the leg (at least ½ inch).

• If you’re not going to be adding a foot shape at the bottom, you can trace on the fold again to ensure you end up with a symmetrical leg. Since I wanted a slight foot shape, I didn’t trace on the fold and just sketched it out.

• If you want your doll to be “jointed”, add dotted lines to mark where you’ll be sewing across to make the knee joint. (You can add these to both arms and legs if you want a really flexible doll.)

• Cut out the leg. (You really only need one.)

3.  ARMS

• If you designed your doll with separate arms that you’ll sew on later, follow the same method for the arms that you did for the legs. 

• I like to make sure the arms aren’t so long that they’ll touch the ground when the doll is sitting, so keep that in mind when you’re determining the length.

4.  EARS

• Ears are optional, but actually necessary if you ask me. They add a ton of personality! The pattern is basically just a half circle that you’ll sew together, with a small sewing allowance. I have to tape them to the pattern so they don’t get lost. You’ll trace and cut four of these.

5. LABEL

• Label your pieces with any details that will help you later when you’re tracing and sewing, like how many pieces to cut, which body part it is, etc. It’s also a good idea to give the pattern a name and label each piece with it.

Now you’re ready to trace and sew!

For a step-by-step tutorial on the tracing and sewing process, keep an eye out for the rest of the Design-Your-Own-Ragdoll series that’s coming soon! 

A few additional tips:

• If this is your first time drafting your own pattern, start small until you’ve got the hang of it. That way if it doesn’t turn out how you expected, you didn’t use up too much material!

• Sketch your pattern a bit wider than you want the finished doll to be, since she’ll lose some of her girth when you stuff her and she becomes 3D.

• Don’t make the head too big or the neck too skinny. Once you add hair, the head becomes pretty heavy, and nobody wants a floppy doll head!

• For simplicity’s sake, I don’t include a seam allowance when I draft patterns. I trace the shape onto the fabric with a pencil, and then cut the fabric just a little off from my tracing line. Then I sew directly on the tracing line. Don’t cut too closely to this line or your stitches won’t hold when you turn and stuff the doll.

– Kendra

Attempted doll maker, illiterate seamstress, etc.