How to make American Girl doll clothes – a complete guide to free American Girl patterns to make your own clothes for 18″ dolls.
Is your daughter madly in love with American Girl dolls or another 18″ doll? Mine sure is, which sent me searching across the internet for the absolute best free patterns to make myself and share with you.
Note: This post has been updated from the original post (80+ Free American Girl Doll Patterns) as several of the patterns were no longer available. All of the links listed below are active and free at the time of publishing.
One thing I discovered is that there are many ways to make American Girl clothing yourself. There are patterns for sewing, knitting, crocheting, and even no sew. There are patterns for American Girl sandals and shirts and hair accessories, and so much more. No matter what your crafting level or ability, I’m sure there is a pattern out there to meet your needs. Let’s start with the most common type of pattern: sewing.
There are a lot of free American Girl patterns out there if you know how to sew. If you are a hesitant seamstress, you don’t need to be. A lot of these patterns are very simple and can be completed by beginners. The most difficult part is the smaller scale, so maybe start with a bigger piece with simple seams, like this simple circle skirt.
How to Make American Girl Doll Clothes – Supplies
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Before you start sewing your own doll clothes, you will need some basic supplies.
Fabric: fat quarters are quite common in doll patterns, so if you see them on sale, stock up. Cricut often has sales on their designer fabric (it’s actually made by Riley Blake) and it ends up being so inexpensive.
They recently released pre-cut bundles, so in addition to fat quarters, you can also find 5″ and 10″ square packs. Some of my favorites include Ballerina Bows and Bake Sale. Another great place to find fabric is Etsy.
Hook and eye tape (aka velcro): this is often used to close the back of American girl doll shirts or dresses, and makes it easy to get the dress on and off. You will definitely want some of this on hand if you plan to sew your own clothes. You can find it on Amazon, or at any craft store (even some dollar stores).
Ballpoint needle: if you are using a sewing machine, you will want a ballpoint needle when sewing jersey. It will make your job much easier, and they aren’t very expensive at all (the pack above is under $5).
Sewing tools: If you haven’t done a ton of sewing, you may need to pick up some of the basic sewing tools. I have linked to the ones I use below (you can grab them all in Cricut bundles for a really great deal – you can view more info about Cricut’s new sewing tools here.)
- a rotary cutter
- fabric scissors
- self healing mat
- acrylic ruler (makes cutting with the rotary cutter really easy)
- sewing pins, measuring tape, thread snips, etc. (available in one kit here.)
How to Make American Girl Doll Clothes – Free Patterns
Looking for some great options for free American Girl doll patterns that you can sew? Check these out:
American Girl Doll Shirt and Top Patterns
Lace Insert Tee (shown above) Trendy T-Shirt
Strappy Top
Striped Tee *
Lace Trim Tee
Peek a Boo Tee
4th of July Tee
Twirly Top
Ruffle Front Tee
American Girl Doll Dress Patterns
Flutter sleeve Dress (shown above)
Ball Gown
Pillowcase Dress
Ruffled Dress (from a T Shirt!) *
Drawstring Dress
Maxi Dress
3/4 Sleeve Dress
Halloween Dress *
Asymmetrical Shoulder Dress
Ruffle Sundress *
Pleated Dress
Bubble Dress
Belted Sundress
American Girl Doll Skirt Patterns
Short Twirly Skirt
Peplum Skirt
Fabric and Tulle Skirt (shown above)
Ruffled Skirt & Halter Top *
Handkerchief Skirt
Long Twirly Skirt
American Girl Doll Pants Patterns (+ Shorts)
Leggings
Shorts
Ruffle Pants (shown above)
Doll Jeans from Girls Jeans
Pajama Pants
American Girl Accessory Patterns
Infinity Scarf
Underwear
Slouch Boot (shown above)
Trendy Backpack
Apron & Chef Hat
Fabric Headband
Espadrilles
Backpack (from a Cosmetic Bag!)
Shoulder Bag
Ballet Slippers
Ruffled Purse
Fleece Hats
Other Free American Doll Patterns
Ice Skating Dress
Matching Doll Nightie
Hospital Gown
Tae Kwon Do Outfit
PJ’s (shown above)
Pillowcase Nightgown
Leotard or Swimsuit
*Patterns with an asterisk beside them are upcycled from items such as old shirts or sweaters.
I hope that answers your question on “How to make American Girl doll clothes” and I hope your little one is super happy with your creations. If you would like to share, feel free to tag me on instagram – you can find me @simplycraftedlife. I would love to see what you create!
Anna says
Sarah, Wow what an awesome collection of free patterns! Such a variety to choose from. I just added it to my Pinterest board. 🙂
Sarah says
Thanks so much!
Audrey Morneau says
I can’t seem to find the patterns for the 18 in. dolls, just the pictures, what am I doing wrong?
Sarah says
Just click the link for the pattern you are looking for and you’ll be taken to the site for the pattern. Hope that helps!
Mary says
I can’t seem to get the pattern either. What do you mean by clicking the link? Thanks for your help.
Sarah says
Hi – Hopefully you have figured it out by now, somehow this comment didn’t show up in my notifications! Click on the name or title of the pattern you want to create and you should be taken to the page where you can find it. Hope that helps!
evy says
EN FRANçAIS poupée de taille 45cm
Pat says
I’m new to Pinterest today. I also can’t seem to get to the patterns. I click on the item listed, it underlines, and nothing happens (no pattern, nothing). I’m looking forward to seeing what is possible for the dolls.
Diane says
I too cannot seem to find the patterns. How do I get to them?
Sarah says
What pattern are you trying to access? If you click the link, it should take you right to pattern, unless the original post was removed. If you let me know, I can double check it for you 🙂 Thanks!
Diane says
Sarah,
It appears this is a common problem (by the comments). I have tried clicking on the link, clicking on the pictures, clicking anywhere……..I can only get to the pictures.
Tks for any help you can offer.
Sarah says
The pictures won’t take you anywhere, but if you click on the links you should be directed to another website that holds the tutorial. I have been clicking through them all and they all seem to work on this end – can you give me an example of one that isn’t working for you and maybe I can figure out what’s going wrong? Thanks so much for the heads up, hopefully we can figure this out! Thanks 🙂
Diane says
Ah ha………….finally I figured it out. It looks like I am not the first one to have this problem. When you said the pictures do not take you anywhere it call came together for me. One must click on the description of what you are looking to make. Hope that clarity will help others.Thank you again Sarah for hanging in there with me until the light bulb finally went on in my head!
Sarah says
You are so welcome! Im glad we figured that out!
Donna says
Hi Sarah, I thought these were links to FREE patterns. Am I wrong?
If so, I seem to be having problems getting the FREE pattern for the Skyline Baseball Tee. When I click on the link above, it takes me to Liberty Jane Website.
So I click on FREE CRAFTS on LJ site, and it takes me to a LJ page that wants to sell me the pattern from $3.99. I only want to make ONE shirt from this pattern (my grandaughter wants a jersey to support her fav team) so hate to pay the $3.99 for a pattern I will only use ONCE. Any advice?
Sarah says
Hi there – the pattern was free when I posted, it mustve been a limited time offer. At least the tutorial is still free. Try googling a pattern for the jersey/tee – you might get lucky and find one for free.
Denise says
Liberty Jane/Pixie Faire has a Freebie Friday download that is only available on Friday’s. Most of the free patterns are from those Freebie Friday giveaways. Check their website every Wednesday and you can vote for 1 of 4 free patterns……. Every week….. Then on Friday you can download the chosen pattern. It’s fantastic.
Jennifer says
Thank you Sarah for all of the freebies and tutorials. Love them. Have two granddaughters to make for so will be kept busy with the shoes, blankets etc and of course the clothes. Thank you again.
Bonnie Spielman says
When I try to go to the big girl pillowcase night gown to get the rest of the instructions for the doll night gown it just takes me to an advertizement. how do you finish the doll night gown.
Sarah says
Hi there – I’m sorry, the owner of the website must’ve changed it!
Victoria obSEUSSed says
Thank you for sharing my poodle skirt pattern pic and link. I still get readers stopping by often from this post. I just pinned it to share with others. It is a great round-up. I actually just sewed two pioneer style doll dress outfits for Christmas gifts and love seeing other doll outfit ideas.
Sarah says
Thanks! So happy to share! I love the adorable doll outfits too (and so does my daughter!)
Jackie says
Thank you for the clothing patterns and tutorials for the American Girl dolls. They are now coming out with the American Girl doll boys! Is there any chance of you putting up some boy outfits? I know some of the girl patterns can be made for a boy doll but there are boy things that look too girlie when made into boy things from a girl outfit. I have a young grandson that wants the boy version of American Girl dolls. Thanks! JRoknhrse
Anne says
I just finished the 3/4 sleeve dress to match a dress I also just finished for my 4 year old granddaughter (who is getting a doll for Christmas!) Thanks for the access to all the patterns. I’m sure I’ll try others soon.
Jennie says
Amazimg patterns
Janet De Greef says
Thank you
Monique says
Je suis contente d’avoir trouver votre site pour des patrons gratuits ,c’est formidable, je pourrai gâter mes petites-filles qui vienne juste d’avoir des Ag pour leur anniversaire. Merci beaucoup de partager vos créations avec nous tous. A la prochaine….
Monique,Qc
Pam says
Just finding your site, it’s wonderful and you are so gracious to share. My great granddaughter will love the new clothes for her doll.