How to Sew the Sequined Holiday Dress for American Girl Dolls

This dress was inspired by the 2014 American Girl Happy Holiday Dress which is a deep blue sparkly sequined dress and it comes with the blue shoes & headband. It is worth $36 but you can actually achieve the same look for less than $10. It is so easy to sew and the fun part is, you can choose your favorite color and you can make it as festive as you want with all the pretty special occasion fabric that you can get at Joanns.

I know it’s December already but I believe you still have enough time to make this before Christmas as a holiday present for your daughter or granddaughter. I would love it so much if you can email me pictures of your finished product.

So here it goes, happy sewing!

The materials needed are sequined fabric (or any fancy or special occasion fabric), plain color fabric for lining, tulle and matching trim/ribbon. I chose red because Isabelle would be my model and she looks great in that color, plus it’s a holiday color.

Please note that all seams are sewn at 1/4 inch allowance.

1) Cut the fabric materials for the skirt.
For the skirt part, cut them according to these measurements:
sequined fabric – 5 1/2 inches tall by 26 inches wide
fabric for lining – 5 1/2 inches tall by 26 inches wide
tulle – 5 1/2 inches tall by 60 inches wide (or 40-44 inches)

2) Cut the bodice pattern.
For the bodice, I use the free liberty jane tank top pattern which can be downloaded here at pixiefaire.com. I cut the pattern on the waist area. Cut the pattern pieces for both the lining and sequined fabric.

3)Sew the front and back pieces together of the sequined fabric and lining.
With right sides together, sew the front piece to the back pieces on the shoulder section for both the lining and sequined fabric.

4)Sew the sequined and lining fabric together.
With right sides together, sew the sequined fabric and lining fabric, stitching around the armhole and neckline area. Clip corners and curves as shown in the photo to reduce bulk. Turn the bodice to the right side.

5) Sew the materials for the skirt together.
Serge or zigzag the botton edge of the lining fabric and hem. You do not need to hem the sequined fabric yet.
Baste stitch the the sequined, lining and tulle fabric and gather the one by one until they are the same width as the bodice. For guide on how to gather fabric, refer to this link – How to Gather Fabric.

Baste the three pieces together. The lining will be at the bottom, the tulle should be on the middle and the sequined fabric is on the very top.

6) Sew the bodice and skirt together.
With right sides together, sew the skirt part to the bodice. Serger or zigzag the seam for a clean finish.

7) Cut the sequined part of the skirt.
As illustrated in the photo, cut the sequined part to the achieve the sort of high low look of the skirt (as inspired by the AG blue happy holiday dress) and to reveal the tulle underneath. I did this with the dress on the doll so I know which part to cut the achieve the look.

8) Finish all edges to complete the dress.
Hem the sequined part of the skirt by folding over around 1/4 inch making sure it would be slightly higher than the lining. Serge or zigzag the edges of the back pieces. Finish the back seam of the skirt and sew a velcro on the back bodice to finish the dress.

9) Add a matching ribbon or trim on the waistline for a nice accent.