Update your doll’s wardrobe with these easy to make, almost no-sew dolls clothes made from jeans. This is perfect for American Girl/ Our Generation sized dolls as well as the slightly smaller Glitter Girl sized dolls. You could even make this Barbie-sized if you used smaller child-sized jeans! If you are looking for a VERY simple dress that required minimal sewing then this is the dress for you!

So what exactly is ALMOST no-sew? Some would say that this is a no-sew dress as no sewing machine is required. Just a needle and thread is needed to do a few stitches to make the dress tighter and then a few more to sew on any buttons wanted for decoration. It would even be possible to use a hot glue gun in place of the needle and thread but that would be more fiddly and time-consuming. If you are not used to sewing with a needle and thread, give it a go as it really doesn’t need to be all that tidy.

The dresses are made from the legs of adult jeans. We used stretch jeans, non-stretch will also work but you will need to leave the dress slightly looser so it is easy to get the dress on and off your doll. The dresses can be made to fit any size doll as long as you can get the doll up one leg of the jeans used! One pair of jeans = two new super stylish dresses for your dolls or four if you are not upcycling your old jeans into shorts as I did!

Lastly, Miss 5 and Miss 7 decorated the dresses with fabric paint. This is a fun thing for kids to do so they feel like they really are making their own dresses. Older kids can make the entire dress themselves, they are that easy to make.

Almost No-Sew Dolls Clothes From Jeans- Our Generation & Glitter Girl Doll Size

You Will Need

Only a few things are needed to make these simple dresses. Buttons and fabric paint are optional but are a great way to customize the dresses.

• Old unwanted jeans
• Needle & Thread
• Buttons
• Sharpie or felt pen
• Scissors
• Fabric Paints

How To Make Your Almost No-Sew Dolls Clothes From Old Jeans

Get that pair of jeans and go ahead and cut off the lower leg. You now have a pair of shorts for yourself or whoever the old jeans belonged to! Make sure your doll can fit up in one of the jean legs. If it is a tight fit either get a larger pair of jeans or try with the upper part of the jean leg.

Put the doll into the jeans and mark with a pen where the neck is and the shoulders (number 1). Take the doll out of the jeans leg. Using the arm and neck markings draw the dress top shape (number 2), the top of the dress will be tied around the doll’s neck so the straps will need to be quite long. Try the dress on and using the pen remark the neckline and straps (number 3). The back of the dress will be cut straight across (number 4). Keep repeating the process of trying on the dress and cutting until you get the neckline and the straps looking how you like it. Don’t worry about how loose the dress is as it will be tightened soon.

Sew To Make The Dress Fit

It is time to get your needle and thread ready. Thread and knot your needle. Place your doll into your dress and tie it up. Fold the dress toward the back or front and pin it into place (or hold) like in numbers 2 and 4. Carefully remove the dress and then sew the fold into place. Cut the bottom to the desired length.

Now add any buttons. Miss 5 decided that she wanted her dress pleats on the back and three buttons on the front. We also created a tie for her dress. Miss 7 wanted her pleats on the front with a big button. These dresses have been made in the same way but look quite different thanks to the pleats/ folds being on the different sides.

Once sewn and worn for a while the girls wanted to customize their dresses with fabric paint. They are currently sitting and drying so we don’t have any photos of the dolls wearing their new colorful dresses but they sure will be making a fashion statement when they step out in these fun dresses!

Now if you are worried about fraying then there are products such as Aleene’s Stop-Fraying. This product is easy to use and perfect to use to stop the fraying on items like this. We didn’t use anything as we quite like the frayed look! If using fabric that isn’t as sturdy as denim then some sort of fray stop would be a good idea.

We hope you have enjoyed making some super easy denim dresses from old jeans for your dolls. If you have please send us through a photo of your doll wearing their new dress!

This post contains affiliate links. These links add no cost to you but we earn a small commission through linked sales which help with the ongoing running cost of diyThought. Thank you for your support!