18" Doll Jumpers from Dollar Tree

I saw these baby jumpers at Dollar Tree and thought I could repurpose them into 18" doll clothes for my niece's birthday. I don't have the doll here, but fortunately I wrote down her measurements before she changed hands. :) So here's a little tutorial in case you're interested in doing the same thing.



I chose the largest size they had (18-24 months) because I figured I'd need it for the length. Once I got home and checked the doll's measurements, though, I realized I could have gotten by with the smaller sizes just fine. So don't worry if all they have in your store are the smaller ones - they'll work fine.

The first thing you want to do is use a seam ripper to detach the shoulder straps from the back of the jumper, as shown:



Now look closely at this next picture. I folded the straps even with the top of the jumper in the front (so you're not going to see any straps from the front), made sure the skirt was lined up at the bottom, and then pinned the straps back in place (see arrows).



There should be a tail of several inches below each pinning:



Sew these in place (I recommend a zig-zag stitch), then trim them just below the stitching.



The remaining tails will become the side ties.



Line up each tie with the bottom of the bodice part of the dress, as indicated by the arrow:



Pin it in place and sew the entire seam 1/4" in from the existing seam, making sure to "catch" the side tie:



You're done! That was quick, easy, and pretty painless, wasn't it? :) The rest of the pictures are just to show you how it looks.

I wrapped it around a glass that was the same measurement as the doll's chest so I could make sure it would fit right. Here is the view from the front:



And here it is from the back:



Here are two of the jumpers that I made. (They desperately need to be ironed, but I did these in the middle of the night, and my iron is in our bedroom where my husband was sleeping!) There is a third one almost completed, but my sewing machine's bobbin casing broke and I'm waiting for the replacement to come in the mail.



I'd love to see any other doll clothes that you make! You can find several tutorials for cutting down baby clothes (especially from the dollar store) to make doll clothes. There are some excellent ones here, to get you started.