Homemade Gifts: 18" Doll Twirly Skirts

I'm planning to make a lot of the birthday gifts and such that we give this year, so I'm going to extend my "Homemade Christmas" theme into a "Homemade Gift" theme. I have a few posts to kick this off, and then I'll use the header "Homemade Gifts" as I showcase more throughout the year. I hope this helps fellow readers who need to save some money or simply want to give of themselves at gift-giving occasions.



The first homemade gift I'm making for this year is an assortment of doll twirly skirts, made entirely from my scrap bin. I have a niece and a good friend who both have 18" dolls, and the outfits for them can be pricey if you're buying them.

These skirts were made with a free pattern available from You Can Make This. (Browse through their patterns; they have lots of good ones!)

These are so easy to make, and they're quite fast, too.

I adapted the pattern to the fabric squares I had: 4" instead of 5". If you want to do the same, just use 6 blocks for the top row, 10 for the middle row, and 14 for the bottom row.



These are the scraps I saved from a quilted rag purse I made. I thought it made a pretty cute, bright skirt.



These were some miscellaneous scraps that just happened to look pretty terrific together. The print is an apple print, and the other two are (obviously) ginghams. Since I had only a few of the apple print squares, I chose to use them only on the middle layer where they would get the most attention.



And here is one done without the patchwork. All I did was figure out the length of each panel and cut it out of a solid strip of fabric. I loved how it turned out!

Now here's an added bonus that I never knew: Toys for Tots accepts these skirts for their toy drives! If you'd like to make some for next year, there is a form at the end of the pattern (from You Can Make This) that you can print out and include with each skirt. So if you're like me and would love to participate in the toy drive but don't have a lot of money to blow, this is a great option!