Free Rag Doll Pattern

A gift, from me to you

A year ago I decided to make a Rag doll. I had seen several cute ones and thought they would be fun to make!  The only problem was, I couldn’t find a Free Rag doll Pattern, or even one that was easy to use that I really liked.  So I made one myself 🙂 I’m pretty proud of the effort, and intended to package it up and sell it on etsy.  I have a few doll clothes patterns I sell on there, and although I don’t make much off of them, I get excited every time I sell one!

But, then I decided I would do one better.  I’ll give it to you for free.  Why?  Well, to be perfectly honest…because I want to.  When I go looking for a pattern, I REALLY want a free pattern, because I’m usually strapped for funds and don’t want to pay. When I was looking for a rag doll pattern, that’s exactly what I did.  I “shopped” free patterns, hoping to find a good one.  Obviously I didn’t find one I was happy with. If you want to thank me for this free rag doll pattern, I would really appreciate it if you would share it on pinterest, Facebook, or wherever you can. And please, subscribe to our blog!  More subscribers = more traffic, which translates directly into more opportunities for me to turn this blog into something that at least pays for my time.  That way I can convince my husband it’s WORTH my time.  So…subscribe and spread the love! And I feel like I shouldn’t have to say this- but please don’t try to reproduce and sell this pattern.  You are MORE than welcome however to make dolls from this pattern and sell them.  I would love it!  But if you do, please give a nod to Everyday-creative.com in some way, whether a link or just a mention.  That would help a lot as well.

Oh, and by the way…I was totally right, these Rag Doll’s are SO MUCH FUN to make.  I’ve made Disney look alike dolls like Elsa, Ariel, and Snow White (my favorite), but my favorites have been the ones that look like an individual little princess…the ones that look like the girl who will love them!  So far I have mostly given away these dolls, although I initially intended to sell them.  Selling them proved to be harder than I thought.  People love the idea but since they can pick up a doll at walmart for $5 they just can’t see paying me $30 for a handmade one.  And even at $30 its barely worth my time.  So I make them for the love of it now, and for special little girls I care about.  I love customizing each one to make it just the way I like.  Sometimes I use yarn for the hair, but usually I just use felt, it’s much more durable for little girlies to love on.

Click below to download PDF

Free Rag Doll Pattern

Here are some tips to help ease your way.

This pattern is not perfect.  Usually my patterns will include step by step instructions and pictures to help you on your way.  But since this is free, and my time is limited, it’s a VERY basic sketch.  But here are some things that should help.

Make sure your printer is set to print “true to size” or “Actual size” otherwise it will cut some off (it may still depending on how your margins are set, you may have to play around with that)

Use a small seam allowance, like a little bigger than 1/4 inch and set your stitch length smaller than normal.  I use 1.5- although you should keep in mind that stitches this small are a beast to rip out…so try to sew slowly and carefully so you don’t have to rip out any stitches 😉

For the doll head,arms and legs I just use a nice muslin, you just want something that isn’t going to fray easily.  For toddlers, or smaller girls make the body with cute fabric and use the basic sleeve pattern.  It’s meant to be sewn into the body with the arm.  That way your doll always has a “body suit” or the top part of a dress.  Then just add the simple skirt included in the pattern for completing the “dress”.

For older girls I make the body out of the same muslin as the rest and make a dress to go with it.

Use your scraps.  I just love that these dolls are perfect for using up fabric scraps! You can make adorable dresses, pants, etc to go with your dolls.

I did not include instructions for hair.  Sorry!  I just cut out felt in the shape of the back of the head, and cut out a hairline for the front and usually include some sort of pigtails for girls.  Its fun to come up with different ways to put the hair on!  Here are some pictures of dolls I’ve done in the past that you can use for inspiration 🙂

 

This is my first attempt at a rag doll- I’ll bet you can’t tell who she is inspired by LOL 🙂  My girls still love this doll the most!

Snow White Inspired Doll

I made this doll for our sweet little neighbor girls birthday- It matches her so perfectly!  I love the look on girls faces when they see a doll that looks like them 🙂

I made the braids by cutting out a long strip of felt about 3 inches wide and cutting it ALMOST all the way to the top to create 3 long strips that were connected at the top.  I then braided the strips and sewed the connected part at the top in when I sewed the head

Blonde Look-alike doll with pigtails

There is nothing my girls like better than to match their dolls!  I had made this simple dress, and used the scraps to make the dress for the doll.

This is one of my favorite dolls ever!  It was made to match my little niece who loves it!

See how many options you have to add detail? I think this is my favorite part is creating cute little outfits.  This one I repurposed an old shirt, and used the front of the shirt to create the buttons on the dolls shirt- easy AND cute!  

Forgive the PJ’s- but isn’t this adorable? I wanted this doll to have tights and ballet slippers so I just cut the legs out with colored fabric instead of muslin.

And here is my Belle inspired doll I made for a friend…pre-eyebrows…not sure why I took the picture before I painted her eyebrows lol 😉

Please! Send me your pictures if you stitch up a doll out of this pattern and I will add it to my inspiration list and link back to you if you have a blog yourself 🙂