Doll sleeping bag | PDF sewing pattern

Sew a Doll Sleeping Bag – Pattern for Little Favorite Dolls

Sew a Doll Sleeping Bag Yourself? This little sewing project is ideal for beginner sewists and a great idea for handmade doll accessories. If you already have a little experience with bias tape, sewing it will be particularly easy.

The doll sleeping bag is suitable for dolls and stuffed animals of similar size and is perfect for little Monchhichis, for example. This gives your favorite toy a cozy place to sleep.

Especially nice: Doll accessories can be wonderfully sewn sustainably. Simply use fabric scraps or old clothes and turn them into a new favorite piece.

Sew a doll sleeping bag yourself, create doll accessories, and use fabric scraps wisely – a little sewing project with a lot of heart. 🧵❤️

Size of the Finished Doll Sleeping Bag

Large Sleeping Bag

• 15.5 x 26 cm
• fits a doll approx. 20 - 23 cm

Mini Sleeping Bag

• 9 x 12.5 cm
• fits a doll approx. 6 - 8.5 cm

What Should I Know How to Do?

• Sewing with cotton fabric
• Applying bias tape
• Topstitching
• Making bias tape yourself if necessary

What Interfacing Can Be Used for the Doll Sleeping Bag?

To make the sleeping bag both sturdy and nice and cozy, we use two different types of interfacing. Of course, you can also reinforce it completely with cotton or soy interfacing. In this case, I recommend reinforcing the back of the sleeping surface fabric with fusible interfacing. H250 interfacing is very suitable for this. However, I prefer to sew the sleeping bag with Thermolam. And not because of its insulating properties: Thermolam stabilizes, remains flexible, is very easy to wash, and dries quickly. 

How Is the Doll Sleeping Bag Sewn?

This doll sleeping bag comes without buttons, buttonholes, zippers, or complicated armholes or shoulder seams: An upper part is simply placed on a lower part. The two prepared sleeping bag pieces are joined with a temporary stitch. This prevents anything from shifting when they are subsequently encased in bias tape. This gives the sleeping bag additional stability and a nice, clean finish.

Which Fabrics Are Suitable?

To sew a doll sleeping bag yourself, woven fabrics such as cotton fabric,^*  linen fabric, canvas, corduroy, and denim are particularly suitable. You can also very well upcycle clothing for this sewing project, such as worn jeans or shirts. The inner and outer fabrics do not necessarily have to be the same. For example, the inner fabric of the upper part is hardly visible when playing. So it doesn't matter at all if you sew it from a neutral fabric.

What Accessories Do I Need to Sew a Doll Bed?

• 30 cm woven fabric
• 30 cm Thermolam^* for the sleeping surface
• 20 cm cotton interfacing^* or soy interfacing^* for the upper part
• 1.5 m cotton bias tape, 2 cm wide^* (enough for both sleeping bags; if you are only sewing the large sleeping bag, you need 1 meter of bias tape)
• Straight pins^*
• Fabric clips^*
• Rotary cutter^*
• Thread snips^*
• Pinking scissors^*
• Cutting mat^*
• Sewing machine

A Note on Bias Tape

If you like, you can also make bias tape yourself. There is a beginner-friendly guide for this here at SewSimple. Homemade bias tape has the advantage of being much more affordable than store-bought. And you have full control over the color and width of the bias tape. After all, you can also finish the sleeping bag with slightly wider bias tape.

A Note on Fabric Clips

Even if you prefer to work exclusively with straight pins (you can also see my test reports on straight pins and pin cushions here!), you should have a few good fabric clips ready for this sewing idea. After you have prepared the two reinforced fabric cutouts, the upper part is pinned to the sleeping surface. This means that your straight pins have to pierce through 4 layers of fabric and 2 layers of interfacing. This can sometimes cause the pins to bend. Especially if you have worked with Thermolam or additionally reinforced the fabric with fusible interfacing. Normally, I like to recommend the sturdy Magic Clips^* from Taylor Seville, which always hold firmly. However, I don't think they are so suitable for the doll sleeping bag because the fabric layers are quite thick. In this case, I prefer to use regular fabric clips, which I can quickly re-clip to adjust.

How Long Does It Take to Sew a Doll Sleeping Bag?

Beginners should allow 1 - 2 hours for this project. If you are already an experienced hobby sewist, you will surely sew the doll sleeping bag in around 30 minutes.

Why Is the Doll Sleeping Bag a Beginner Project?

Even if applying the bias tape might be a little challenge: The doll sleeping bag is wonderful for beginners. And there are several reasons for this.

1. The sleeping bag is sewn from cotton fabric. This is a relatively firm, stable material that most beginners can handle well.
2. The doll sleeping bag comes without a zipper, snap fasteners, jersey buttons, or buttonholes. This makes sewing very easy.
3. We sew exclusively with a straight stitch. Even if the seam describes a curve. :)
4. You can cut all the fabric layers of the respective pattern piece in one step. This saves time and helps you make the cutouts nice and symmetrical.
5. You can prepare the two fabric pieces in peace
6. The time required to sew the sleeping bag is also manageable for less experienced sewists