If you are a collector of American dolls like myself or love dressing up dolls, you would surely have wondered what size baby clothes fit 18 inch dolls? We will answer this question below in detail.
American dolls are the favorite of almost every girl. As a girl, I wanted to save some of my baby clothes for my dolls. But I was always confused with the size.
I had 18 inch dolls and was never sure at what size baby clothes fit 18 inch dolls? I am sure many of you doll collectors out there are trying to find the answer to the same question.
Well, I have done a bit of research and am sharing the detailed information to help out my fellow collectors.
Buying American doll outfits can be quite an expensive proposition, which is why many of us prefer to find the cheaper and much easier way to dress them: used baby clothes.
Before we begin, you can try out preemie clothes for all the clothes that you want to dress up your American dolls. But if your baby was born fully developed, then you can even use baby clothes.
Newborn baby clothes are usually 17-19 inches. So, you can keep the first-month clothes of your baby to dress up your dolls. But the proportions of your baby clothes will be slightly larger than that of the doll.
I hope the article will give you helpful information regarding the outfit for your beautiful American doll.
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What Are American Girl Dolls?
The American Girl dolls were released on 5th May 1986 by Pleasant company. These dolls are beautiful to see and portray 8-12 years old American girls, including culture, races, and social classes of different periods of American history.
The dolls are available with various accessories and a book to find different stories related to American history. The American girl company used traditional practices to make the doll, which other companies no longer use.
These dolls have high-quality hair and painted eyes, and their skin is not so hard nor soft. These features have made it expensive in the market.
Another great thing about these dolls while purchasing is they are highly customizable. You can choose the shape of the face, skin color, favorite places, or items while purchasing an American doll.
Will My Baby Clothes Fit On American Girl Dolls?
American Girl dolls are expensive because of the high-quality materials used in making their eyes, nose, face, and hair. Similarly, when you want to purchase additional outfits for your dolls, it adds to the cost, and things can get really out of hand if you love dressing up your dolls.
So, most people prefer to wear their baby clothes on American dolls. Most of the parents prefer preemie or newborn clothes on the traditional American doll. But the newborn clothes fit well in Bitty baby dolls.
Size Of American Girl Dolls
The American dolls are mainly meant for display rather than playing. If I talk about the size of a standard American doll, its height is almost 18 inches or 46 cm. But some dolls may be bigger or smaller than the size of traditional American dolls.
For instance, if I talk about the Bitty baby doll, they are 15 inches long, and the Hopscotch Hill series dolls are 16 inches.
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What Is The Right Size Of Clothes For American Girl Dolls?
If you wish to purchase one set of pajamas for your American doll, it will cost you almost $24 or a birthday outfit for your 16-inch Bitty baby doll; then you need to spend $30. These are expensive.
So people prefer to dress them up in baby clothes. Selecting baby clothes will give you various options to dress up your baby doll. The little girls enjoy changing the outfits of their baby dolls. The little girls often pretend to be the mother of these dolls and dress up their babies in different clothes.
Now talking about the size, the Preemie baby clothes are the best outfit for your doll. They are almost 17 inches long. So they will fit a Bitty baby doll or American girl doll.
But the Bittybaby doll is 16 inches long. So you may find the preemie clothes slightly long by one inch. If you know sewing, you can easily adjust the preemie baby clothes for your doll at home.
Similarly, if I talk about an 18-inch American doll, then preemie clothing may be slightly short by one inch. But almost all the baby clothes are loose on the bum area to wear the diaper comfortably. You can take that extra space into account while wearing baby clothes to your favorite American doll.
Well, you can also try newborn clothes for your American doll. They will also fit on your American doll, and it will look attractive.
What Size Baby Clothes Will Fit Your Doll?
The table below shows the size of the cloth for the respective dolls.
| Size of cloth | Length of the outfit | Height of the doll | Type of Dolls which the clothing will fit |
| Preemie | Less than 18 inches | 15-18 inches | Bitty baby, American girl |
| Newborn | 17-19 inches | 18 inch | American girl, spring field |
| 3 months | 19-23 inches | 23 inches | My twinn |
| 6 months | 24-26 inches | 23 inches | Cissy |
| 9months | 27-28 inches | 28 inch | 28’’Barbie,Decdeal dolls |
Answers To More Questions About Dresssing Up Dolls
#1. How do you measure a baby doll for clothes?
You need to first measure the doll’s height from the feet to the head with the help of tape. Then put the tape under the arms, wrap it all around the chest, and take the measurement, which will give you the chest width of the doll. Then measure the waist portion of the doll. These all measurements will help you in finding the right outfit for your doll.
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#2. What size of preemie clothes will fit American dolls?
If the height of your doll is 15-18 inches, then preemie clothes will surely be perfect. Bitty baby dolls are 16 inches. So, if you have the bitty baby doll, you can wear preemie clothes, but you need to do some sewing work. Preemie clothes are also suitable for American girl dolls.
#3. What size clothes do cabbage patch dolls wear?
The cabbage patch dolls have a soft fabric body with a vinyl head. Their size ranges from 23cm to 46 cm. So the clothes which are in this range will fit on your cabbage patch dolls. But you need to first measure your doll before investing money in their outfits.
Wrap Up
The most important thing is to choose the outfit that looks perfect on your American baby doll. I think it’s best to keep your baby’s clothes so that you can make the doll to wear on their birthdays or special occasions. It will give her a new look, and you will feel happy inside. But before choosing the clothes for your doll, take the measurements of your doll properly.
I have mentioned earlier that preemie, and newborn baby clothes are both perfect for American dolls, but it depends upon the actual size of the dress.
Please share pics of the different outfits for your baby doll in the comments section; we would love to see new ideas and techniques for dressing up American dolls.