American Girl Doll Rehab and Clothing

My dear Sister-in-law got me an American Girl doll for Christmas so that I could use her to measure and model the AG-sized items I will be selling in my soon-to-be Etsy shop. 

She came to me totally naked, being a previously well-loved doll that my SIL got for a deal. 

Fortunately, my SIL knows a thing or two about rehabbing tired old dolls. 

She went from this...

To this!

 Well, obviously I had to get some clothes on her quickly. I had a pair of old grey knit pants that my boys had outgrown lying around, so I turned them into a pair of leggings.  You can see the wear on the hem seam, where the thread had started coming out.  Oh well, it was faster and easier to make them with the original hem, and I don't think she minds.

Then I started making a dress for her, but soon thought that if she is going to be modeling other things, she should wear something plain and simple so she won't clash with the patterns on the other items. In the end I went with a simple white t-shirt instead.

Of course, I can't keep it simple, and I can't follow a pattern.  I always have to add something, or modify the method.  I did both on this shirt. 

The shirt pattern I used was originally a tank top.  I added the sleeves and the ruffle around the neck, which is just a 1-inch wide strip of fabric, ruffled up the center and sewn on.

I also modified the method for back closure.  It took me awhile, actually, to figure out the best way to close it up.  I unpicked quite a bit, but in the end I am happy with how it turned out.

All in all, I think she has made a lovely transformation!