Yes, I have made clothes for the American girl dolls. What kind of hints are you looking for? One thing I have to say is you need to remember that these are not people clothes and you can get away with some short cuts. I use Velcro for the closures in the back. I don't go in for all the fancy lace trims, They are a pain on those little pieces. One more thing is sometimes the patterns just are not big enough. I spent have a day making a bonnet and it didn't fit, grrr. They are stuffed so they are pretty bulky.

These are some I made for the Bitty baby:

Vicky

Ooh I needed to reply to this thread. I don't have any hints but let me just tell you how special handmade outfits can be. I made a dress for my american doll with my grandmother years ago. I was 13 and I am almost 27 now. She has passed away but I still have my doll and some clothes she made. It is so special to me now!

Years ago a friend gave me some American Girl Doll patterns and I made my niece some extra clothes for her doll, Samantha. They turned out really cute and I had fun making the clothes. I shopped for small prints and stripes to have the fabric more in scale with the size of the doll and the clothes.

Now there are many patterns available for the 18" dolls. Vicky is right - use Velcro instead of tiny snaps or hooks/eyes to make the clothes easier to put on and take off. Have fun!

I've made American Girl doll clothes and they are fun. I made my GD her First Communion dress and a dress for the Am. Girl doll to match. I've also made lots of Build-A-Bear clothes and they are also fun. It's true--just make your own shortcuts. Velcro is these cases are great. Lots of patterns out there. Just have fun.

I have Samantha and Addy + 2 Martha Pullen dolls, 3 Barbies (one form 1955) that I love to make cloths for.
To answer your question, I would say that patience, accuracy, and a good pattern are the most inportant part to making good looking cloths. Velcro is very useful. I use it cut in 1/4 in. strips for back closeings and under sleeves. I also us 1/8 and 1/4 in. clear elastic when needed for waist bands and sometimes around necks, eg. knit items. I am enclosing couple pictures of some of the things I have made. I have done some heirloom things also.

What lovely doll clothes! Vicky, I think I have that fabric on the far left to make a nightgown for myself! Ha!

I have made lots of AM Girl doll clothes from patterns like Simplicity, McCall and Butterick. They have good directions and fit perfectly if you cut it out correctly. I try to use light weight woven's and light weight knit fabrics. The AM Girl doll clothes are no where near as hard as Barbie doll clothes because of the size of the doll. You can search the internet for doll zippers (I think its Tiny Zippers) and the fabrics stores have bags of tiny buttons. I buy the Velcro dots for making closures. If you buy the sticky ones you will want to also buy Sewers aid by Dritz. It makes your needle glide through the sticky back on the Velcro dot.. I usually just sew an X over the dot to hold it on. I sew on Velcro for the closures and a button on the outside of the garment with the Velcro right under so it looks like an actual button closure. I also use lots of snaps with the button sewn on the outside just like I do for the Velcro. I like to use as much detail as possible, I don't find hard to add lace or ribbons. I use felt and fleece on occasion, you don't have to finish the edges!! Have fun, start with something simple like a pair of pull on pants with elastic waist. I also bought a doll of my own so I would have it available to fit the clothes to as I am sewing (if you don't already have a doll handy.)