Woman Spends 40+ Hours Making Outfits Inspired by American Girl Dolls, Says It Takes Months to Find the Perfect Fabric (Exclusive) Meredith WilshereDecember 28, 2025 at 10:00 PM 0 Saraid Claxton; American Girl Saraid Claxton; Samantha Parkington Doll Saraid Claxton always loved the American Girl doll Samantha In March 2025, Claxton decided to recreate the dress the doll wears in the book Meet Samantha After over 40 hours of work, the dress was complete, and now, Claxton talks to PEOPLE about the process Saraid Claxton loves to recreate vintage fashions, and what better style to emulate than th...
- - Woman Spends 40+ Hours Making Outfits Inspired by American Girl Dolls, Says It Takes Months to Find the Perfect Fabric (Exclusive)
Meredith WilshereDecember 28, 2025 at 10:00 PM
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Saraid Claxton; American Girl
Saraid Claxton; Samantha Parkington Doll -
Saraid Claxton always loved the American Girl doll Samantha
In March 2025, Claxton decided to recreate the dress the doll wears in the book Meet Samantha
After over 40 hours of work, the dress was complete, and now, Claxton talks to PEOPLE about the process
Saraid Claxton loves to recreate vintage fashions, and what better style to emulate than the American Girl dolls and their various, iconic dresses?
Claxton's passion for fashion and love for the beloved dolls sent her on a mission that spanned months, and now she talks to PEOPLE about how long it took to create the perfect Samantha-inspired look.
Claxton, who goes by SunsetSaraid across her social platforms, says she had the idea for the project in March 2025 while getting an infusion for her autoimmune disease.
Saraid Claxton
Saraid Claxton
"I had a lot of random times where I had to sit down and do whatever I wanted. I was brainstorming what my next project could be," she shares. "I'm a part of a historical costuming group here in Chicago, and we sometimes go to the American Girl doll store and have lunch at their cafe there, and I wanted to, like, make an outfit for that."
"I've been a lover of the American Girl company since I was a kid. I had a Samantha doll, and I loved her stories," she adds. "I also love vintage fashion, especially 1960s and '70s fashion. I thought pairing the '70s Edwardian movement with the Meet Samantha outfit would be a fun, new take on her outfit and fit my vibe really well."
On the Meet Samantha book cover, the character wears a checkered-pattern dress with a pleated front, puff sleeves, and a red ribbon belt with a buckle at the waist. The doll's hair is tied with a matching bow.
While Samantha holds a special place in her heart, Claxton admits she didn't necessarily like the silhouette of the outfit, so she had to get a little creative.
"I was like, 'How do I make that fit me and my personal style?'" the 32-year-old shares.
She sifted through different patterns and sketched out what she wanted the dress to look like before landing on the final product.
Saraid Claxton
Saraid Claxton.
Claxton says she found the perfect vintage pattern on Etsy, where she usually finds her patterns, in the summer. For the fabric, however, it took a little more searching, and it wasn't until September that she found just the right one.
"The fabric is from Mood fabrics, and I spent months just trying to find the perfect plaid," she admits.
Finally, in October, she began working on the piece.
"I'd say I spent 40 hours of work in total with all of the finding of things as well as the sewing portion," she shares.
She was very pleased with how the outfit came out and shared a TikTok video of the finished product. Claxton, who picked up sewing as a hobby during the pandemic, hopes to inspire others to get creative with their outfits through her videos and content, and advises others to watch YouTube videos on the different techniques.
In the past, Claxton has made outfits inspired by the doll Julie, and now has plans to recreate Molly's birthday outfit — even if that means saying goodbye to Samantha for a bit.
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Saraid Claxton
Saraid Claxton
"I'm just really bad about putting my products away after I'm done with them. I don't want them to be over," Claxton admits.
However, the time and energy spent are always worth it in the end.
"The best part is seeing something that you had an idea for a sketch come to life, and it's even better than you expected. I always find that really rewarding," she says. "I've done art since I was little, and it's really cool to use my art in a different way to make clothes."
on People
Source: "AOL Entertainment"
Source: Entertainment
Published: December 29, 2025 at 12:36AM on Source: ANDY MAG
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