As I work here in my little studio I've discovered a few things.... testing in 'real fabric' vs muslin is an OK thing to do at least for larger dolls. My reasoning behind this is that if a pattern doesn't turn out just right for say Kitty the same pattern with minor modifications manages nicely to fit a smaller doll like Brenda Starr. Besides that the 'goofs' are perfect to give to my daughter to play with as she doesn't mind imperfections in my work that usually go with a first run through a pattern as I draft and redraft and sew and resew a project. It's funny I start with a design for one doll and eventually I have the same design or a variation of it for 2 or more others as well. I just love designing and sewing for my dolls.
Miniature & Small Doll Clothing Patterns, Pattern Drafting Books & Classes