You've been asking for awhile and I'm happy to say, finally, I have patterns and a tutorial for capris. And if you can make capris, pants and shorts or an easy tweak.
Cut out two of the pattern piece. For the 18 inch dolls the pattern piece will need to go on the fold and you will still need two.
Next sew the front center seam. The front and the back center seams are the same so either side will work.
Next, you will need to make a tunnel/casing for the elastic along the waist edge. fold 1/4 inch or less over and hem. Then fold down a little more than 1/2 inch. if you are using elastic wider than 1/2 inch, fold over a little more.
Cut a piece of elastic approximately as long as the top edge of the pants. You will need something to thread the elastic through the casing. Below are three tools I like. More about threading elastic, including more about these tools here in my puffy sleeves tutorial.
Once secured on one end, the elastic will need to be pulled to be approximately the width of your dolls waist.
Thread and secure the elastic as described in the puffy sleeve tutorial.
Sew the center back seam. This seam should add security to catching the elastic on each end.
Hem the bottom edge of each leg.
Next sew the leg inseam. Start at the bottom of one leg, go straight up to the center seams, pivot around with your sewing machine needle down and sew down the other leg.
Your capris are done. However, I always add a tag to cover up the back seam with the elastic poking out.
The capris pattern will be available shortly through my newsletter. If you are not already signed up for my newsletter, you can right here.