Wow do people ever go crazy with American Girl dolls and clothes!  My daughter has recently joined this fad so we rapidly aquired way to many outfits and sets for a 10 year old to keep track of!  So back onto Ebay we went with these.  We soon found how well they sold so we started shoping the local thrift stores and have since had several to list.  Dress forms make these outfits look so slick but we didn't want to invest $30+ just to make our listings look neet so we came up with a cheap easy way to make a dress form and you'd never know it wasn't a $30 one from our pictures! 

First find a wooden paper towel holder or wooden cup holder.  Anything with a round base and a single wood (the fancy carving is a +++!) dowel comming up from it.  Usually the cup stands have the little hanger pegs unscrew out of it.  I found mine for a buck at the Goodwill.  Then an old 18 inch doll with a soft body.  I found an old ratty Battat doll for another buck at the same place.  Cut the cable tie at the neck and take the head off.  take the stuffing out and snip off the joints on the inside of the body to take off the limbs.  Then cut a small hole in the crotch of the doll and slide it over the wooden dowel.  Re stuff the doll body.  Put a new cable tie (or string if you don't have a cable tie) in the neck and cinch it tight around the top of the wooden dowel.  And there you have it!  A simple cheap doll dress form!  It looks like a sadistic toy torture display if you don't keep clothes on it so keep it hidden when not in use!

Below are some pictures of the finished product & what it looks like dressed!