Fashion Doll Clothes - Simplicity # 1955

7/11/2013

I got my start when I was 10 sewing for my Barbie doll on my Grandmother's treadle sewing machine. Which is kind of crazy, because sewing for dolls that small is really hard!

I still love to make doll clothes, and as a grown up, I have made fashion doll clothes for toy companies that are mass produced in factories.

These are two of my hand made samples I made for the Hanna Montana doll a few years ago. I make one sample then send my patterns in and the factories take over. A doll outfit that is going to be made by factory sewers can be really complicated because these ladies are really good at sewing on this scale and they will do the same operation on the same outfit multiple times. Also, they have access to the perfect fabrics that work for tiny clothes like that.

But, when I make a doll clothes pattern for home sewers I try to make them as easy as possible. This pattern in particular I aimed to make the garments very easy with few pattern pieces because these outfit come in 3 sizes for Barbie/Liv, Bratz and Moxie. And Bratz and Moxie are even smaller than Barbie!

I thought I would show you photos of my sewn samples since artwork was used on the pattern envelope and catalog page.

But the best laid plans ...
In the middle of making these outfits, Kate Middleton got married and I got a call from the folks in Simplicity's New York office. They wanted me to make a doll version of her dress!!!

So ... here are the results. Not as easy as the other clothes, but pretty!

6 Comments

denise johnson link

9/8/2013 06:22:53 pm

It really looks like Kate Middleton’s wedding dress. And it is so cute. But I am pretty sure this pattern is really meticulous to work at.

evelyn lawrence

9/6/2014 10:14:07 am

selling 25 brand new doll stands. various sizes.$25.00 +shipping.also have a LOT of doll patterns, most of which have never been used. Victorian and modern. Many for large dolls--20"-30" email--mormor34@bellsouth.net

Candy S link

9/1/2016 07:57:20 am

My grandmother taught me to make clothes for my Barbie doll on a treadle machine too. I had been frustrated on how the little band tops that I had made for Barbie fit the dolls so poorly. My grandmother taught me how to use the treadle machine make darts in the proper places so their clothes would fit so much better. Does anyone use darts anymore?

April Shields

6/12/2019 04:35:49 pm

The link doesn't take you to the tips. The pattern pkg says to go to the website, but no link exists. I really wanted to see the tips!

Most importantly, what style Barbie is the pattern set for? Personally, I miss busty, skinny Barbie because clothes fit better.

Andrea

6/13/2019 06:44:52 am

So sorry April,

This is an old blog post and Simplicity has redone their website several times since then ... sigh. These tips are totally lost!! GRRRR.

Well, I think I should do them over. And edit this blog to remove that non-existing link.

Thanks for bringing this to my attention.
Andrea

6/14/2019 01:44:54 pm

Oh, please do. I'd love to see the tips. I found a video on YouTube of someone sewing the pattern but the quality of the video renders it useless.

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Fashion Doll Clothes - Simplicity # 1955

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