Anatomy of a Dress: Swingin' Easy

Another dress from my little bundle!  This one is Swingin' Easy from 1963!

The dress arrived a bit crumpled and smashed flat, as one might expect from a squishy packet sent through the USPS.  But a quick wash and press later, and she looks like this:

Quite lovely, no?  But equally nice is the back view:

I love that open back.  It's daring without being risque.

But now let us delve into the nitty-gritty.  First we'll take a look inside the bodice.

Unlike the Suburban Shopper dress, this one has a bodice made in four pieces: the bodice and sleeve fronts, two bodice and sleeve backs, and the cummerbund.  Yes, that means that there is a seam going down the top of each sleeve as well as one along the underarm!  And this time the bodice does have an obvious facing.  But, surprise, it's made of netting!  Which means it's practically invisible as well as adding no weight.  The netting is all one piece, and varies from 3/8" to 1/2" deep.  It's topstitched down, and beneath it the fold over of the fashion fabric is a mere 1/8".  Two small darts above the cummerbund give bust shaping; the seam allowance is 3/16", except at center front, where it's almost nothing, so I'll have to keep an eye on that; if anything's going to give way, it's going to be there.  A snap on the cummerbund fastens the garment closed.  The skirt is a full 20.5" gathered, again, onto a 4" waist.  The ribbon ties are 3/16" wide and 6" long.

Looking at the sleeve cuff, it looks like the top sleeve seam was sewn first, then the sleeve cuff, then the underarm seam.

This time, the hem was finished with an overlock stitch and possibly sewn to the dress at the same time?  I'm not as familiar with overlock machine capacity as I could be.  On the right side of the skirt, the seam shows as a line of prick stitches.

What I find curious is that on the upper part of the skirt seam, the seam allowance is 5/8" wide, folded under 1/4" and top-stitched down to finish it.  Then it simply cuts in to 1/4" wide and raw edged.  While I can understand finishing the part where the skirt is open and being handled, why not just simply do that for the whole length of the seam?  It seems like it would save time.  Though, I guess, it would add bulk at the hem....

Anatomy of a Dress: Suburban Shopper

I had looked around the 'net for anyone who might have written articles, with pictures, about the construction of the old Barbie clothes, the ones that were made before stretch knits and overlock machines became the primary mover and shaker of doll clothes.  No luck.  Though there were some intriguing hints on Andrea Schewe's blog post about her Barbies.  (Andrea, incidentally, was a very good commercial pattern designer before Simplicity restructured a few years ago and more or less forced her into retirement.  I met her when she was a guest of honor at Costume College, several years ago.  I've sewn some of her patterns for me... and for Barbie.)

Failing to find the information I wanted, I turned to trying to acquire original samples so I could learn more about better techniques of doll clothes making.  Sadly, I kept getting outbid!  But finally I found a lot on eBay that were *ahem* gently used.  Eight outfits, though, for the price I'd been seeing one for!  I hit Buy Me Now.

The packet arrived yesterday, and I promptly photographed them then chucked them into a plastic shoebox filled with warm water and Retro Clean.  (Retro Clean were guest speakers at the Orange County Quilters Guild when I still lived there, and I bought some of their product, which I still have.  OxyClean has a large overlap of ingredients.  Both work well for getting rid of age stains.)

Dress #1, Suburban Shopper, as it arrived.  This was one of the better of the lot, with no damage, and really no visible staining.  Nonetheless, into a cleaning bath it went.

The same dress, after several hours soaking, followed by a rinse, air-drying overnight on the top of a Diet Coke bottle to help keep the skirts spread, and a gentle ironing with the aid of a tailor's sleeve ham:

Here pictured on my Solo in the Spotlight reproduction Barbie.  Because I was also getting outbid on any and all actual dolls with the Vintage body type, so I purchased a repro.  Despite missing its accessories, the dress looks probably as pretty as the day it was first sold.  It was made 1959-1964, so at a minimum, it's 58 years old!

Now we get down to the nuts and bolts.  First, this dress doesn't have velcro, or even snaps.  It has a real metal zipper, and fits like a glove.

And turning it inside out, we look first at the inside of the bodice:

The bodice is not lined, though it does have a self facing (which is not a sewn-on facing, it's the fabric folded over 1/2" then top-stitched down).  The facing edge is not finished.  The darts are clipped to the top and pressed open to minimize bulk.  There are no side seams; all the shaping of the bodice is done by the two darts.  The shoulder straps (1/4" wide) are folded over on both sides then top-stitched down on both sides.  Raw edges everywhere.  The 18" of skirt are tightly gathered onto the 4" waistband with a 1/4" seam.

The hem is 3/8" deep and feels like the edge of the fabric is folded over about 1/4" inside.

The center back seam is 7/16" deep and  not finished in any way other than being pressed open, likely again to minimize bulk.  The zipper, though it's hard to see (white thread on white material), is hand-sewn in.

So!  My conclusion is that I've perhaps been overly neurotic about things like lining and seam finishes.  Perhaps not a great surprise.  I have definitely picked up a few techniques from this dress that I will start applying to my own sewing, such as cutting darts open and pressing them flat.  Though I still would have pinked the center back skirt seam!

Success!

I finished the second iteration of the 1967 dress, and it works a LOT better than the first.

There's a lot more fullness in the Barbie version, of course, but to a certain extent that can't be helped, given the relative stiffness of fabric on a 1/6th scale.  I suppose if I was working with a rayon fabric, that might have been drapier, but I'm making doll clothes with the material I already have, not going out to buy more.  (I have too much already.)  And the fabric goes wonderfully with Ms. Blue's jewelry!  So I suppose I should earmark the rest of that fat quarter for other clothes for her.

I am slightly annoyed to discover one of the pairs of boots is cracked.  But given they're ~35 year old plastic, I suppose such things are to be expected.

Rather than wrestling with the bias tape to finish the neckline, I did the Fray Check fold and stitch down method, then sewed a hook and eye at the center back.  The slightly longer slit in the back aided greatly in the ease of getting this on and off, even over Ms. Blue's voluminous hair.  Simplicity 8466 for the win!

I See London, I See France

I got a vote each for two of the fabrics for the 1967 dress.  So I decided to do both!  Today I cut and stitched up the first of them.

I get that miniskirts are a thing, Women's Sexual Liberation and all that.  But.  Um.  If it weren't for the rick-rack I added, I think Ms. Blue would be having a bit of a modesty problem. ^_^;;;

So!  For attempt #2, trying to get a bit closer to the inspiration image, I'll be adding about an inch and a half of length!

Pattern notes: there is a slit-fold-back-and-stitch-down in the center back, which is exactly the right length for me to wriggle this "gown" onto Ms. Blue.  A little bit too exactly the right length, in fact; it was a tough sell.  I think I need to move the end point of the slit down about a quarter inch.  The neckline is enclosed in 1/4" bias tape, with 4 1/2" of it hanging free on either side and tying into the bow you can just see by Blue's ear on the right.  Between the length and the tying it on, this almost feels like a painter's smock. :)  Maybe I should make one in white and "decorate" it.

What's Wrong With Pink?

I've been doing a deep dive into Barbie history and lore.  And storage cases.  I have opinions about those now!  But most of my ire is reserved for the article I read on CNN the other day talking about "Barbiecore."  Which as a fashion trend pretty much seems to be "wear hot pink."  Which irks me, because if you want the pink end of things, the movie Legally Blonde did it so much better.  And also because Barbie hasn't always been heavily identified with pink!  That started in the 1980s, when everything started to get Needlessly Gendered.  And the color of pink associated with Barbie has only gotten brighter and brighter as time goes on.  I predict that within my lifetime, only shrimp will be able to see the shade that Mattel uses to market their golden girl.

Nonetheless, I finally had enough energy the other day to sew up those three pairs of trousers.

The pink-leaf blouse, alas, turned out a smidge too big for Petite, so her sister gets it instead.  And since I experimented with fully lining it, here's a shot of how that ended up:

It's quite nice, but the plain muslin does add a bit of bulk.  I'm trying to get ahold of a vintage Barbie dress or two to study the seam finishes and see what was used for lining back then, but I keep getting outbid.

Meanwhile!  My next project is inspired by this photo:

The text that goes with the photo says "Hippies dance at a psychedelic rock concert at the Fillmore Auditorium in San Francisco, California, early summer, 1967".  And I think this pattern will get me pretty close:

Assuming the illustration is accurate, I might lengthen the pattern just a little bit?  So I looked through my scraps of fabric and found these:

The one on the right would be ideal, but there isn't enough of it.  So maybe the one on the left?  Or, then I found these two:

What do y'all think?  Any opinions?

Ugh. Barbie Box!

So, it turns out everyone in the family is Covid-positive.  Joy.  At least Jazzy seems asymptomatic.  Squiddle is congested and mildly achy, and I'm still in the fever and coughs stage.  Wonderful Husband, as I type this, is unconscious and napping so I can't get a status update, but earlier he thought he was on the upswing of things.

I did nap for a couple hours this morning, dozing and sliding in and out of consciousness.  But unlike Wonderful Husband, I can't actually sleep all day when I'm sick.  So, project time!

Sitting at the dining room table and sweating buckets, I worked on rehabbing one of the Barbie cases I've bought to house my expanded collection:

When it arrived, it was a good deal dustier, and had a penny affixed to the front with packing tape.  Why???  After pulling the packing tape off, I used Goo Gone to clear off the sticky residue, and that shined up everything nicely, so I wiped the other sides with it too.

The inside is in mostly good shape.  But it's missing the accessories boxes that should be in the "wardrobe" sections.

Also missing: the elastic that snaps onto those two nubs and keeps the dolls from falling out when the case is opened.  Fortunately, one of my random assortment of snaps fits onto those!  Unfortunately, I only have the one.  When I'm allowed to be back in public again, I'll have to see if Joann's Fabrics has any more snaps that size.

And here she is as she stands now.  I cut down a cereal box and used my glue gun to make the accessory boxes.  When I am allowed out again, I plan to get some pretty scrapbook paper and some Modge Podge and cover the boxes.  I also bought an 80-pack of doll hangers from Amazon, which should be enough to take care of all the doll clothes hanging I could ever need.

Into Every Life, Some Rain Must Fall

Ugh.  Pictureless post.  Somehow this has turned from a quilting blog to a Barbie clothes making blog?  Well, whatever.  Keeps me off the streets and out of the bars, as the saying goes.  And I'm sure the pendulum will swing back at some point.

My father thinks it's stupid that I, a woman in her mid-40s with no daughters, is playing with Barbie dolls again.  But I note he says exactly nothing about my younger sister buying the "collectors" Barbies and keeping them mint-in-box until someday, magically, they become worth significantly more than what she paid for them.

I've finished the newest sleeveless blouse, which is 100% lined, so it looks quite nice, and cut out three pairs of trousers from the same pink fat quarter - one for Petite (to go with the blouse), one 3/4" longer so it'll fit Bellybutton, and the last one another pair of the bellbottoms, so they'll fit Curvy.  Haven't sewn them yet, because....

I have Covid.

Wonderful Husband and I managed to dodge it for more than two and a half years, and everyone in this household is fully vaxxed and boosted, so fingers crossed.  The minute we found out he had it, he put on a mask indoors and has been isolating as best he can - I've been staying in the guest room.  But. *shrugs*  Sometimes your best isn't enough.  Now we're just trying to keep from passing it on to the boys.

Aches and fever and bad sleep for me so far.  He's had the same.  I was hoping the bad sleep was attributable to sleeping in a Bed That Is Not Mine, but I guess not.

Wish us luck.

Butterick 6668

So I picked up two more $.50 Barbies at the thrift store last week because they both had their jewelry sets intact.  Meet Ms. Blue and Ms. Diamond:

Ms. Blue is Cool Times Barbie, from 1988.  You can google for pictures - that is not her original outfit, and her hair did not originally have blue streaks in it, so someone has clearly taken a sharpie to her.  Ms. Diamond, sadly, I cannot track down.  She does have a slight discoloration over her left eyebrow, but scrubbing hasn't taken care of it, so I think it might be discoloration in the plastic.

I did actually like the blue in Ms. Blue's hair.  Unfortunately, it all came off at the "soap and water" stage of her salon treatment.

Here they are post-salon treatment:

The sundresses are temporary garb.  Ms. Diamond gets the green silk dress I made last week; I just need to figure out what to do about her hair.  Ms. Blue I'm not sure about yet.  I think she deserves something fun and jazzy, possibly something matching her earrings.  (I may have bookmarked a bunch of Barbie Jurassic World and Mario clothes on Amazon; I'm just not sure I can stomach paying ~$10/outfit.)

I kind of wish the chicken on the center front of the yellow dress wasn't upside down, but I was literally working from a scrap of fabric.  I pulled it from a $2 bag of fabric I'd gotten at the Port Orchard Quilt Guild a month or two ago.  I'd been mostly picking out fabrics I thought would be good to patch the vintage quilt top I'd made into my nap quilt, but it turns out a surprising number of them are small-scale enough to turn into Barbie clothes.

The dresses themselves are from this pattern:

Unfortunately, I doubt the dapper men's patterns in this one will fit my Ken.  He's one of the buff ones from the 1980s.  Himbo Ken!

Something I do really like on this sundress pattern, though, is the fastening:

It's a little tricky to see, but basically there's a button sewn on the shoulder back, and then you make a thread loop on the shoulder front.  It's been a long time since I've made any thread loops, and I'd forgotten how fun knotting the thread around itself is!  The pattern did call for finishing the neck and armhole seam allowances with bias tape, but I didn't have patience for that.  I debated lining the dresses, but in the end just went with Fray Check, turning the seam under, and top-stitching it down.  The patch pockets are fully lined and fully functional, though!

I've pulled another set of scraps and a fat quarter to make another outfit for Petite next (using Butterick 3419) and then plan to revisit Simplicity 8466, since Wil Wheaton (yes, the actor) retumbled a random picture from 1967 that made me put a fabric and a pattern together in my head.

Simplicity 8466

So!  In rifling through my stack of Barbie patterns, for my next endeavor, I decided to pull out Simplicity 8466, which has a copyright date of 1969.  Like, this pattern is seven years older than me!

The pattern was mostly intact.  It looks like previous owners only ever made image 1 - that yellow flowered dress at bottom center.  I, however, was interested in image 7 - the blue flowered bellbottoms and open-backed top at the bottom right of the picture.  So, with only a slight wince, I cut into the pattern tissue and pinned the four pieces needed to some of my stash of vintage fabric.

The instructions for this pattern were much less concerned with seam finishes than more modern patterns.  In fact, in general, the instructions were "fold over 1/4", clipping as necessary, and top-stitch down."  I used Fray Check on a lot more edges this time.  (And my pinking shears on most of the trouser edges.)

How did it turn out?

The same outfit on Twist'n'Turn, Bellybutton, and Curvy body types.  Amazingly, it fits all three!  That said...

Here's the trousers on the Twist'n'Turn body.  Note all that extra space at the waist?  These trousers were clearly not designed for this body type!  And, upon thought, I think I know why.  The same as how my pattern from 2002, three years after the Twist'n'Turn body was discontinued, doesn't fit the "new" Bellybutton body, so does this pattern, from three years after the Vintage body type was retired, not fit the Twist'n'Turn.  The patterns were made for the old dolls, the ones most people still had.

(That said, I do not actually have one of the Vintage body type dolls to test for fit.  I'm going to have to keep keeping my eyes open at the thrift stores to see if I can get lucky.)

And, for gratuity's sake, a picture of the back of the outfit, which is what drew me to this pattern:

Applying the baby rickrack was easier than I'd thought, though I did have to hand-turn the wheel for fine control rather than use the treadle pedal.

Butterick 3419, pt. 2

So, this morning I finished up the little green silk gown, sewing on a snap at the waist and burying the thread tails from that and the bit of velcro I stitched on last night.

It fits brilliantly... just not for the doll I'd hoped it would.

Looks quite good, and quite true to the pattern illustration, doesn't it?  But it was clearly designed for the Twist 'n Turn Barbie body, not the Bellybutton body.  It will not close on the Bellybutton body, and there is no ease room on the Twist 'n Turn body.  Which means this entire pattern, and indeed, probably all my "day clothes" Barbie patterns, are for that body shape.  The trousers fit the Bellybutton body... because they have an elastic waistband.  sigh

Well, there are a couple of non-fitted dresses in my patterns that will probably work for the Bellybutton body type.  And I guess I have an excuse to buy the current 11.5" doll patterns whenever Joann's Fabrics next puts McCalls patterns on sale.

Pattern notes for this dress: I did not use the interfacing in the skirt that the pattern wanted.  I didn't have any, and at this scale, the dress really doesn't need it.  I finished the neckline with 1/2" bias tape, as suggested, and after folding it over, I machine-sewed it down.  It looked horrible.  So I ripped those stitches out and redid them by hand.  The hem was also hand-sewn, as were the sleeve cuffs.  I pinked most interior seams after sewing them, and used Fray Check on the sleeve, waist, and center back bodice raw edges.

Butterick 3419

Pattern sewing project #1 done!  I took that scrap of green silk and managed to fuss with pattern layout just enough that I was able to get both a dress and a pair of trousers from it.  And possibly a gathered skirt as well, but I've yet to figure that out.

So!  I decided, for my first foray in a long time in sewing from doll clothing patterns, to go with this one:

Butterick 3419 is dated to 2002, so it's twenty years old.  But obviously styled older than that, with fashions of the 1960s.  But, most pertinently, it should have been designed with the "bellybutton" Barbie that came out in 1999 in mind.

My first project was the trousers, since they only had two pieces.  See upper middle-left illustration.

Here's how they turned out, on both the Classic bellybutton Barbie (left), and the Petite bellybutton Barbie (right), which came out in 2016:

The trousers are a good length on Petite, but about 3/4" too short on Classic!  So I've written myself a note to that effect on the pattern piece.  And for one more comparison:

The trousers are also a good length on 1990s Skipper, but perhaps a bit too full.

Next, the "bridesmaid" dress from this pattern (front right image)!

Sewing for Dolls

Might have gotten a couple more Barbies at the thrift store the other day.  One is another Curvy with red hair that I've named Aloy (as in, the main character from Horizon Zero Dawn), and Wonderful Husband agrees with me that I really need to make her that costume.  I also got a blonde ModelMuse doll that I named Morticia (despite the platinum blonde hair) because her lipstick and nails are very red and her expression leaves me no doubt that she has murdered someone.  And a Petite with medium-brown skin and an Afro-ponytail hybrid, who I've named Nichelle in honor of the late Nichelle Nichols.

I also finally remembered that I have a bunch of Barbie clothes patterns, and pulled them out of their box in the garage:

The stack on the left is pre-1999 (when the new body type was introduced, so these will only fit my narrow-waisted dolls from the '80s), the middle stack is costumes of one variety or another, and the right stack is everyday clothes.

And these are the fabrics I picked from the free/discard table at quilt guild.  The two greens on the right are silk - the darker one four yards of charmeuse.  I get first dibs on that!  But the lighter green is a remnant, and a good portion of the rest is probably also intended for Barbie clothes of one kind or another.  Though, for a couple of the lighter prints, I found myself rifling through the set of historical patterns and lamenting that somehow they didn't include a Regency dress pattern!  Well, when it comes to it, either I'll buy one online, or figure it out for myself.

For now, I'm going to make a 1960s day dress out of that green silk remnant and figure out a bit more about how to make clothes at Barbie's scale.