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Sunday, August 10, 2014

Sewing for Barbie

 This year I visited 3 fashion exhibits.  One at the Victoria and Albert Museum, one at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and one at the Fashion Museum in Bath, England.  Each one was full of wonderful clothing and I came home inspired to create new outfits in miniature for my many dolls.    This dress at the  Fashion Museum in Bath, England was one of those designs that intrigued me.  The lattice style bodice is beautiful.  I've spend many hours trying to determine how to adapt this style to a dress for Barbie.


 I went through my collection of sewing patterns for 11 1/2 inch dolls and decided on a McCall's Pattern.  McCall's Barbie Sewing Patterns are easy to use and have simple pieces and directions.  I made the bodice following the directions and before I sewed the facing on the piece, I used  1/4 inch ribbon crisscrossed over the bodice to imitate the original bodice.  I used Dritz 406 1/4-Inch by 10-Yard Wash Away Wonder Tape  to secure the ribbon to the bodice while I sewed the facing to the bodice.





The skirt is a vintage hankie from my collection.  It is lined with the same cotton fabric that I used for the bodice.  Hankie Couture is a terrific book that is full of outfits made for 11 1/2 inch fashion dolls using vintage hankies.

 



Now that I've mastered the bodice, I'll sew this dress with a different skirt.  If I use skirt fabric that is closer to the color of the ribbon, I should achieve a look that is similar to the original dress.