Sorry to hear you had problems doing the pattern. I used my Malibu Barbie, if anything it felt slightly too big, but I was reasonably pleased with how it turned out. Always fun trying new patterns and learning something new. 😊
I am so so SOOOOO glad y'all had trouble with this top too! I was ready to cause harm before I gave up on it! You got way further than I did on the top.❤
The blouse looks lovely in white fabric but what a shame that the pattern was annoying. That would deter the best of us and probably put off beginners 😔. Thank goodness you have sewing experience! ❤️🥰❤️
Made this outfit. Discovered that you really need to use a very light flowy material such as georgiet (sorry about spelling). I also measure paper pattern against doll to see if I need to lengthen or shorten. Have been making barbie/sindy outfits for 5 plus years now and have made hundreds. Best tip if it looks to big /small adjust the width / length of seams and hems. I agree simplicity patterns are not always simple and this is one of them. 15:34 Cheers and have a very nice day Liberty
The bodies of 70s Barbies weren't different from the bodies of 80s Barbies, which it looks like you have. Except that their elbows are bent, of course. I've made Ideal Velvet clothes from vintage 70s Simplicity patterns, and at least one of them came out ill-fitting, too short, and nothing like the illustration.
Doll clothes must be fitted and mocked up just like people clothes. Yokes are awful to make even on people clothes but you seem to have put it in very nicely ex for the one little gather area. You could play with just the yoke cutting the top a little deeper to lower the neck and see how that works. Do not attatch to main body of top till neck is right. Make armpit of sleeve deeper so they are not so tight and add sleeve length, hem length, and back length for fastening. I would look at the top you created as your mock up and go from there. The sleeves can be cased with 1/8 " elastic instead of 1/4 which will flare them out more. For an easier neck option use the 1/8" elastic to gather top instead of yoke for a much easier top option. This makes a darling peasent blouse. Keep notes on all your fitting changes for easy reference.
I am so glad that you posted this, whenever I use a pattern from simplicity or vogue, where they have doll dress patterns for some reason they never come out correct and then I end up feeling stupid and frustrated. This makes me feel so much better.
Oh man. I have to tell you, i ordered online or bought from a store a Simplicity pattern for some Barbie clothes, and did not initially realise that a whole freaking page of instructions is completely blank!! I assumed that it was a one off so i re-ordered a new one (from Amazon....actually i did order it online i remember) thinking that I'd get the new one and the instructions would be complete. But NOPE. So im stuck with trying to figure out how to make the clothes....
I think that the people make patterns these days went to College for computers something. They make these patterns on a computer and do not TEST them, because, anyone that sews, looks at the directions and says......No. No, THAT is not right!~
I think one of your problems with the blouse is that your fabric is too heavy. This blouse really needs a very soft, very thin fabric; something like voile would probably work better.. Secondly, the gathers at the neck really need to be done by machine, because you simply can't achieve the number of gathers needed by hand--I think your problem with the fit of the sleeves and the uneven gathers is largely due to the weight of the fabric and your using hand-stitching. (and I should add that the elastic you used for the sleeves is also way too wide for this size doll--you really do need elastic that is one-eighth inch wide). And third, the Barbie doll you are using is very different from the type of doll the pattern was intended for--in the 1970's, Mattel was still using the original Barbie body, not the Superstar body that you used. The Superstar body came out in the very late 70's and early 80's, i.e. the Disco era. Your pattern is a reprint of a pattern from the mod-era of Barbie fashions, which was the early to mid-70's. I'm not saying that the pattern might not have issues even on the doll it was designed for, like possibly the too-high neckline, but it would be much easier to modify on the body it was intended for. It would take a great deal of pattern alteration to make this blouse fit your Superstar doll. Remember that with measurements so small even an eighth of an inch difference can make the fit fail catastrophically! I'm sorry for all your frustration with this. I would advise that you don't attempt to make a pattern intended for one type of Barbie body for a different one. You are pretty much guaranteed to be unhappy with the results.
I can tell by looking at the pattern pieces and construction method in the pattern that this top would not fit any Barbie properly. The yoke is very wide and goes all the way around the body and then the front and back of the blouse -- squares/rectangles -- with the addition of the sleeves -- more squares/rectangles -- because it's a raglan sleeve -- are gathered to the yoke. This is a terrible design for any figure with curves and angles and will not follow the flow of the body. What you have is a voluminous box stuffed into a non-fitted, non-molded yoke. What you end up with is essentially squares sewn together that are supposed to fit curves. It won't work. For the top to look like the illustration you'd have to redesign the yoke to be narrower, get rid of the raglan sleeves, gather the front to the front yoke, the back to the back yoke, attach them together, and inset the sleeves instead. They are trying to reproduce a 70s design that was voluminous on a tiny frame. To do it you have to use different construction methods because the space you have to work in is so tiny compared to a live human frame. You can get the effect but not with the same construction methods you'd use on a person. There's too much fabric jammed into a tiny space and too much trying to make large squares of fabric drape. They won't. As one commenter said, using very thin flowy fabric will help but it won't solve the problem. It's a flaw in the design. Simplicity clearly never tested the pattern. Because Barbies are anatomically exaggerated and because they are so small you have to find ways to gather fabric in ways that look voluminous but aren't necessarily really voluminous because the bulk destroys fit and drape. Also, I can't see super clearly but it looks like there's a standing collar then attached to the yoke. That's a very strange construction and not one you typically see done even on people. It could work but my experience has been that commercial patterns frequently make the collar piece too short and so it never truly fits well to the bodice/yoke. I usually end up cutting my own collar pieces that are long enough for the actual seam needed. I think commercial pattern companies used charts and now algorithms that aren't 100% accurate because I've found through the years that some patterns just have pieces that are out of whack.
Yes I agree the other body fit better in the dress, but the instructions and pattern sounded like a hot mess. With all the difficulties I still like the blouse.
I love that you were honest about the difficulties… ❤❤❤❤
The style is so lovely, the top has been an issue for everyone as far as i have seen, thank you for sharing ❤❤🥰🥰
Yeah, i also struggled with this dress. I soldered on and finished it but i am not happy with the blouse.
This pattern was very difficult.
Hi Karyn, it looks like what you were able to make looks pretty! 😍 ❤
Sorry to hear you had problems doing the pattern. I used my Malibu Barbie, if anything it felt slightly too big, but I was reasonably pleased with how it turned out. Always fun trying new patterns and learning something new. 😊
I was able to add snaps. My blouse turned out large on my Barbie.
I am so so SOOOOO glad y'all had trouble with this top too! I was ready to cause harm before I gave up on it! You got way further than I did on the top.❤
That is a beautiful dress sometimes a pattern can be so frustrating, I understand completely.
The pattern is a reproduction and i can't find any info on when the original was produced
The blouse looks lovely in white fabric but what a shame that the pattern was annoying.
That would deter the best of us and probably put off beginners 😔. Thank goodness you have sewing experience! ❤️🥰❤️
You gave it a try. 😊 sometimes I don’t know who wrights those patterns.
Oh dear I think Marna and Ela also had problems with the pattern 🥰🥰
Made this outfit. Discovered that you really need to use a very light flowy material such as georgiet (sorry about spelling). I also measure paper pattern against doll to see if I need to lengthen or shorten. Have been making barbie/sindy outfits for 5 plus years now and have made hundreds. Best tip if it looks to big /small adjust the width / length of seams and hems. I agree simplicity patterns are not always simple and this is one of them. 15:34 Cheers and have a very nice day Liberty
Thanks for the tips! ❤️❤️❤️
The bodies of 70s Barbies weren't different from the bodies of 80s Barbies, which it looks like you have. Except that their elbows are bent, of course. I've made Ideal Velvet clothes from vintage 70s Simplicity patterns, and at least one of them came out ill-fitting, too short, and nothing like the illustration.
Doll clothes must be fitted and mocked up just like people clothes. Yokes are awful to make even on people clothes but you seem to have put it in very nicely ex for the one little gather area. You could play with just the yoke cutting the top a little deeper to lower the neck and see how that works. Do not attatch to main body of top till neck is right. Make armpit of sleeve deeper so they are not so tight and add sleeve length, hem length, and back length for fastening. I would look at the top you created as your mock up and go from there. The sleeves can be cased with 1/8 " elastic instead of 1/4 which will flare them out more. For an easier neck option use the 1/8" elastic to gather top instead of yoke for a much easier top option. This makes a darling peasent blouse. Keep notes on all your fitting changes for easy reference.
What great advice. I was hoping someone had some solutions in the comments
Today’s commercial patterns must not have any technical editing done to them at all 😢
Sorry it was so difficult.
I am so glad that you posted this, whenever I use a pattern from simplicity or vogue, where they have doll dress patterns for some reason they never come out correct and then I end up feeling stupid and frustrated. This makes me feel so much better.
It’s not just you and me. Others who did this collab couldn’t get it right either. Glad I could help reassure you. 😁
It seems everyone had trouble with the blouse. I think the pattern is just bad.
Next time I will have to try the patterns first!~ I agree, this pattern was NOT right. ;-)
🙂🙂🙂
Remember the olden days when Simplicity meant SIMPLE, EASY TO USE, PATTERNS!~????
Oh man. I have to tell you, i ordered online or bought from a store a Simplicity pattern for some Barbie clothes, and did not initially realise that a whole freaking page of instructions is completely blank!! I assumed that it was a one off so i re-ordered a new one (from Amazon....actually i did order it online i remember) thinking that I'd get the new one and the instructions would be complete. But NOPE. So im stuck with trying to figure out how to make the clothes....
I think that the people make patterns these days went to College for computers something. They make these patterns on a computer and do not TEST them, because, anyone that sews, looks at the directions and says......No. No, THAT is not right!~
I think one of your problems with the blouse is that your fabric is too heavy. This blouse really needs a very soft, very thin fabric; something like voile would probably work better.. Secondly, the gathers at the neck really need to be done by machine, because you simply can't achieve the number of gathers needed by hand--I think your problem with the fit of the sleeves and the uneven gathers is largely due to the weight of the fabric and your using hand-stitching. (and I should add that the elastic you used for the sleeves is also way too wide for this size doll--you really do need elastic that is one-eighth inch wide). And third, the Barbie doll you are using is very different from the type of doll the pattern was intended for--in the 1970's, Mattel was still using the original Barbie body, not the Superstar body that you used. The Superstar body came out in the very late 70's and early 80's, i.e. the Disco era. Your pattern is a reprint of a pattern from the mod-era of Barbie fashions, which was the early to mid-70's. I'm not saying that the pattern might not have issues even on the doll it was designed for, like possibly the too-high neckline, but it would be much easier to modify on the body it was intended for. It would take a great deal of pattern alteration to make this blouse fit your Superstar doll. Remember that with measurements so small even an eighth of an inch difference can make the fit fail catastrophically! I'm sorry for all your frustration with this. I would advise that you don't attempt to make a pattern intended for one type of Barbie body for a different one. You are pretty much guaranteed to be unhappy with the results.
I can tell by looking at the pattern pieces and construction method in the pattern that this top would not fit any Barbie properly. The yoke is very wide and goes all the way around the body and then the front and back of the blouse -- squares/rectangles -- with the addition of the sleeves -- more squares/rectangles -- because it's a raglan sleeve -- are gathered to the yoke. This is a terrible design for any figure with curves and angles and will not follow the flow of the body. What you have is a voluminous box stuffed into a non-fitted, non-molded yoke. What you end up with is essentially squares sewn together that are supposed to fit curves. It won't work. For the top to look like the illustration you'd have to redesign the yoke to be narrower, get rid of the raglan sleeves, gather the front to the front yoke, the back to the back yoke, attach them together, and inset the sleeves instead. They are trying to reproduce a 70s design that was voluminous on a tiny frame. To do it you have to use different construction methods because the space you have to work in is so tiny compared to a live human frame. You can get the effect but not with the same construction methods you'd use on a person. There's too much fabric jammed into a tiny space and too much trying to make large squares of fabric drape. They won't. As one commenter said, using very thin flowy fabric will help but it won't solve the problem. It's a flaw in the design. Simplicity clearly never tested the pattern. Because Barbies are anatomically exaggerated and because they are so small you have to find ways to gather fabric in ways that look voluminous but aren't necessarily really voluminous because the bulk destroys fit and drape. Also, I can't see super clearly but it looks like there's a standing collar then attached to the yoke. That's a very strange construction and not one you typically see done even on people. It could work but my experience has been that commercial patterns frequently make the collar piece too short and so it never truly fits well to the bodice/yoke. I usually end up cutting my own collar pieces that are long enough for the actual seam needed. I think commercial pattern companies used charts and now algorithms that aren't 100% accurate because I've found through the years that some patterns just have pieces that are out of whack.
The Barbie is very pretty tho!
Yes I agree the other body fit better in the dress, but the instructions and pattern sounded like a hot mess. With all the difficulties I still like the blouse.
Really looks like something is wrong with that element. Gathered stuff confuses me always!