#TapeMeasureTuesday: What are Curvy Barbie’s measurements for sewing purposes?

The image shows Mattel's Curvy African American Barbie wearing handmade shorts and a handmade shirt. These doll clothes were made using ChellyWood.com's free printable sewing patterns. The doll stands before a brick wall with her hand in her hair. she models the shorts, which fit her figure nicely and the top, which is a sleeveless crop top with a high neckline. The purple shorts and shirt have a floral print. She wears purplish-pink flat shoes, and she's standing on a wooden floor. The overlay on this image offers the URL for the website where you can download the free printable sewing patterns for this Curvy Barbie summer outfit: ChellyWood.com (free printable sewing patterns for dolls of many shapes and sizes).
Please visit ChellyWood.com for FREE printable sewing patterns to fit dolls of many shapes and sizes.

In the image above, you see my Curvy Barbie wearing a summery outfit of shorts and a sleeveless crop top. Of course the free, printable sewing patterns for this outfit are available right here on ChellyWood.com. (Scroll down for the new PDF pattern download and the MS Word download for these shorts and shirt combo.)

Last week we asked whether or not Mattel’s Curvy would fit in Ideal’s Tammy doll pants and vice versa. The truth of the matter lies in their measurements.

Since we measured Tammy last week, I thought we could focus on Curvy Barbie‘s measurements for this #TapeMeasureTuesday. Then later in this blog post, we’ll look at the outfit shown above as it appears on Ideal’s Tammy doll.

Here are Curvy Barbie‘s measurements for sewing purposes:

  • Neck circumference… 4.5 cm
  • Neck to shoulder seam… 2.2 cm
  • Collar to true waist… 5.1 cm
  • Underarm to true waist… 3.2 cm
  • Sleeve inseam (underarm to cuff)… 8.2 cm
  • Sleeve from shoulder seam to cuff… 7.9 cm
  • Sleeve circumference (upper arm bicep)…  4.2 cm
  • Waist… 10.4 cm
  • Hip circumference… 15.3 cm
  • Pants inseam (crotch to just below the ankle bone)… 13.7 cm
  • Pants outseam (waist to just below the ankle bone)… 18.2 cm
  • Pants leg circumference (upper thigh)… 9 cm
  • Height not including hair… 11 inches or 28.5 cm

This Curvy Barbie has sort of flat feet, so a high-heel version of Curvy Barbie might be a hair taller than 11 inches.

Now let’s see how Tammy looks  in my purple shorts outfit:

the image shows Ideal Toy Corp's Tammy doll wearing a pair of shorts that are slightly too big for her and a crop top that fits her just right. The blog post on ChellyWood.com offers measurements for Curvy Barbie and asks whether or not Tammy dolls and Curvy Barbie can wear the same clothes. The illustration shows that the two dolls are not exactly compatible.
Please visit ChellyWood.com for FREE printable sewing patterns to fit dolls of many shapes and sizes.

I find it interesting that Curvy Barbie’s waist (10.4 cm) is actually a bit bigger than Tammy’s (9.7 cm). Of course, when you’re sewing for dolls, this makes a big difference!

Here’s the shorts’ waistband on Curvy Barbie:

The image shows a curvy doll from Mattel's fashionista line wearing handmade doll summer clothes made specifically to fit Mattel's Curvy doll figures. The blog post offers measurements to help you sew for Curvy Barbie dolls.
Please visit ChellyWood.com for FREE printable sewing patterns to fit dolls of many shapes and sizes.

These shorts fit Curvy with a close, clean fit. I can just slip my fingernail between the waistband and Barbie’s tummy:

The image shows the waist of a Curvy Barbie in a pair of handmade doll shorts and a crop top.
Please visit ChellyWood.com for FREE printable sewing patterns to fit dolls of many shapes and sizes.

That’s the kind of fit you want most of the time. But compare that to Tammy’s waistband:

the image shows a Tammy doll wearing Barbie clothes that do not fit her correctly. The blog post offers measurements for the Curvy Barbie doll, and an earlier blog post also offered body measurements for the Ideal Tammy doll. This image is found on ChellyWood.com
Please visit ChellyWood.com for FREE printable sewing patterns to fit dolls of many shapes and sizes.

It’s hard to tell in that photo, but there’s actually quite a bit of room in those shorts. Take a look at the image below:

The image shows Tammy doll wearing a pair of Curvy Barbie shorts. The seamstress puts her finger inside the waistband of the shorts to indicate that the shorts are slightly too big for Tammy dolls. These shorts do fit Curvy Barbie well, though, and the pattern is available on ChellyWood.com
Please visit ChellyWood.com for FREE printable sewing patterns to fit dolls of many shapes and sizes.

I could actually slip those shorts off of Tammy without unsnapping them in back. That’s not the fit you want!

SO if you’re planning to make shorts to fit Tammy dolls, I’d go with the elastic waist shorts that came with the pajama pants pattern that I posted last week. At least with an elastic waistband, the shorts will conform to fit the doll a little better.

You could make this outfit’s crop top to match for Tammy, but definitely choose a different shorts pattern for Tammy.

Now, as promised, I’m re-posting my Curvy Barbie shorts and crop top pattern here as both a PDF and a MS Word file for easy download:

And here are links to the tutorials showing you how to make them:

Remember, if you want to show your appreciation for all my free patterns and tutorials, share them on social media! Thanks a bunch!

And special thanks to AngeliqueMiniatures who pointed out that Tammy dolls can swap clothes with Sindy dolls! You can follow AngeliqueMiniatures on Twitter @Angeliqueminis!

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