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:
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:
These shorts fit Curvy with a close, clean fit. I can just slip my fingernail between the waistband and Barbie’s tummy:
That’s the kind of fit you want most of the time. But compare that to Tammy’s waistband:
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:
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:
- free video showing how to make curvy fashion doll shorts
- free video tutorial showing how to make curvy fashion doll tops
- how to alter the top for dolls with a broader torso
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!