You may have noticed in yesterday’s post, that Francie was shown wearing my latest free Barbie doll clothes pattern: a babydoll pajama pattern (to be posted here on ChellyWood.com tomorrow). Which brings us to today’s #TapeMeasureTuesday doll-clothes-swapping question: Can vintage Francie dolls wear Barbie doll clothes?
The answer is a bit vague: it depends on the garment.
You see, Francie is a bit smaller in the bust and hips than Barbie. Here are Francie’s measurements for sewing purposes:
- Neck circumference… 4.5 cm
- Neck to shoulder seam… 2 cm
- Bust 11.7 cm
- Collar to true waist… 4.9 cm
- Underarm to true waist… 2.8 cm
- Sleeve inseam (underarm to cuff)… 7.8 cm
- Sleeve from shoulder seam to cuff… 8 cm
- Sleeve circumference (upper arm bicep)… 3.7 cm
- Waist… 7.8 cm
- Hip circumference… 11.7 cm
- Pants inseam (crotch to just below the ankle bone)… 13 cm
- Pants outseam (waist to just below the ankle bone)… 17.2 cm
- Pants leg circumference (upper thigh)… 7 cm
- Height not including hair… 10.75 inches or 27.3 cm
Please compare these measurements to the measurements I offered in a previous blog post comparing the measurements of modern Barbie dolls to vintage Barbie dolls.
When you look at Francie compared to vintage Barbie dolls, the bust size is noticeably different, with Vintage Barbie’s bust measuring at 15.5 cm compared to vintage Francie’s 11.7 cm. So if you want to sew clothes that vintage Francie and vintage Barbie can swap, you may have to create clothes that use elastic in the bust area or simply make the bust too big for Francie and live with the fact that she can’t fill out her bodice as fully as Barbie can.
On the other hand, modern Barbie’s chest is a mere 12.5 cm, which is a much closer comparison to vintage Francie’s 11.7 cm. I was able to make a pajama top for my MTM Barbie that fit Francie quite comfortably.
On the left in the image below, you’ll see my MTM Barbie in a pajama top made using the exact same pattern:
If you’re wondering about the pajamas on the right, you can easily sew that set using my summer doll clothes pattern for the top and my Barbie bikini pattern for the elastic-waist shorts.
For your convenience, here are the PDF patterns / MS Word pattern pages and links to helpful tutorials for making the pajamas on the right:
- Free summer wardrobe pattern for Barbie and similar-sized fashion dolls (Microsoft Word download)
- Free summer wardrobe pattern for Barbie and similar-sized fashion dolls (PDF download)
- Free tutorial video showing how to make the top
- Free tutorial showing how to make the swimsuit bottoms/ pajama shorts
The second page of the summer wardrobe pattern is an older pattern, so it goes back to the days when my blog first began. Back then, I was pretty much just sharing my journey as a doll clothes sewing blogger. I never realized my patterns would become so popular! So that old pattern is all hand-drawn.
I’ve made it many times, though, and it is truly a trustworthy pattern, in spite of its age.
The tutorial doesn’t show you how to add bias tape to your pajama top, but here’s a tutorial video that might help:
Tomorrow I’ll post the free printable sewing patterns for making the babydoll PJ’s, so check back with me then if you’re interested!