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Do you remember Mattel’s Heart Family Barbie dolls? They had an awesome African American Ken with a muscular build and better articulation than the Ken dolls of an earlier time. His hairstyle was pretty awesome as well.
I own the Caucasian Ken and this little baby doll from the Heart family collection, but I’ve always wanted the African American set to add to my collection!
According to an article on the National Museum of Play website, “The Heart family demonstrated a more family-oriented, simplified lifestyle, which seemed a refreshing change from those countless weekends in Malibu.“¹ This family of dolls came out in the mid-1980’s, and as far as I can recall, it was the first time a “Barbie” style of doll was sold with a baby.
As you can see in the images above and below, I’ve designed a little sundress that fits the tiny 4 and a half inch (11.5 cm) Heart Family baby girl doll. For this project, you’ll need some craft felt for the bodice (use Bodice B), some small print cotton fabric for the skirt, and some size 1/0 Dritz snaps.
Yes, this pattern has been offered for different dolls in the past, here on ChellyWood.com, but over the years, I’ve gotten several requests to make “Barbie baby doll clothes.” So this is my quick solution to those requests.
Please note that today’s dress pattern won’t fit the modern Barbie baby dolls, as they are much smaller. Patterns for those dolls are still on my list of requests though.
Which dolls will fit these doll clothes?
- Mattel’s Chelsea dolls (5.5 inches or 13.5 cm)
- Mattel’s Kelly dolls (4 inches or 10 cm)
- Mattel’s vintage Heart Family baby doll (4 inches tall)
- 6-inch Enchantimals dolls (15 cm) — (a longer skirt looks better on them)
- vintage Strawberry Shortcake 5 inch (13 cm) dolls
- vintage Strawberry Shortcake toddler dolls (4 inches or 10 cm tall)
- some dollhouse-sized dolls (1:12 scale)
Free patterns and tutorial videos for making this outfit:
- Free printable PDF sewing pattern for tiny doll dresses (use SKIRT A and BODICE B)
- Tutorial showing how to make this dress
- How to do a whipstitch
- How to sew snaps on fabric
- How to do a backstitch
- How to gather fabric
Please remember that my free doll clothes pattern website counts on having lots of visitors to view the ads, so please tell a friend about this site! When it comes to my patterns and tutorial videos, there’s a lot you can do to help spread the word:
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Also note that I am not affiliated with any of the doll or miniatures companies mentioned in this post, but to honor their trademark rights, I am including links to their websites in the section below. Please feel free to visit their website and consider purchasing one or more of the dolls mentioned here.
Disclaimer/Credit/Affiliate Marketing Link:
*ChellyWood.com earns money by linking to Amazon, eBay, Michaels, Etsy, and other online affiliate programs. Links provided above may be affiliate links. For a full list of my affiliate programs, and to understand how cookies are used to help this website earn money, please see my “Privacy Policy” page.
To honor the trademark rights of the doll and action figure companies mentioned in this blog post, I am including links to their websites here. Please feel free to visit their website and consider purchasing one or more of the dolls mentioned.
Enchantimals, Kelly, Heart Family baby dolls, and Chelsea dolls are products offered by Mattel, which holds the registered trademark for them (™). Please visit the Mattel Toys website to learn more about their company and its trademarked toys.
Strawberry Shortcake dolls are products offered by Shortcake IP Holdings LLC, which holds the registered trademark for them (™). Please visit the Strawberry Shortcake website to learn more about their company and its trademarked toys.
Please note that in the first set of bullets on this page, those links are affiliate marketing links. Please visit my “Privacy Policy” page to learn how your personal information is used for affiliate marketing to help support this website financially.