What are the best patterns for Fashion Doll capes? #DollClothesPatterns #ToyCollectors

In this photograph, we see the Chelly Wood doll (a repainted Spin Master Liv doll that looks like the real doll clothing designer Chelly Wood) holding up vintage Simplicity doll clothes pattern number 8466, which was published in 1969. The pattern offers the following outfits to fit Barbie sized fashion dolls of the time: View 1: a sleeveless dress with high lace collar and a ruffle; view 2: a sleeveless dress with fringe at the bottom in imitation of a Native American style mini skirt; view 3: a bell sleeved mini skirt dress; view 4: a ball gown with empire waist and straps; view 5 a short sleeved turtle neck shirt with mini skirt and vest; view 6: the same mini skirt and short sleeved turtle neck are shown with a blue cape over the top; view 7: bell bottom pants with an elastic waist and a sleeveless shirt that has a buckle style open back.
Please visit ChellyWood.com for free printable sewing patterns for making clothes to fit dolls of many shapes and all different sizes.

You’ll notice, that in the image of Simplicity 8466 above, there’s an adorable cape pattern for fashion dolls. A cape is a super easy design, for even the newest beginners to sew.

The cape above is short (hip-length), made of bright blue fabric, and appears to have a red ribbon for its trim.

But if you’re looking for more of a floor-length medieval-style cape, I recommend vintage Simplicity 8281. Both of these capes are fine for beginners.

What I like about them both is the fact that they tie at the neck, using a ribbon. So simple!

The photo shows a close-up of the cover of a Simplicity 8281 fashion doll clothes pattern. The following outfits are pictured in the artwork shown here: View 1 is a wedding dress with ruffle and veil; view 2 shows a floor-length cape with lace trim; view 2 also shows a tank top with layered long skirt; view 3 shows the same tank top with a pair of pants; view 4 shows a cottage core style dress with a ruffle and short, strappy bodice; view 5 shows a wrap-around skirt with a raglan-sleeved dressy shirt that has side darts; view 7 shows sweat (athletic) pants and an athletic jacket with collar; and view 6 shows a long-sleeved T-shirt with a vest and gaucho pants (referred to on the pattern as "culottes").
Please visit ChellyWood.com for free printable PDF sewing patterns and tutorial videos for making doll clothes to fit dolls of many shapes and all different sizes.

Then we have the McCall’s 6420 cape (below), which has tiny slits for your fashion doll’s hands to poke through. That’s a little trickier to make, but I still say, even with that alteration, this cape is relatively easy to make.

This is a close-up image of a McCall's Barbie doll clothes pattern (number 6420, which has the copyright 1962 on the envelope. The patterns shown include a black tux with bow tie for Ken, a wedding dress with hat and veil for Barbie, a ballet or ice skating dress for Barbie (with a cone shaped hat), a pajama with bloomers for Baribe, a dress with 3/4 length sleeves and a turtle neck for Barbie, and a cape with hat for Barbie. You can learn more about this vintage Barbie pattern from McCall's by visiting ChellyWood.com and clicking on the category "Old Patterns from Chelly's Collection" in the list of categories on the side margin.
Please visit ChellyWood.com for free printable sewing patterns for making doll clothes to fit dolls of many shapes and all different sizes.

Another cape that can be a bit challenging is the one below.

The image shows the Chelly Wood doll holding up a McCall's Crafts sewing pattern which displays the finished projects of a Barbie sized wedding dress, various pants and shirts, a cape, and evening gowns. The article that goes with this image offers advice for buying sewing patterns for making doll clothes, using the eBay auction platform. Please visit ChellyWood.com for additional sewing ideas plus free printable sewing patterns and tutorial videos for making doll clothes to fit dolls of many shapes and all different sizes.
Please visit ChellyWood.com for free printable sewing patterns and tutorial videos for making doll clothes to fit dolls of many shapes and all different sizes.

As you can see on the McCall’s Crafts 4400 doll clothes pattern, there’s a hood, but honestly, hoods aren’t that tricky to make. The tricky part is getting it to drape over the shoulder, as shown on the cover art. The smaller the doll is, the less the clothes will drape like that.

Of course it helps to use jersey fabric instead of heavy cotton or something like that, but it’s still difficult sometimes to find a jersey fabric that’s lightweight enough for your dolls.

Now of course I have a free cape pattern, here on ChellyWood.com, and you can find my hooded cape pattern and tutorial when you visit my historical costume and cosplay page. It looks like this:

Image of Barbie doll in Medieval cloak, holding a sword.
Feel free to help promote this website by pinning, liking, or tweeting about my doll clothes creations!

A few of my older patterns have not yet been converted to PDFs; they’re still only available as JPG images that you can download and print that way.

But tomorrow I plan to convert this cloak pattern to a PDF, for easier downloading and printing. So check back tomorrow to get that free printable PDF sewing pattern, for making a fashion doll cloak with hood.

Most of the commercial patterns I display and talk about here on ChellyWood.com are also available for sale on eBay. However, if you’ve never purchased a pattern on eBay before, it’s a good idea to read the article I wrote called, “Tips for Buying Used Doll Clothes Patterns on eBay.” It will save you time, money, and will likely prevent buyer’s remorse.

And by the way, if you use the links I’ve provided to make your eBay purchase, this website will receive a small commission, which helps fund the ChellyWood.com website, so I can continue to provide you with all the free patterns and tutorial videos offered here.

In case you haven’t heard, my Creative Spark class, “How to Alter Doll Clothes Patterns” is now live on the Creative Spark platform. You can sign up any time you want!

And don’t panic if it seems like too much to take on right now — sometimes our lives get really busy. I get that. But for any class on Creative Spark, you don’t have to sign up any time soon. Just sign up when you’re ready.

And there’s no specific time limit to your courses. You can just take your time and learn at the pace that suits you.

To read more about my free sewing patterns and tutorials, please visit the “Helpful Tips” page.

Disclaimer/Credit/Affiliate Marketing Link:

*ChellyWood.com earns money by linking to JoAnn Fabrics, Amazon, eBay, 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.

Chelly Wood and the ChellyWood.com website are not affiliated with the pattern company or companies mentioned in this blog post, but Chelly finds inspiration in the doll clothes designed by these pattern companies. To purchase patterns from Simplicity, McCall’s, Butterick, Vogue, or other pattern companies shown and discussed in this blog post, please click on the links provided here. These links below the “Disclaimer” section do not help raise money for this free pattern website; they are only offered to give credit to the company that made these patterns.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.