Are you old enough to remember Kenner’s Dusty and Skye dolls? Want to know why nobody seems to collect them these days?

The Simplicity 7737 doll clothes pattern shown at the top of this blog post was one I owned back in the 1970’s and ’80’s. The patterns loosely fit Barbie, but they fit Dusty and Skye really well.

Dusty was a doll with an athletic build. Yes, before there was Lammily, there was Dusty. And she was awesome!

The tennis outfit that Dusty’s wearing in the image above suited her perfectly. She was outdoorsy, athletic, and competitive. She also had a body that looked more like a real teenage girl’s body.

Dusty was fit, fun, and fashionable!

I was lucky enough to get the full gym set with my Dusty doll, which included parallel bars and a trampoline. Those accessories are almost impossible to find anymore, but back in the 1970’s, I played with that stuff for HOURS.

My Dusty also golfed — she had a retractable waist, so you could pull her back and she’d swing a golf club on her own — and she played tennis the same way, and baseball too!

My cousin, Virginia, was my favorite fashion doll playmate, and she had both Dusty and Skye, if I remember that correctly. Skye was Dusty’s African American friend, who also had a very athletic body type.

So you might be wondering what ever happened to these dolls? Why aren’t they easy for collectors to find?

Well, there’s a good reason for this. Some dolls in the 1970’s were made using a different kind of plastic that would sort of “melt” over time. I no longer own my Dusty doll, but if I did, she would probably have this same “Melty Pelvis” problem.

Here’s an photo of a World of Love doll (sorry for the nudity), where you can see this Melty Pelvis Syndrome at work:

Those globs of plastic actually stained the dolls’ clothes, if you left their clothes on, while they lay in storage. So it’s especially hard to find original doll clothes for Dusty and Skye that haven’t been damaged by this Melty Pelvis problem.

Of course there are still people who collect Dusty and Skye dolls, but I think a lot of people (myself included) don’t want to deal with all the problems associated with the Melty Pelvis. 🙁 For one thing, the doll’s leg won’t bend properly once the pelvis starts to melt like that. So your doll must forever remain standing.

But the doll clothes patterns made by Simplicity — namely this Simplicity 7737 — are still an amazing set of doll clothes patterns! And as I said, they do fit Barbie, although somewhat loosely.

In fact, I just had a birthday and this Simplicity 7737 doll clothes pattern is what I asked for, as a birthday gift. I’m adding it to my collection because I have significant memories of sewing with it.

I must say, though, that pants suit was a hum-dinger! I remember being in tears over making those collars!

Even with that, though, my own bodysuit and ninja costume patterns were designed based on the lessons I learned when sewing these overalls for Ken and Dusty.

The halter dress was probably my favorite of the patterns from this set. It’s absolutely beautiful, and relatively easy to make. That dress pattern taught me a lot about how to design my own ruffles.

And yes, in case you were wondering, those are supposed to be Donny and Marie Osmond dolls, but I’ll save those dolls for another blog post discussion!

Did you have a Dusty doll or a Skye doll? If so, what do you remember about them? Feel free to leave comments!

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.