Old Patterns from Chelly's Collection, Uncategorized

Can a Vintage Simplicity 8281 Barbie doll clothes pattern fit Curvy Barbie? #SewVintage #DollClothesPatterns

Here we see a Made-to-Move Barbie with pink lipstick, olive complexion, and pink hair. She wears tiny white plastic shoes and stands on a white surface with a pale blue background that's sort of mottled. She is wearing a handmade skirt that's above the knee. It's made of maroon cotton multicolored fabric with swirls and circles printed in the following colors: pale pink, orange, burgundy, and white. Her shirt, which is made of pale pink cotton fabric has raglan sleeves that are short and no collar. The logo in the lower left corner reminds us that this image comes from ChellyWood.com
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.

Based on the photo you see above, which shows my Curvy Made-to-Move Barbie wearing the raglan-sleeved blouse from View 3 in Simplicity Barbie doll clothes pattern 8281 from the early 1980’s, you would think Curvy Barbies could wear all of the patterns from this set.

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.

But it may not be wise to make assumptions about this vintage pattern just yet. The pattern was originally designed to fit a vintage Barbie from the time, and as you can see in the image below, the raglan-sleeved blouse from Simplicity 8281 fits a vintage Barbie to perfection:

In this photo, a vintage or modern-rendition of a vintage Mattel Barbie models the Chelly Wood bell skirt made of maroon cotton fabric with multi-colored swirls and dots in shades of burgundy, pink, orange, and white, along with the pale pink cotton raglan-sleeved blouse from Simplicity 8281 vintage Barbie patterns. Clearly this shirt is made for this Mattel vintage Barbie because the darts fit her bust nicely. The mini skirt, though, is a Chelly Wood design. The ChellyWood.com logo appears in the lower right corner.
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.

 

The skirt both dolls are wearing is one of my own designs, of course. (Click here for that pattern and tutorial video.) You’ll recognize it from all the different blog posts I’ve been doing about the ensemble shown below:

"Doll Wardrobe" is the heading for this photo. It's a picture of the Chelly Wood doll (actually a Spin Master Liv doll) standing beside a long string of doll clothes, which include (left to right), a maroon-colored floral long skirt, a pink blouse with short raglan sleeves, a maroon tank top, a pink "jumper" (American sense of the word "jumper"), and a maroon-pink-white multicolored short skirt.
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.

 

Well I’ve discovered that the raglan sleeve blouse from View 3 of Simplicity vintage doll clothes pattern #8281 does fit a regular modern-day Barbie, although as you can see in the image below, the darts don’t quite match her bustline:

Here we see a regular Made to Move Barbie wearing the same ensemble as her Curvy Barbie counterpart. She's an African or African American Barbie with light brown streaks in her long brown hair, which she wears in a pony tail. The raglan sleeve shirt and short bell-shaped multicolored skirt look like they fit her adequately, but not exactly to suit her figure. The ChellyWood.com logo appears in the lower right corner.
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.

But does it fit my Made-to-Move Curvy? I’m afraid not. When you flip her around to the back, you can see that the Velcro didn’t quite close when I tried it on her:

The Curvy Made-to-Move Barbie with pink hair is shown from the back. Now that we see her from this view, we can tell that the raglan sleeved pink cotton shirt doesn't quite fit her right. At the neckline, the Velcro closure seals behind her back nicely, but closer to her waist and hip, the seal is broken and pink Velcro sticks out from the opening. The ChellyWood.com logo appears in the upper right corner of this image.
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.

 

That’s just a Made-to-Move Curvy Barbie though… Will the Simplicity 8281 pattern fit my regular Curvy Barbie?

Once again, I’m afraid the answer is no:

This is the photo of a Made-to-Move Barbie with chocolate brown hair and an olive complexion. We see her upper body, hips, and part of her head from the back. As with the Made-to-Move Barbie, her pink cotton raglan-sleeved blouse is open slightly at the hip, although it appears to come closer to closing at the waist. The pink Velcro at the bottom of the shirt's back closure does stick out a bit from the shirt though.
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.

Although in this image, you can see that it fits regular Curvy Barbie with just a little bit more room. It’s possible that snaps may be a better option than Velcro.

The best solution, though, is to make a gusset. If you’re not familiar with gussets, it’s one of the features I teach in my class, “How to Alter Doll Clothes Patterns.” Have a look at the video below to learn more.

 

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.

If you’d like to see all of my previous blog posts on the vintage 8281 Simplicity Barbie doll clothes pattern, or any of the other vintage patterns I’ve written about, please click here.

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

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*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.

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