Are you old enough to remember Kenner’s Dusty and Skye dolls?

The Simplicity 7737 doll clothes pattern shown just below 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 awesome!

Dusty had a body that looked more like a real teenage girl’s body than Barbie’s body did, and she came with sports equipment! I had her golf set, her parallel bars, her trampoline, and her baseball set. I think I had her golf set too.

Dusty was fit, fun, and fashionable!

I remember the day I bought this Simplicity 7737 doll clothes pattern at my local fabric store. I really believed I had hit the JACKPOT because these doll clothes patterns could fit Dusty!

This Simplicity 7737 pattern gave me my first experience with making a full-length set of overalls/coveralls, and let me tell you, it was a giant learning curve for me. 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.

So is it hard to sew overalls? I’ll be honest with you… it can be very challenging. So when I posted my Thursday tutorial last week, with the overalls pattern that I designed to fit vintage Ideal Velvet dolls (shown below), you may have been able to hear the frustration in my “voice” in that blog post!

And yet, those overalls turned out soooo stinkin’ cute!

There are easier overalls patterns than the Dusty / Skye doll clothes patterns. The ones I designed for vintage Ginny dolls, for example, were really pretty easy to design and sew. In fact, I made two versions of them and didn’t have any difficulties whatsoever:

Not only were they easy to sew, but I really felt great about the final product as well — it was a real sense of accomplishment to design those overalls.

With that said, I’m going to mention that my next course on the Creative Spark online learning platform will teach you how to design your own doll pants, including overalls.

Just look at the adorable overalls I’ve made while filming this class:

With my new Creative Spark course, you’ll learn how to create pants with an elastic waist, like the vintage Francie doll pants that I’m posting a pattern for tomorrow (look below), and you’ll learn how to design your own pants with a fly as well.

We’ll also learn how to design our own leggings patterns for 18 inch dolls, but the lessons I teach will apply to all different sizes of dolls. And as we wrap up the course, I’ll show you three different ways to design your own doll overalls.

So are overalls hard to sew? They can be tricky, but with practice, you can get better and better at sewing them.

Before you sign up for my “How to Design Your Own Doll Pants” course, you should try to make one of the overalls patterns I’ve offered for free, here on ChellyWood.com — or try your luck with an overalls pattern you already own.

Is it something you’d like to learn to design? If so, this upcoming class could be exactly the right course for you!

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.

Here’s a link to Butterick’s Cabbage Patch Kids overalls pattern 6508, for example, and it would be a good one to sew for practice!

And by the way, if you use the links I’ve provided to make your eBay purchases (like the link above), the ChellyWood.com website will receive a small commission, which helps fund my video software and supplies, so I can continue to provide you with all the free patterns and tutorial videos offered here.

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.