I think it was last year, for Martin Luther King Day — or perhaps it was for Black History Month — I talked about how rare it is to find vintage patterns with representation of African American dolls on the envelope’s cover art. Click here to go back and read that article.
This year, as a follow-up to that blog post, I decided to actually sew one of these lovely vintage doll clothes patterns, in celebration of Martin Luther King Day.
Unfortunately, after I got the pattern in View A sewn, I realized I don’t own any African American dolls that will fit this pattern, but to my surprise, I discovered that Baby Alive dolls will fit in this doll wardrobe.
You’ll notice that in Figure 3 above, the back of the dress had a significant amount of overlap. So I’m not going to lie to you. This pattern fits my Baby Alive quite loosely.
In fact, there’s a lot of gap in the arm hole, which you can see below:
However my followers are often requesting doll clothes patterns to fit Baby Alive, so I thought I’d let you know that the McCalls 9449 “Wardrobe for Chubby Baby and Toddler Dolls” might be a good option.
If you do decide to buy one, though, please note that it comes in three sizes. (Look at the top of the envelope’s cover art below — sorry the small size measurements got cut off in my picture.)
Mine has been stamped with the word “small,” which, according to the pattern, will fit baby and toddler dolls in the 12 inch to 16 inch size range.
And since my Baby Alive is at the lower end of that size range, I chose to use Velcro instead of snaps to create my back closure. That helped make up for the overlap in the back.
It also comes with an adorable pattern for bloomers, which I thought were super easy to make! Just look how cute those turned out!
So I’m going to issue a challenge for Martin Luther King Day…
Even if you don’t own an African American doll, choose a doll clothes pattern that does offer a representative picture of an African American person on the cover art, for your doll clothes sewing projects this week. If you don’t own any commercial patterns with African American dolls on the cover, consider downloading one of my free patterns from right here at ChellyWood.com!
I have LOTS of dolls that represent African Americans, and each of these patterns is free to download, right here on my website!
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.
To read more about my free sewing patterns and tutorials, please visit the “Helpful Tips” page.
For my free doll clothes sewing tutorial videos, be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel, ChellyWood1.
Maybe you already own some great commercial patterns, but you really wish you could alter them to look just a little different. If so, my Creative Spark class, “How to Alter Doll Clothes Patterns” may be just what you need to make your commercially designed patterns into the pattern you see in your imagination.
Are you worried that you won’t have time to take a course in doll clothes pattern alteration? You’ll be happy to learn that, for any class on Creative Spark, you don’t have to follow a schedule. Just sign up when you’re ready.
It’s a one-time fee for the course, and there’s no specific time limit to finish your course. You can just take your time and learn at the pace that suits you. So please go have a look at my paid courses on Creative Spark, using this link.
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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.
Hi Chelly. I have a Simplicity doll clothes pattern #4702 for Barbie dolls with the belly button body, and there is an African American doll modeling View C. I’m glad I read your blog on the diversity of all kinds of dolls on the pattern envelopes. Happy Martin Luther King Day to you.
I looked for that one on eBay. Love that formal gown with the drawstring tie-back! I assume you’re talking about this pattern. Very nice!
What’s your favorite outfit in that pattern?
I love the drawstring halter dress too, along with the different pants patterns and the short skirt.
I would love to find this pattern for my one little doll. Those clothes would fit him.
I’m still working with that pattern (McCall’s 9449) a bit in my spare time, and I’m really enjoying it!