As my regular followers know, I’ve recently created all the doll clothes in Simplicity 5861 vintage doll clothes sewing patterns for vintage Skipper dolls.

And I like to tell you what I’ve learned, once I’ve finished making a classic pattern like this one. Today I’ll give you a few simple pointers for making the scarf that goes with the View 5 pattern in the Simplicity 5861 pattern.

But before I go any further, I have to make my necessary disclaimer statement. When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include Amazon, JoAnn Fabric, Etsy, and the eBay Partner Network. As an Amazon affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases. To learn more about how my website uses affiliate marketing, please visit the website’s Privacy Policy page.

Okay, with that said, please take a good look at the scarf in view 5 above. Now let’s have a look at the back of the Simpicity 5861 Skipper doll clothes pattern’s envelope:

I love the little measurement tool on the back of this Simplicity 5861 pattern, in pink ink. How cute is that?

But let’s read the specs for the fabric options on these garments… Suggested fabric types are listed as follows: cotton and blends, velveteen, corduroy, synthetics and blends; jumper, pants, skirt, coat and jacket also in wools and blends; evening dress also in satin.

I made my coat out of cotton, and since I wanted my scarf to match (like the image on the front of the envelope shows), I decided to make the scarf out of the exact same cotton fabric.

As you can see in views 4 and 5 above, the Simplicity Skipper pattern for making the scarf is shaped like a trapezoid (correction — it’s a parallelogram*). That struck me as odd, because I own a lot of human-sized scarves, but none of them are cut this way. So I wondered why the pattern designer chose this strange shape for a doll’s scarf.

But as I’ve said in past blog posts, doll clothes and people clothes are made for different purposes. As such, it makes sense that they should be designed in different ways. So I wanted to learn whatever interesting lesson came out of making this scarf.

Unfortunately, I never did figure out why the designer chose this shape. If you have a theory, please leave a comment! I’d love to know your thoughts on this…

In view 6 above, the pattern’s instructions suggested that I tack the center of the scarf onto the center of the back of the jacket. I’m really glad I didn’t do this, as you’ll see in a moment.

The first problem I had was in hemming a parallelogram. As you can see in the images above, I used a whipstitch.

The envelope assumes you’ll be using a sewing machine, so keep in mind that the experience may be quite different when using a sewing machine. But on the whole, I found it tricky to hem the points of the parallelogram.

So in figure 7 above, you can see that I ended up folding the point in a little bit. I did that to avoid the stringy mess at the tip of figure 8 above. I’m not a fan of single-fold hems because of the “stringy mess” issue. (Kids love to pull at any loose threads you leave on a doll’s garment, unraveling your hard work.)

So when I first tried the cotton scarf on my vintage Skipper, this is what I ended up with. Oy!

Now granted, the envelope does show the scarf sticking out at a strange angle, but in all honesty, I don’t know anyone who wears their scarves this way!

I fiddled around with the scarf, to try to make it look more natural, and this is what I came up with:

Hmmmm… yeah. That’s still kind of wonky.

So I decided to try my hand at designing my own scarf. First and foremost, when I started this project, I had a suspicion that cotton wasn’t the best choice for a doll’s scarf, in spite of what the back of the Simplicity 5861 envelope suggested. So based on my instinct, I decided to use a very loose and stretchy jersey fabric for my own rendition of the scarf.

I measured the length of the original scarf, added seam allowances, and got to work on my jersey version pattern. This would be a rectangular pattern instead of a parallelogram, like the scarf I made for my 1980’s Skipper doll for St. Patrick’s Day last year.

I folded the ends of the rectangle in (figure 10 above) and whipstitched the ends. Then I just folded the whole thing in (a lot like the hem on the original pattern), but I also folded the entire length of it in half, like a hot dot, as seen in figure 11 above. Next, I whipstitched all along the opening.

I was much happier with how this turned out.

The trick, of course, is finding jersey fabric that matches the fabric of the coat. You don’t really have to make the scarf match exactly, though, as long as you choose a jersey fabric that coordinates with your coat’s fabric. A dark blue small print jersey fabric might be okay too, for example.

Any of these fabrics would probably work:

But where do you find jersey fabrics with prints that are small enough for a Skipper-sized or Stacie-sized doll’s scarf?

My jersey-fabric scarf was actually made from a discarded tee shirt that just happened to match the blue cotton that my coat was made from. What luck! But what are the chances that you’ll happen to have a discarded tee shirt in exactly the right fabric?

So here’s another way to find fabric for your doll’s scarf… Look in your laundry basket for a stray sock that has lost its mate!

I don’t recommend buying them new for this purpose, as it’s not good for the environment, but undies can be a good source for tiny-patterned jersey fabrics as well…

Before I go, I want to say that I truly enjoyed making all of the outfits in the Simplicity 5861 pattern envelope. Holy smokes, these were super fun to make!

And as you’ll note in my earlier images, not only do these patterns fit vintage Skipper dolls (the doll they were originally intended for), but they will also fit modern Stacie dolls. So if you can get your hands on an uncut Simplicity 5861, you’ll very likely enjoy making them as well!

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.

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For anyone who would like to expand their dolls’ wardrobes, you should really check out my “How to Alter Doll Clothes Patterns” course and my “Design Your Own Doll Pants Patterns from Scratch” classes on the Creative Spark online learning platform. Here’s my bio page on their website, where you can learn more.

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 go check out my paid courses on Creative Spark, using this link.

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Disclaimer/Credit/Affiliate Marketing Link:

*Please note: when you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include Amazon, JoAnn Fabric, Etsy, and the eBay Partner Network. As an Amazon affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases. To learn more about how my website uses affiliate marketing, please visit the website’s 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.