Last week we took a look at the skirt pockets on my Sew-Easy Advance 2896 vintage Barbie doll sewing pattern, and today I’m going to explain how I altered the neckline of the cap-sleeved shirt that is part of this View 3 pattern set.

To be clear, the skirt in the image above is a separate garment from the shirt.

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Now I had made this shirt once before, using the pattern exactly as it is, and I wasn’t happy with the way this blouse fit my doll.

According to the original instructions, rather than lining the shirt, you’re supposed to apply a partial facing, as shown in the image below:

That looks simple enough, right? You just sew the facing to the neck and back opening of the blouse, and voila! You have a clean look to your shirt’s neckline.

But that’s not what I got.

Look at how the collar-opening of the shirt rides up too high on my Barbie’s neck. Ugh! It looked terrible!

I flipped it around backwards, putting the shirt’s opening at the back, but that didn’t help. The too-high neckline was still awkward at best.

Yeah. Terrible.

So when I went to make this shirt for the second time, I decided to make an alteration to that neckline.

In Figure 1 above, you can see that I cut out a lining instead of cutting out a facing. In figure 2, you can see that I’ve just cut a deeper opening at the neckline, leaving behind those two horseshoe shapes that used to be part of the original neckline.

When you cut a facing, you want to use a fabric of the same weight, so the facing doesn’t pop out in a strange way. In the original shirt that I made using the Advance 2896 vintage Barbie pattern, I did use the exact same pink cotton fabric as the outer shirt, but as you can see below, I still had a pop-out effect, so I ended up topstitching the edge of the facing to prevent it from popping out.

So when I went to make the same shirt with a lining instead of a facing, I considered using a lighter weight fabric.

Unfortunately, as you can see below, I didn’t quite have enough of the fabric I had first wanted to use.

That would have been a lovely lining fabric, but there just wasn’t enough of it.

Of course I could have lined the View 3 shirt with the same harvest-themed fabric, or even that pretty blue that you see me comparing to the color chart along the harvest-themed fabric’s selvedge edge:

But I went with that ginger brown in the end, and I’m happy enough with it.

I sort of wish I had chosen to use the brown as my outer fabric though, instead of the harvest-themed fabric. I think that would have given me more mix-and-match clothing options for the final wardrobe.

At least it fits Barbie better this time though. That alteration that I made to the neckline was key!

I mean, just look at the difference:

And this is exactly why I teach classes in doll clothes pattern alteration. A little bit of knowledge about pattern alteration goes a long way, in creating a wardrobe that truly fits your doll properly!

Scroll down to learn more about those classes.

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.

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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.