I jazzed up a vintage Barbie pattern, Advance 9939, by slapping on a bias tape collar!

The Advance 9939 vintage Barbie doll clothes sewing patterns are shown in close-up. View 1 shows a yellow business suit with a double-breasted coat and A-line skirt; view 2 shows blue plaid culottes with a solid blue sleeveless top; view 3 shows a red evening dress with below-the-knee pencil skirt and 1960's style thick collar; view 4 shows an ice skater's flouncy skirt and long-sleeved top in solid bright blue fabric; view 5 shows a shirt and skirt that look deceptively like a light blue shirtwaist dress but are actually separates; view 6 shows a yellow cape with arm holes (below the knee length), and the drawing also shows a pillbox hat with it. — 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.

See that cute little summer top in View 2 of this vintage Advance 9939 doll clothes pattern* package? That’s what I was working on — creating that set of culottes with the sleeveless blouse that looks so cute and sweet on Ponytail Barbie in the drawings.

That’s not what I got though. Ugh!

*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.

Figure 1 shows a V-shaped pattern for a Barbie blouse or shirt from Advance 2896 vintage Barbie doll clothes patterns, and the patter lies between a ginger-colored brown swatch of fabric that has been cut out using the View 3 shirt pattern; there's an identical V-shaped shirt cut from a leafy-patterned harvest-themed cotton fabric. Then, in view 2, the printed harvest-themed shirt and the ginger brown cotton shirt lie one on top of the other with right sides facing, but the neckline has been cut deeper than what the pattern's neckline offers, and two horseshoe shaped swatches of fabric (very tiny) lie on the cutting mat beside the neckline, showing the cuts of fabric left behind after opening up this neckline by cutting it deeper than what the pattern offers. — 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.

Remember this project (above), which I worked on at Thanksgiving time? Well when I took the pattern for the View 2 blouse for Advance 9939 out of the envelope, I recognized the design right away. It looked a LOT like the pattern from Advance 2896, a skirt and top that I made around Thanksgiving time.

I mean, I shouldn’t have been surprised. Pattern companies are known to re-use old designs or alter them slightly, or just work with the same pattern designers over and over again.

But you can see in this next image, how much these patterns looked alike, as I worked with the View 2 blouse from Advance 9939:

Three photos show the same shirt/blouse project from Advance 9939 View 2. The upper left corner photo shows the white lining of the shirt against a blue cutting mat. The upper right corner photo shows the same angle with the multicolored floral fabric showing. The bottom shows a close-up of the "sleeve" or "sleeveless" area, which has a cut area, making it look like this will, indeed, be a sleeveless garment when finished. — 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.

Now granted, it must be said that I didn’t exactly follow the directions. I tend to prefer using a lining rather than clipping rounded edges and straight-stitching a hem along exposed areas of the garment. And it’s true that this can add a bit of bulk.

However, the end result of making this blouse was exactly the same end result that I had with the Advance 2896 blouse. This pattern design has no darts, and therefore we’re left with a weird-looking collar and bulky design where the doll’s bust would be.

On the left a vintage-style reproduction Barbie with dark brown hair models a pink View 3 blouse which was made using Advance 2896 without alterations to the neckline; in this image, the shirt's shoulders slope up so high that it looks like it's choking the Barbie. On the right, a vintage Malibu Barbie wears a harvest-themed shirt made from the same pattern, but with an alteration to the neckline, and this shirt lies against the base of her neck like a normal cap-sleeved shirt would. — 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.

In the photo on the left, I was using the Advance 2896 pattern, exactly the way they had intended for me to use it, with a yoke instead of a lining. That awful pink shirt is exactly what I got.

And on the right, we see the project after I’ve cut away a significant amount of neckline, nixed the yoke, and used a lining instead. Much better, right?

The yoke was not helpful! It didn’t solve the bulky, bunchy neckline problem, and it didn’t make the blouse look any better.

Here we see the pattern for making Sew-Easy Advance Barbie doll clothes pattern 2896 -- specifically, this is the pattern for making the cap-sleeved shirt from View 3. The pattern is pinned to fabric and has been cut out, along with the facing. Patterns are marked "blouse E" and "facing F." The pattern suggests using 1/4 inch seams. Button and snap locations are marked on both the facing (yoke) and the bodice for the blouse. — 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.

So when I discovered that my Advance 9939 pattern was asking me to make basically the same pattern without the yoke, I had hope that maybe it would turn out better.

Nope.

I ended up with this.

On the cutting mat, an Asian Barbie wears the Advance 9939 View 2 blouse after it has been sewn up. The blouse is NOT sleeveless, but has cap sleeves. Its neckline is quite high, and there's a bulky puff of fabric where the doll's bust is. — 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.

I don’t know if you can tell in that image above, but my first try at the Advance 9939 View 2 blouse turned out to have the same bunchy neckline that doesn’t look good in the front or the back of the doll.

I tried it on with the snaps in front, and I tried it on with the snaps in back. It looked exactly like the the Advance 2896 pattern:

A brunette vintage-style, modern-reproduction Barbie with bangs (fringes) has her hair pulled back in some sort of hair clip that's obscured from view. The doll models a pink cotton blouse with a very high collar and sleeves that are almost not sleeves at all -- just having barely a cap sleeve style. The shirt buttons with snaps down the front. Under this, she wears an ankle-length narrow skirt made of white cotton dotted with tropical fruits. Her shoes are orange plastic open-toe sandals with straps. — 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.

Whether I snapped it in front or back, the final shirt looks nothing like the View 2 drawing on the envelope.

It doesn’t look sleeveless for one thing. It looks like it has cap sleeves, even though I had followed the directions to cut the sleeves inward from the sloping sides of the pattern design.

And then there’s that awful, bunchy collar. Ugh! What a mess!

Something had to be done about the bunchy neckline problem. Just as I had with my Advance 2896 pattern, I cut away the neckline I’d already sewn. But I was already past the stage where I could sew it together along the neckline in a way that made sense.

So instead, I created a collar, using bias tape, like I did in this tutorial video for my tiny little Elsa doll dress:

Please visit ChellyWood.com for free printable sewing patterns for making doll clothes to fit dolls of many shapes and all different sizes.

What I ended up with was acceptable (see image of Bubble Cut Barbie below).

I’ve learned my lesson though… If I recognize a pattern shape that didn’t turn out well in the past, I should definitely trust my instincts and make the alterations that have worked in the past, instead of following the directions as they are written!

On a purple background, a blond Bubble Cut vintage Barbie models a handmade blouse with a multi-colored floral print. The blouse has a red 1/4 inch wide bias tape collar that almost matches the softer red of the red flowers in her print blouse. The sleeves are cap sleeves on this blouse, and the length of the blouse is just below the natural waist. — 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 next time I make the culottes for View 2 of Advance 9939, I will definitely be using my own summer top pattern to go with the culottes-style shorts.

I’m not at all happy with the way this View 2 blouse pattern is designed, and I’m not going to fiddle around with it anymore. (Famous last words…)

A hand-drawn version of the shirt pattern from Advance 2896 Sew-Easy Barbie doll clothes lies on top of a swatch of burgundy colored cotton fabric, but it doesn't quite fit the swatch of fabric. In several places, the pattern extends beyond the edges of the fabric swatch. — 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.

I’d like to know if any of you have had a similar issue. Have you ever opened up a pattern envelope to discover that the pattern you’ll be using looks an awful lot like another pattern you’ve already sewn? If so, please leave a comment below.

How did you react? Did the project turn out okay? Or did you find yourself in a pickle? I’m anxious to hear what you have to say!

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.

For more of my free tutorials, be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel, ChellyWood1.

If you would like to make a donation to this free doll clothes pattern website, please click here. There’s also a “Donate” button in the main menu.

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.

As always, feel free to pin, like, or tweet about my free patterns and tutorials.

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

Disclaimer/Credit/Affiliate Marketing Link:

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.