Scroll down to the third set of bullets for the free PDF sewing patterns.

During the month of February, which is Black History Month here in the United States (where I live), I’m featuring black or African American looking dolls in all of my doll clothes pattern pages. Also, I’m going to offer little bits of history related to famous African Americans, famous people of African heritage, famous events related to African American history, and facts about black people’s history in general.

So yes, if you want to make the adorable pink bell bottoms and a T-shirt for your Curvy Barbie, you’ve come to the right place for all the free doll clothes patterns to make them, but there will be interesting facts inserted here and there, as it suits today’s article.

Before I go on, I need to make my required disclaimer statement: As an Amazon affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases. To learn more about how affiliate marketing works on my website, please go to the Privacy Policy page. Thank you!

You may be looking at my images of today’s Curvy Barbie and saying, “Hang on a minute. She’s not black. She has blond hair.”

Of course there are plenty of real-life black people who have blond hair, whether they dyed it blond or they were born that way. Beyonce Knowles rocks blond locks like nobody else in modern music, and if you love the more classical sound of jazz, you’re probably familiar with that heart-wrenching song, “At Last” by Etta James, a naturally blond African American.

I can’t listen to Etta James without saying out loud, “Oh girlfriend, you’ve got it goin’ on!” Click that link. You know you want to!

But for today’s Black History Month fact, I’d like to point out that “Melanesians are the black island people in the south Pacific that migrated thousands of years ago (The Guardian, Nigeria)” to populate the part of the world we now call Oceania. And it may surprise you to learn that they’re black people with naturally blond hair.

If you’re wondering where Melanesian people live, you’ve probably heard of the Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, and Fiji. It’s in this region of the world that you find blond haired Melanesian people.

And how did they get that blond hair? Well European explorers have always throw theories around whenever they’ve encountered somebody unique and awe-inspiring, right? There were European theories about the Melanesian people, of course.

According to Wikipedia, “Early European explorers noted the physical differences among groups of Pacific Islanders. In 1756, Charles de Brosses theorized that there was an ‘old black race’ in the Pacific who were conquered or defeated by the peoples of what is now called Polynesia, whom he distinguished as having lighter skin,” but more recent DNA studies have given us a more accurate knowledge base about who’s related to whom and where, exactly, they came from.

I wish I had more time to elaborate, but as you know, this is a website for people who want to sew doll clothes. So I need to get back to the bell bottoms and tee shirt I’ve got patterns for.

But before I end my study of black people with blond hair, let me say that the DNA of people from all walks of life today is complex. However, what scientists have learned about the origins of the Melanesian people is truly fascinating. Join me by diving deeper into this research!

To learn more, you might want to visit Wikipedia or The Guardian, Nigeria. Both of those articles can give you some insights into the background of Melanesians.

If you go to Wikipedia, watch for an adorable photo of two little girls from Vanuatu. They are SO cute! One of them might grow up to look JUST like my lovely Barbie!

To make today’s doll clothing, you will likely need one of the following items:

• lightweight stretch denim OR
• stretchy cotton for your bellbottom pants
• jersey fabrics for your tee shirt
• Gondola Snaps on Etsy for the tee shirt closure
• 1/8 inch elastic for the casing on the bell bottoms
• chopsticks (for inverting doll clothes)
• Dritz fabric pencil
• Fiskars Stitchers mini snips (for clipping seams efficiently)
• Gutermann sewing machine thread

This list comes from my “Buyer’s Guide” page, which is easily accessed from the home page.

And if you’re interested in using earth-friendly fabrics, please consider buying your fabric from FabScrap. FabScrap is a fabric recycle and reuse service, where you can buy fabrics that would otherwise go into landfills! Watch my FabScrap unboxing video to see what kinds of fabrics they sent me!

To learn more about FabScrap, this page on their website will tell you what a wonderful resource they offer!

*Today’s patterns will fit these dolls:

• Curvy Barbie (from Mattel)
• Made-to-Move Curvy Barbie (from Mattel)
• Queens of Africa Dolls
• modern and Made-to-Move Barbie dolls
• vintage Barbie dolls
• vintage Francie dolls
• Liv dolls

Here are your free, printable PDF sewing patterns and tutorial videos for making the outfit shown at the top of this page:

• Free printable PDF American version sewing pattern for fashion doll stretchy jeans or trousers (use View C)
• Free printable PDF sewing pattern in A4 format, for fashion doll stretchy jeans or trousers (use View C)
• Tutorial video for making the jeans/trousers
• Free printable PDF sewing pattern for an 11 inch fashion doll’s T-shirt (for American letter paper) — use fabric with a lot of stretch!
• Free printable PDF sewing pattern for an 11 inch fashion doll’s T-shirt (for A4 printer paper) — use fabric with a lot of stretch!
• Tutorial video showing how to make a T-shirt
• How to do a whipstitch
• How to sew snaps on fabric
• How to do a backstitch
• How to gather fabric
• How to pull elastic through a casing
• How to use a needle threader
• How to do a basic straight stitch
• How to choose fabric
• How to tie a knot using a needle and thread
• How to measure a doll
• How to press seams open, using a hot iron

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

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1. Leave a comment on any blog post on my site (it helps other people find my website)
2. Leave comments on my YouTube channel (it also helps with search engine optimization)
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To read more about my free sewing patterns and tutorials, please visit the “Helpful Tips” page.

References:

Egbo, Nonso. “The Melanesian: Dark-Skinned People With Blonde Hair.” The Guardian, Nigeria. 20 Feb. 2022. https://guardian.ng/life/the-melanesian-dark-skinned-people-with-blonde-hair/

Wikipedia contributors. “Melanesians.” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 16 Dec. 2025. Web. 2 Feb. 2026.

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, 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.

To honor the trademark rights of the doll companies mentioned in this blog post, I am including links to their websites here. Please feel free to visit their website and consider purchasing one or more of the dolls mentioned.

Queens of Africa dolls are products offered by the Slice by Cake company, which holds the trademark for them (™). They were designed by Taofick Okoya. Please visit the Queens of Africa website to learn more about their company and its trademarked toys, books, and fashions.

Barbie, MTM Barbie, Curvy Barbie, Francie, and Vintage Barbie dolls are products offered by Mattel, which holds the registered trademark for them (™). Please visit the Mattel Toys website to learn more about their company and its trademarked toys.

Liv dolls were products designed and distributed by the Spin Master company, which still makes dolls and toys today (although the Liv dolls are no longer in production at the time of this blog post). The Spin Master company held the trademark for the Liv Dolls (™). Please visit the Spin Master Toys and Games website to learn more about their company and its trademarked toys and games. Please be aware that the Chelly Wood animated doll is a Spin Master Liv doll that has been re-painted and had its wig colored to appear to look like the real doll clothing designer, Chelly Wood. This was done as a creative project by Chelly’s daughters, and the Spin Master Toys and Games company was not involved in the doll’s makeover in any way.