As soon as I saw a picture of the McCall's pattern below I thought it was a pretty dress that looked like it could be simplified for Barbie. And with the holidays coming up... It's time to get sewing! So I drew up a pattern from the picture. This is a fairly easy dress that only has two pattern pieces and three dress pieces. Now, that's for the dress, of course if you want a full puffed out skirt you'll need to add a petticoat or tulle slip or ~something~ to help with that. I just shaped it a bit for the picture. My fabric is a simple cotton, different fabrics will drape differently.
What I did (all seams are backstitched):
Save and use the scroll wheel on mouse aiming for the 1" guide, trace patterns onto paper.
Save and use the scroll wheel on mouse aiming for the 1" guide, trace patterns onto paper.
Bodice, Cut 1:
Skirt, Cut 2:
Cut one of the skirt pieces in half for the back of the dress.
Kinda looks like a Christmas tree😀
Place the back skirt pieces on each side of the front, right sides together, sew 1/4" seam up each side.
Sew 1/4" hem around bottom of skirt ~or~ use hot glue or Liquid Stitch and glue some fun trim to the bottom for an embellishment.
Fold the top edges (triangle) of the bodice over 1/4" and press flat with iron. Add two small darts into bodice approximately as shown on pattern piece. Sew hem around top of bodice.
Make longer darts on bottom.
My best advice, make the space between the two bottom darts 1" for the best fitted dress. Sew the bottom darts about 1/2" long. (After I took this picture I decided it's best to sew the darts/hem around the triangle first, then pin the bottom darts.
Match center front of skirt waistband to center of bodice, right sides together, pin in place. First pin in the center, next the two on the open sides of the skirt. Gently gather in the middle if necessary, but you really shouldn't need to.
Sew 1/4" seam around waist of dress.
Fold dress right sides together and starting at the bottom, sew up the back of the skirt to within 1 1/2" of waistband.
Fold dress right sides together and starting at the bottom, sew up the back of the skirt to within 1 1/2" of waistband.
Press remaining unsewn edges of skirt and bodice over 1/4", you can leave as is, or use a little Liquid Stitch to secure them.
Sew piece of velcro onto opening for easy dressing and garment closure. (I used a dot instead of a strip and hot glue, a little messy, but works for me. I'd use a half dot next time.)
Sew piece of velcro onto opening for easy dressing and garment closure. (I used a dot instead of a strip and hot glue, a little messy, but works for me. I'd use a half dot next time.)
At this point you have a choice for the tip of the top of the bodice. This doll dress fits securely enough to call it complete without straps. If you'd like to create straps (like the pattern)... You can either leave as is and glue or sew some ribbon onto the back of the tip ~or~ fold the tip over about 1/4" and sew the very bottom creating a tube to feed ribbon through. Then lay ribbon over doll's shoulders and drape to back of dress, sew or Liquid Stitch to inside of dress.
***You can see my point ended up, um, more towards a shoulder than center. No worries, I'm going with that look and simply added a little rhinestone embellishment to the big snowflake. Just like I planned it😉
Wa-la, a pretty holiday dress! Perfect as is or you could embellish with a ribbon or shiny diamond mesh belt. Or maybe some gemstone bling at the top of the bodice, etc😎
My inspiration:
A Programming Note:
I wanted to mention that from this point to the end of the year... Anything goes here at DIY Barbie!
I'll be posting anything that comes to mind, whether for the holidays or every day life.
✂Make something just for fun and ~Thank You~ for stopping by!
I'm Joining:
featured on Sewing Craft Gossip
Very cool!
ReplyDeleteI love that old pattern and you have adaptedit so well! Great pattern, I pinned this for future reference!
ReplyDelete