This purse is A-1 (the first pattern under Accessories/Accessoarer) which is orange on the pattern. It’s a clever little pattern, mostly knit in stockinette with the bag seams in reverse stockinette and the flap in garter stitch. Instead of crocheting the shoulder strap as specified, I knit mine. I used sock yarn—the purple one is that Mad Tosh Twist Light that I used for the Timely Twin Set (still more left! LOL) and the red is some Diamond Yarn sock yarn. Here they are:
Size-wise, it’s more of a messenger bag than a purse, but I like the results a lot. The purple one is for my EverAfter Briar Rose doll, so it got a rose button for a clasp.
I often have fitting adventures when I sew for myself, but I never expected to have so many fitting challenges for Barbie. Among my recent fails has been this top for Barbie. It’s a cute pattern and very cleverly designed, but it was my first big lesson about fit for my 1/6 scale friend.
This is another free pattern from the Sticka til Barbie website: a sleeveless top with some great bias shaping detail. It’s pattern 174 (that’s a Ravelry link) which also includes a trumpet skirt.
This little top is knit flat and seamed up the centre back. I knit the first one (reddish) in MadTosh Merino Light and it was very snug on my vintage Barbie. VERY snug. It was tough to get on her at all. Hmm. What was wrong? I used up one stitch for the seam, but that didn’t seem excessive.
My friend Terri is a tailor and we talk about fit a lot. One of the things she considers when fitting women is shape, and the location of curves. She talks about drawing an imaginary line down center front and another down center back, then one down each side seam. This divides the bodice into four quadrants—but they probably aren’t the same size. One woman with a 40″ bust could be buxom with a narrow back, so maybe each front “quadrant” is 13″ wide and each back one is only 7″ wide. Another could have a broad back while yet another could be asymmetical. Knowing where your curves are means that you can adapt the pattern to fit. So, this little top isn’t taking that into account at all. Vintage Barbie is very buxom, yet this top divides into four equal quarters. It has no back or front. Of course, it will be snug for Barbie.
With this in mind, I knit a second (green) top in Malabrigo Sock, joining it to knit in the round – which gave me one more stitch because there wasn’t a seam – and added two stitches to the front, one on each side. This one is still snug – in fact, it’s not a lot bigger than the first one because the Malabrigo Sock is a thinner yarn. Hmm.
I switched to larger needles for the next one and a thicker sock yarn. This is the bright red one. I also added one repeat to the length. It came out bigger, longer and thicker. It’s a better fit for vintage Barbie. I’m not so fond of how thick it is, though.
The curious thing is that in the pattern picture, the top looks loose in the bust. What’s different? The doll modelling the top is not a vintage Barbie.
Similarly, I had issues with the sundress from McCalls 7550 being too snug in the bust for my vintage Barbie. After writing that blog post, I made the suit (shown in shades of taupe on the pattern envelope) in some scraps of silk dupioni. The jacket was snug but fit all right as long as she had nothing underneath. (Not perhaps the best look for semi-formal wear.) The dress was so tight that it was ridiculous, and the jacket wouldn’t go over it at all. That one went into the trash.
Once again, the doll modelling the clothes is not a vintage Barbie and that’s the key.
There is a difference in measurements between vintage Barbie and newer Barbie, as shown on this free download of slopers for Barbie. (This blog post includes instructions on drafting patterns from the sloper. Look in the sidebar of the website for Downloads, then you want BarbieBasicPatternSet.pdf) There are two styles accommodated here: vintage Barbie and what she refers to as the newer Barbie body style from the early 2000’s.
There are, though, a lot more variations than that. I have a number of Barbies, some having been my dolls and some from the thrift store, and when I line five of them up, it’s easy to see the changes in body style and dimensions. Have a look at them naked:
From the left – vintage repro Barbie, Silkstone Barbie, Twist-and-Turn Barbie, Bellybutton Barbie and Model Muse Barbie. The bust size changes between these three body types, as does the height – and the dimensions of the foot. It looks like the curves of the original Barbie were made less dramatic, beginning with the Bellybutton Barbie – vintage and TNT are very similar in shape, but Bellybutton has a smaller and higher bust as well as a thicker waist. Then the vintage shape made a comeback with Silkstone and other collectibles, with some changes. Silkstone is slimmer and taller than vintage, for example, with a higher bust. Model Muse is another thing altogether, the slimmest of all of these and also taller than vintage, TNT and Bellybutton. This doesn’t consider other 11.5″ dolls from other manufacturers and their dimensions or the current body styles. Given the scale, it’s pretty easy to see that something that fits one of these dolls might not fit the others. Model Muse can wear the two tops at the top of this post – in fact, they’re a bit baggy on her.
Of the slopers posted in the link above, “old style” will fit vintage and TNT. “New Style” will fit Bellybutton. That body type was used on a lot of dolls, including My Scene dolls (which have bigger heads), and can be easily identified by the cross-hatch “panties” – and the bellybutton, of course. Silkstone can wear “old style” but it will be loose around the middle. I haven’t figured out Model Muse with her tilty hips.
This means that Barbie is that most annoying of dressmaking clients—the woman whose measurements change over time. (Even her height and shoe size changes.) Just as with any other dressmaking, I need to know my client’s measurements to get the best fit.
Sometimes you need a quick project and some instant crafty gratification. Here’s a recent favorite of mine – some knitted purses for Barbie.
The patterns are from a website of free knitting patterns for Barbie called Sticka till Barbie. It’s in Sweden and is amazing. (The pictures are teeny, but it’s worth a good look.) There really are more than a thousand patterns for Barbie and about 300 for Bratz dolls—including 8 years of ABBA costumes. (Click ABBA on the menu bar to see, then they’re sorted by year.) There are project pictures on Ravelry and since they’re larger, it’s easier to see details there – here’s the designer page on Ravelry.
On the right is A-7 – a circular drawstring bag. I knit mine iwith some red MadTosh and black Malabrigo Sock, adding a bit of detail above the colour change. I put a little cardboard square in the bottom. The drawstring is a manufactured cord instead of a knitted one.
On the left is A-5 on the same page – a striped tote bag. This one’s knit sideways – you do the stripes first, join the strip into a ring, then pick up stitches for the handles. Someone on Ravelry suggested a provisional cast-on and 3-needle bind off, which seemed like a good idea to me. I grafted the loop together, though.
These are quick knits and a bit addictive, plus a great way to use up scraps of sock yarn. I know I’ll be knitting more!
If you knit for dolls, this site is a great resource.
This project is actually the one I cast on before the shrugs but finished later. Why? Because it’s fiddly.
Here’s the book the last time Jen tempted me to knit for dolls. 🙂 It’s called Knits for Barbie and is by Nicky Epstein. It’s out of print, so that’s a Ravelry link. There are a lot of cute patterns here, and they’re styled nicely for inspiration.
The specified yarns are often tapestry yarns, but many people on Ravelry use sock yarn. What’s distinct about these patterns to me is that they’re made exactly like sweaters for people from traditional patterns. No top-down seamless stuff here. I’ve never been so glad to finish a project as these two sweaters – and the process definitely made me appreciate the seamless shrug pattern I shared with you last week.
But let’s talk about the cardigans. I decided to make the Timely Twin Set, (another Ravelry link there) which is a cardigan and sleeveless shell. For my first attempt, I used some leftover Madeline Tosh Twist Light in Lepidoptra. This is kind of kettle-dyed and so it didn’t make stripes even on a small garment. I knit the back, the two fronts, the two sleeves, sewed it all together, then picked up the button bands on each front, and finally knit the collar. Just like a big sweater, but teeny teeny tiny!
One thing I learned quickly is that no matter how small the stitches, Barbie fingers are smaller. It’s much easier to try these sweaters on Barbie if she has a pair of mittens on. (Barbie “gloves” are actually mittens as the fingers aren’t separated.) If you don’t have any, you could wrap a piece of cloth or the corner of a sandwich bag over her hand to put on the sweater. My vintage doll has a gap between her pinkie and the other fingers, as well as between fingers and thumb, and it was that pinkie that gave the trouble.
This cardigan pattern has no buttonholes, just buttons on the left, so the sweater is always worn open. I used teeny tiny snaps (five of them) and sewed the buttons on the right front instead. These are 3mm clear snaps that I ordered online. They’re very tiny, which I like, but they’re hard to fasten. I wouldn’t recommend them for little fingers. I might (gah) take them off and sew on plain old metal snaps.
Here’s the finished cardigan from the side:
Barbie is wearing a pair of pants I made for her of cotton twill. They’re a bit too long for her, but we both like the color.
The cardigan is pretty bulky for Barbie – I think it looks better in the pictures than IRL – so I didn’t knit the shell to go with it. Instead, I tried an experiment and knit the cardigan again, this time in Elann Silken Kydd (which is like Rowan Kidsilk Haze).
This time, I eliminated the side seams and knit the body to the underarms, then divided it. I still knit the sleeves separately and did the button bands etc. I did the five snaps and buttons again, and here’s the result:
It’s still pretty fluffy, even though this one came out smaller in the thinner yarn. (Same needles.) It reminds me of a mohair sweater I have myself – it’s exactly the sweater I want when the power goes out, but not so much otherwise. It’s really fluffy and warm, but not flattering at all. It’s knit of that thick mohair that used to be prevalent. I want Barbie to be glamourous not practical!
Here are the two sweaters beside each other, so you can see the difference just by changing the yarn:
So, I’ll try a variation, a top-down cardigan with a lot fewer seams. Stay tuned for that!
I was tempted into knitting for dolls by my friend, Jen, and this is dangerous territory. It’s really addictive to knit teeny tiny projects – the assumption is that projects will be finishing quickly, but I’m discovering that my need to get it “just right” means these little sweaters take a while. (We’ll talk about sewing for dolls later. I’m further down that rabbit hole.)
Jen has a Blythe doll and I knit this little shrug for her.
This is extremely teeny and I wish I’d put something in the photograph for scale before sending it off. It’s maybe 2″ wide. The pattern is a free pattern on Ravelry called Shrug for Blythe, and it’s a great pattern. I found the instructions very clear and the results adorable – with no seaming! I knit it in some leftover Elann Silken Kydd, which is discontinued (that’s a Ravelry link) and a lot like Rowan Kidsilk Haze.
I tried this sweater on Barbie, because I don’t collect Blythe dolls, and it was too small. The length was good and the back width, but the fronts were small. Barbie definitely has more of a bust than Blythe! I played around with the stitch counts and made a few more changes, too – I wanted a shrug king of like Bacall, a Rowan pattern for actual people. (The Rowan site has been redesigned and I’m not sure this pattern is even there anymore, so that’s a Ravelry link. It was originally published in Rowan 44, and was a free download for a while.)
This shrug was designed by Sarah Hatton – I think the sample garment is too broad in the shoulders for the model shown here (or maybe too wide in the neck), but I love the roll collar.
I knit the long-sleeved version of it in Kidsilk Aura for myself, and it’s a wonderful squishy soft warm sweater. (Yes, I actually used the specified yarn. It happens sometimes.)
And here’s my modified shrug in Rowan Kidsilk Haze, adjusted to fit Barbie:
It has cap sleeves and a garter stitch collar. There’s also a loop and button closure at the front. The collar can be rolled as above, or lifted so it makes an opera collar. See?
My model, btw, is the 35th Anniversary Reproduction Barbie from 1993, the brunette version. I bought her on eBay NIB, and removed her from the box. (Yes, I am an un-boxer.) The plastic tie in her hair had disintegrated so I had to redo her hair, and the adhesive from her strapless bathing suit had also dried into a sticky mess, but I got her cleaned up. (I think she looks happier after 28 years in a box.) She’s a bit cheeky, wearing this shrug with nothing underneath, but she needs some tops and dresses. The Kidsilk Haze is really soft…
I still have a couple of tweaks to make to the pattern and will knit another one to be sure I have it right. (See how this goes?) Then she’ll need the perfect dress to wear with it…
Alive & Knitting 