Simple Sundress

Posted on April 17, 2025 by Deborah Cooke

I’ve admired this pattern from Hankie Chic for a while, and finally bought a copy. I also made it for the girls almost immediately, which is pretty amazing. Usually patterns have to wait their turn in the queue. Not only that, but I made a second one right away, in a fabric that had just joined my stash, so I’m making personal ‘firsts’ all over the place this month. 🙂

Here’s the pattern – it’s available from the designer’s website right here. There’s just the one view, although you can see that the designer did some fussy-cutting to have borders and bands in different places. I found this to be a very easy and quick make.

Here’s the first one, made of quilting cotton and lined with cotton voile. This is one of the new Barbie Basics dolls with a MTM Original body, and the dress fits her. It’s a bit looser on her than on the original Silkstone, but I positioned the snaps for the Silkie girls. I did some top-stitching on this one as the quilting cotton seemed more bulky than crisp.

Simple Sundress pattern from Hankie Chic made in quilting cotton by Deborah Cooke

One of the results of using quilting cotton for a pattern like this with a very full skirt is that the gathers at the waist add a tremendous amount of bulk. The fabric is gathered as much as it can be or close to it, and that adds a lot of fabric in the seam allowance. You can probably see a huge difference in the waist in the second version.

This one is made from a piece of silk taffeta that I got at our sewing guild’s fabric swap – yes, it was here for less than a week before some of it was sewn up. (I know. The world is wobbling on its axis.) It’s also lined with cotton voile. This one is so very crisp. 🙂

Simple Sundress pattern from Hankie Chic made in silk taffeta by Deborah Cooke

The skirt on this one is a little bit longer than the pattern specifies. Silkie has a new pair of shoes that coordinate perfectly. It pleased me that the gold vertical stripe lined up on the skirt and waistband, because I hadn’t planned that. Sometimes there are good surprises!

Part of the difference in the slimmer waist is the doll, of course – the Silkies are smaller in the waist than the new MTM dolls (and bigger in the bust), but still. There’s a lot less bulk in the seam allowance because the silk taffeta is much thinner than the quilting cotton. Using a thinner fabric – like the silk or a cotton voile, perhaps a Liberty Tana Lawn – diminishes the bulk of the seam allowances at the waist. I don’t think you can trim it much and am not sure it would matter as you’d still have some gathered skirt seam allowance. Another way to address this would be to cut a circle instead of a rectangle for the skirt, as there would be less gathering – there could even be no gathering at all, depending on the size of the inner (waist) circle. I think I may play with that a bit.

The only pattern modification I made for the second one was to move the gathers out a smidgen on the bodice. I thought the first bodice was a little ruffly at the centre front – that could be a bit of an illusion because the doll is flat there. It does make sense to have the gathers immediately under the bust. For the second, I left the first centimeter from the front edge on each front bodice piece flat, and gathered from there to the side seam. Again, the fabric was gathered about as much as it could be in that small space. Another solution would be to pleat or dart the front pieces to get the fit. There’s something else to play with.

One last observation – I’d forgotten how much silk taffeta wants to fray. I ended up sewing one centre back edge a second time – the seam allowance frayed away after I trimmed the seam, so I sewed it again, then zigzagged the seam allowance just to be sure. I dislike how products like FrayCheck make fabric feel, so the next time I cut this silk taffeta, I’ll finish all the edges before I start assembling the garment.

I’m really pleased with both. 🙂

New Girls

Posted on April 14, 2025 by Deborah Cooke

Two new girls moved in over the holidays and I finally remembered to show you them to you. The theory was that they would be the last additions for a while – but then the Barbie Basics 2025 happened. Oh, and Lacie Churchill, too. (!)

First up, a Silkstone Gift Set that I’ve admired for a while. This is A Model Life from 2003. That’s the gift set at the left, then the two promotional images from Mattel.

A Model Life Silkstone Barbie giftset 2003 — Silkstone Barbie A Model Life 2003

The doll comes with her lingerie, two pairs of shoes, a pantsuit with pink blouse and a coordinating black skirt, as well as a pair of pantihose and other accessories. I bought mine new in box (NRFB actually), so she’s precisely the way she originally shipped. That said, the materials used for these dolls don’t always age well. It’s pretty common to discover that hair elastics have crumbled to dust or that the tape has dried out. The skirt peeled a bit when I removed it from the box – it was taped in and the tape had dried to the pleather so that they bonded together forever. Also her hip joints are also a little looser than might be ideal, which is another thing that changes over time. Funny that I just saw a video demonstrating how to restring these dolls when that happens. (Who knew? Not me.) So, I don’t think I’ll buy more older dolls without being able to have a good look at them first.

On the other hand, this encourages me to try something I’ve been thinking about. When the last Silkstone girl arrived, I thought about replicating some of her clothes in better fabrics. The designs and the cut are usually interesting and a better fit than many of the patterns available for sale. So, the first job on that list will be replacing this little black skirt. It should be easily done. The “official” clothes from Mattel aren’t usually lined – this skirt isn’t – and tend to be serged together. I suspect my replacement skirt will be nicer. 🙂

Her hair looks like it’s full in the back in these photos, but actually, she has the (inevitable) ponytail and forehead curl. The elastic in her hair is holding but just barely. I’ll have a look at options one of these days when it needs replacing.

Poppy Parker It's My Party 2024 — 2024 Poppy Parker It’s My Party

The other new girl who arrived is my first Poppy Parker. Her story is that she’s a girl from the Midwest who moves to New York in the 1960’s to become a model, so all of PP’s wardrobe is 60’s-inspired. She’s made by Integrity Toys, and often has amazing accessories. This one is a little simpler in that regard. She’s called It’s My Party and is from 2024, also NRFB – at least until she arrived here. This is the fourth doll from the At Home collection, which celebrated Poppy’s 15th anniversary. At right is one of the promo images.

Here’s a blog post featuring all four of the dolls in that collection with lots of pictures.

Integrity Toys Jade Feelin' Extra - new — 2019 Integrity Toys Jade Feelin’ Extra

I have one other doll from Integrity Toys, my Jade Feelin’ Extra, and expected some similarities between these two. Jade has beautifully made clothes – that baseball jacket is exquisite, embroidered, lined, and with a working zipper – and also fun accessories, like her purse and shoes. She has a second pair of hands in a different pose as well as jewellery.

Poppy is similar. She has the same body type, or very close to it, with a lot of articulation. She also has a second set of hands, painted to look like she’s wearing short gloves. I don’t love the joint at the ankle on the PP’s with interchangeable feet, so I’m glad that this one only has high-heeled feet.

I’ve also gotten some new storage for the girls and their gear, which tidies things up considerably and also has let me get a bit more organized. (Nowhere to go but up with that situation.) This is a shelving unit from Ikea called Kallax. We are changing out the knobs with an upgrade from Lee Valley. I love the seagrass baskets (also from Ikea) – they look great and smell wonderful.

Storage for Deborah Cooke's girls and sewing supplies

The mister is still installing the pair of doors at either end of the middle row, but the drawers are full of teensy supplies, all neatly sorted. Those are all my books for the girls at the top left and their shoes at the top right. The red binder has my knitting patterns for the girls. I’ve put their stands in one of the baskets which is a great solution. That box of patterns will go into another basket, then maybe projects-in-progress (now in a box off to the right) in another. The fourth will probably have fabric stash. It certainly is making things feel neater, even though it’s still in progress. The girls will stay in their carriers and their clothes will remain in wardrobes. I have to figure out what to do with the 16″ girls since they don’t fit in these cubbies and it’s hard to find boxes tall enough for them. One step at a time!

Revisiting McCalls 7550

Posted on April 10, 2025 by Deborah Cooke

The first sewing pattern I used for the 11.5″ girls was this one, McCalls 7550. That experience taught me to look at the dolls modelling the garments in the picture, because nothing I made from this pattern fit my vintage Barbies. I made the sundress (shown in a blue floral) in navy and again in pink, and it just barely fit the Silkstone girls. The pattern is drafted for dolls that are less curvy than vintage B.

Here’s my post about those dresses.

Now, of course, my newest girls have a different body sculpt than vintage B. original Silkstone or articulated Silkstone. The Made-to-Move Original body is smaller in the bust and hips, and generally less curvy. I have the Looks 20 redhead, and the blonde from the new Basic Black series has the same body sculpt. I was wondering what patterns to use for them – the garments that fit the Silkies are a bit big in the bust for the MTM Original body – and remembered this pattern.

Aha! It works brilliantly.

Let’s have a look. I made sundresses again – that view has a halter top – but left out the crinolines. Here’s one of them in a cotton print (with cotton voile lining) on Barbie Basics #2: (Hmm. Now I see the red thread on the front of her skirt. Oops!)

McCalls 7550 view B on Barbie Basics #2 sewn by Deborah Cooke

I’ve always thought these hats were funny – they’re made of two circles of fabric with a wedge cut out, like a piece of pie. The opening is then seamed, like a dart, and the two sides sewn together and turned. It looks like a plate to me BUT it’s hard to make hats for the girls. In the first place, they’re fiddly, and in the second, they often are too small to sit well on their heads. When they’re made big enough, they look disproportionate. I love hats and this frustrates me. I tried the disc hat on a whim, and it actually looks pretty good. Who would have guessed?

The shoes make me laugh. They were included in a mixy-mixy bundle of shoes for B. They should have red soles because they look like Christian LouBoutin’s Daffodile pumps embellished with Swarovski crystals. (Nothing but the best for the girls!) I’m trying to figure out a way to neatly paint the soles red and make them sparkle. Too bad I only have a white pair.

I also made the jacket and pants (shown in pink on the pattern envelope) with the top but without the scarf. I used pleather for the pants and these are snug even on MTM Original. It might be the fabric.

McCalls 7550 view E on Barbie Looks #20 sewn by Deborah Cooke

They look great, though, and the length is perfect. I made the top but didn’t like it particularly. It’s a little loose in the bust on this girl but just a relaxed fit. I changed the neckline to a V instead of the round neck so now that top looks a bit like scrubs to me. That may be the issue for me.

Instead of the top, I knit a top from Sticka-til-Barbie, #263, in black Malabrigo Sock. Here’s the Ravelry link for that pattern. Like so many of these patterns, it’s a quick and clever knit. I made the decreases mirror each other, but otherwise just knit as written. This one is a little confusing – it’s knit in the round to the bottom of the front slit, then you need to work past the CB to the othet CF with each row.

The jacket is also quilting cotton, also lined in cotton voile.

I tried both on an articulated Silkstone and an original Silkstone.

McCalls 7550 view B on articulated Silkstone Barbie Best in Black sewn by Deborah Cooke

This is a little loose in the waist and fits perfectly in the bust on the articulated Silkstone. (She’s Best in Black, btw.) If I was sewing specifically for her, I would just move the waist snap 1/8″.

Here’s an original Silkstone in view E.

original Silkstone Barbie in view E McCalls 7550, sewn by Deborah Cooke

This is A Model Life. The pants are quite loose around the waist for her but fit okay through the hips. I think they could be a teensy bit longer. She refused to wear the red boots, btw. 🙂

She also wasn’t fond of the sweater, as if was quite loose for her, especially in the waist. She preferred this little short sleeved cotton top that I drafted up for the Barbie Basics 20. (She liked it, too, but it didn’t fit under the coat, which she loves.)

Sticka till Barbie top #263 knitted by Deborah Cooke in Malabrigo Sock and modelled by an original Silkstone Barbie (It's a Model Life)

Short-sleeved top drafted and sewn by Deborah Cooke, modelled by an original Silkstone Barbie (It's a Model Life)

So this pattern that I’d set aside in frustration is now a go-to for the newest girls. This pattern is still available new, in either print or downloadable PDF. Here’s the link to the product page at Simplicity patterns.

I’m now regretting that I chucked out the suit I made from this pattern. It’s shown in green on the envelope, a dress and jacket, and I made it of ivory silk. It was soooooo pretty but it didn’t fit any of my girls then. I guess I’ll just have to make it again – but now, I have a piece of green silk that will be just perfect.

A Little Retail Therapy

Posted on March 14, 2025 by Deborah Cooke

It has been quiet here this month, because a lot has been going on in my working life. I’ve been spending a lot of time staring at the screen, updating links and distribution channels for my books – which means not much sewing or knitting has been going on. I’m getting to the end of that project, though, so decided to treat myself to some new girls.

Mattel introduced five Barbie Basics dolls this year, which went on sale earlier this month. They have the made-to-move articulated bodies and I ordered three of them. Here’s the whole collection – the images are linked to the landing pages on the Mattel website:

They are a mix of made-to-move body types, although it’s not that easy to see as much from my screen shots. Doll 1 is MTM Original; doll 2 is MTM Original; doll 3 is MTM Tall; doll 4 is MTM Petite; doll 5 is MTM Curvy. And they have different face sculpts: doll 1 is Kit; doll 2 is Karl; doll 3 is Claudette; doll 4 is Kayla/Lea; doll 5 is Heide.

And here are my new girls:

The MTM Original is the same body sculpt as my redhead Barbie Looks 20, but these girls have much (MUCH) nicer hair. It’s not rooted as thickly as on the Looks 20 doll but it’s a lot softer. Why these three? I wanted #2 since I love the Karl face sculpt. I love the tall girl’s burgundy hair and was curious to see how tall she would be. (She’s tall! I love how regal she is.) And I always have to get the redhead. It’s a thing. I mean, she has freckles. How cute is that?

You can see that I unfastened the hair on two of them. There are always these plastic things holding the doll’s head into the package – when you cut them off, the stem remains, so I took down their hair to pull out the stem with tweazers. The blonde’s hair looks good down IMO and I like that it has a mauve-blue halo. The tall girl kinda needs her hair tied back again, but I’m deciding whether I should try to comb it out first. (What will it do if I do? Tough call. It might just frizz out instead of staying in little curls. Hmm.)

The quality of them is fine but not fantastic. The tall girl had a sticky elbow, but I managed to coax it into bending. Their dresses are kind of meh – velcro fastening on the backs, unlined and pretty plain – but the finishing on the bodies is disappointing. The tall girl, particularly, has marks that look like blemishes on her arms and legs – I suspect the colour of her “skin” makes the shortfalls of the finishing more apparent. I saw the same on the last Silkstone I bought, so wasn’t that surprised.

I do need to find an alternative stand for my girls, in both sizes. The crotch stands that come with the Tonner girls and the Silkies aren’t as stable as would be ideal. Sometimes a girl tips right off and falls, and I worry that the ones made of harder materials might chip. These girls came with those plastic stands that have waist clips. Invariably, I break the waist clip, snapping off one end while trying to get a doll into it. The riser for the blonde girl had bent, as well, just as the one for the Looks 20 girl did. Both of bent in transit (probably due to heat) so that the riser is on an angle when you assemble the stand. The doll tips forward instead of standing straight up. There has to be another alternative, so if you know one, please let me know. 🙂

All issues aside, I do think they’re pretty and am really looking forward to dressing them. 🙂

Danielle Two-Piece Dress

Posted on February 14, 2025 by Deborah Cooke

Barbie Mode: Dresses for Classic Barbie Dolls by Kate Mitsubachi

It’s been a bit crazy around here lately. I apologize for the silence here on the blog. I have a number of posts queued up that need pictures. Today, I’ll make a start on finishing them up to be shared.

First up, I finally got back to Kate Mitsubachi’s books, Barbie Mode. Previously, I made the Double-Breasted Suit and the Soirée evening gown from Kate’s other pattern book, Stylebook for Dolls. I had an idea when I first got these that I’d make every garment for the girls, but life happened and I was distracted by other projects. In December, I dug back in.

Both books are in Japanese, but the instructions have illustrations and are easy to follow. I have a print copies of the books, but you can buy scans of them on Etsy.

The third garment featured in Barbie Mode is a two-piece suit called Danielle, which is shown in red and black. At left is the picture from the book.

I made mine in a linen and cotton blend, because it looked to me as if the sleeves would hang better in a lighter weight of fabric. I lined mine with white voile, and it came out pretty well. I haven’t made the hat and am not sure I will.

Here’s mine:

Danielle two-piece suit pattern from Barbie Mode by Kate Mitsubachi, sewn in a linen blend by Deborah Cooke

I like the seed beads on the front of this one. I think the belt in the book is made of satin ribbon, but I made this one of belting that’s available for dolls. I thought the sleeves might be softer in such a fine fabric, but they’re still a bit structural.

One change I made was to add some top-stitching to the jacket. I find that princess seams on a jacket lie flatter in doll-size if they’re sewn down. I pressed the seam allowances away from the centre, and trimmed one to 1/8″ inch before pressing then top-stitched on the outside of the seam, catching the seam allowances underneath. It would have been tidier if I’d sewn a little more of the jacket hem before turning it and handstitching the rest, but overall I’m pleased with the result.

I’m ready for a break from pink, though.

Another Knitted Ballgown for the Girls

Posted on January 24, 2025 by Deborah Cooke

#619 Blue glitter dress from Stickatillbarbie.se knit in a mystery glitter yarn by Deborah Cooke

You might remember the Blue Glitter Dress from Stickatillbarbie.se (pattern number 619) that I showed you in December. Here’s a Ravelry link, and here’s the link at the Wayback Machine for that page (patterns #601-650).

Here’s that post.

I made another one in plain black. This is an acrylic fingering yarn that’s labelled as baby yarn, that I bought at Walmart for a couple of bucks. I liked how soft it was, but (of course) that means it’s splitty, too.

Here’s the finished dress, which looks much better in plain black than in that glittery stuff:

#619 Blue glitter dress from Stickatillbarbie.se knit in a black acrylic yarn by Deborah Cooke

I knit this one longer, so it would fit the Silkies, and that turned out to be a good thing. Even though the stitch counts and needles are the same on the bodice of both dresses, this one is much skinnier. Only the Silkie girls can wriggle into it. This time, the hem wants to roll, even though it’s in garter stitch. The acrylic yarn won’t take a block, so I sewed a line of beads into the garter stitches to weigh it down. That didn’t actually work – I had to fuss with the hem to get this picture and it flipped up again right afterward – so I’m thinking I might thread some wire into the hem to hold it in place.

Otherwise, I’m quite pleased with it, though – and I’m done with knitting ballgowns. They take forever!

McCalls 8544 Enchanted Evening

Posted on January 22, 2025 by Deborah Cooke

I showed you this new-ish sewing pattern from McCalls for the girls, McCalls 8544. It’s for three ensembles that are close copies of vintage official Barbie outfits.

I made the ballgown, which is similar to Enchanted Evening, this month. This dress reminded me why I hate sewing polyester satin, although it came out well enough.

I haven’t made the gloves yet, or dug out a pair from the wardrobe.

The pattern calls for that swishy addition to be lined as well as the bodice, but not the skirt. I modified that and lined the skirt, too, which made construction a bit more challenging than might have been ideal. (Bemberg rayon and polyester satin together. Yikes.) I like the result, though.

McCalls 8544 sewn for Barbie by Deborah Cooke

In terms of future mods, I think the front skirt is a little wide – that rose ends up a bit further back on the left hip than would be ideal. I’ll take a teensy bit out of the centre front next time. I also don’t love that folded piece at the top of the bodice, much less how it overlaps at the center back. It’s cut on the bias, but I think I’ll modify the piece so that it tapers toward the center back. I also want to trim the backs so that the main fabrics end at the CB and there’s a tab of lining to tuck under one front for the snaps. I think that makes a cleaner back.

It is a teensy bit long for vintage B, but the perfect length for the Silkies. I’ll have to take more out of the CF in both the skirt and the bodice to make one for the Silkie girls.

The fur stole isn’t supposed to have a brooch, but I found the perfect buttons. There’s a hook and eye holding it closed and it’s lined with the same pink satin.

The pink is lovely but I’m looking forward to making a couple of these in jewel tones for the girls. I saw one in red on a Silkie on Facebook and it was just gorgeous.

Enchanted Evening was a fashion offered for Barbie in 1961. Here is the reproduction, with doll, from 1996. You can see that in the promo shot of B on the stairs, the image has been reversed and the gathers are on the right instead of the left.

Barbie Enchanted Evening reproduction 1996

Margot Robbie also wore a version of this dress to the première of the Barbie movie in London. You’ll find lots of images of that online!

Simplicity 9913 – The Mondrian dress

Posted on January 20, 2025 by Deborah Cooke

I have been finishing up some projects this month, but haven’t been good about getting pictures taken. This week, we’ll catch up a bit.

This pattern features designs from the 1960’s. It’s not currently available new, so I bought a digital download on Etsy. It’s Simplicity 9913.

I wanted to make the Mondrian dress, inspired by the Yves St. Laurent model on the right. Because I didn’t trust the download’s sizing, I made one in a solid color first. It actually came out reasonably well – the one difference is that I added a button band to the back closure to keep it tidy. I tried both hats but didn’t have much luck with either, maybe because my model’s hair is thick. They just perch on the top of her head, which looks silly.

My model today is a new girl here. She’s Barbie Looks #20 (that link will take you to the Mattel site) and was discounted on Cyber Monday. I’ve been wondering how the new articulated bodies differ in proportion from the other dolls in my collection so bought this one. The main difference in proportion is that her bust is smaller. She’s probably closest in size to the model muse body sculpt.

Her hair, btw, was not like this official picture. The ends were frizzy and it was very bulky – there was some product in it that made her ponytail as big around as my thumb. So, she had a boil wash and a trim. It’s still not like this picture, but is an improvement.

My idea was that she could be my sixties girl, instead of a Poppy Parker, so here she is in the test sew of the YSL shift. I made the dress in one color, with the purse. I used a 10″ square of orange quilting cotton (used it all up!) and lined the dress with cotton voile.

Test sew of YSL Mondrian dress, sewn by Deborah Cooke and modelled by Barbie Looks #20

It’s a little bit loose for her in the front bust. It fits the vintage body sculpt perfectly through the bust.

She doesn’t seem inclined to be a sixties girl, maybe a contemporary girl who likes vintage fashion, as you can see from the Blundstone boots she’s chosen. She is very posable, which is fun, although I think her knees and elbows look odd.

Next up, the YSL dress with the color block. The black is done with a narrow ribbon topstitched to the dress, which is clever.

Wiki says there were six variants of the YSL Mondrian dress, though it’s tough to find pictures of them all online. Here are a couple of images from the September 1965 issue of Vogue, which featured the dresses. The one on the cover is the one you see most often.

YSL Mondrian dresses in Vogue magazine, September 1965

This pattern is for the dress at the back in the right picture, probably because the front is symmetrical and that’s easier when you’re working small. There was a series of three Yves St. Laurent Barbie dolls released in 2018, including a Mondrian one wearing a replica of the front dress with the blue shoulder. You can see them all in this blog post at The Fashion Doll Chronicles.

I was also trying to find a picture of the back. The pattern has the back in pieces, making me think the middle panel on one side or the other must be in a color, too. I can’t find it, so I just decided to make one of them blue and put some yellow on one shoulder.

Here’s the finished dress:

YSL Mondrian dress for 12" dolls from Simplicity 9913, sewn by Deborah Cooke

I’m not much for clear yellows, so the only yellow fabric in my stash has tiny white dots. I think it works just fine. I do wish I had a mod girl with flat feet to model the dress. She could wear flats (as the YSL girls did, with big buckles) or white go-go boots. The dress would also fit her better in the bust than the Silkie girl, as the made-to-move dolls had proportions more similar to vintage Barbie. Another girl? Hmm. I don’t know…

A New Year for the Girls

Posted on January 2, 2025 by Deborah Cooke

As mentioned yesterday, I have a lot of unfinished projects on my sewing table, and many of them are for the girls. It seems that I fiddle endlessly with the cheap pattern downloads from Etsy – the ones that are scans of older commercial patterns – getting the printed size right, then messing with the fit. They really aren’t that good of a deal in the end, considering the time involved. The plan is to just stop with them.

To that end, I found some new resources. First of all, the big four commercial pattern companies have introduced more patterns for 11/12″ dolls, and they’re selling digital downloads of them. This is a very cool development, since they always print out perfectly at 100%. Here’s a new one, McCalls 8544, which includes versions of three familiar vintage Barbie ensembles. The pink dress is Enchanted Evening, the checkered coat and dress is Poodle Parade, and the blue poof dress is Gay Parisienne.

Simplicity 9869 is one of the patterns that features a decade of fashion. This one is for the 1970’s. I wish they’d make the others available, too, having spent a chunk of time in December fiddling with a scanned version of the 1960’s one. I’ll show you that next.

Here’s the page with the PDF patterns for doll clothes. It’s a mix of patterns for American Girl and Barbie, but there are more fashion doll patterns than has been the case for a while. There are often sales on this site, so keep a look-out. I got the digital downloads of the patterns I bought for just $3 each in December.

If you’re a fan of the vintage Barbie outfits and would like to reproduce them yourself, I found another site for you. This designer has patterns for many of the vintage outfits, available as PDF downloads. I haven’t tried any of them, but it looks like a great resource. His site is called Tailored Doll Patterns and there are patterns for Barbie and other dolls. Here’s his site.

Here’s his pattern for Enchanted Evening, for example.

Stylebook of Doll's Dress for Barbie by Katie Mitsubachi

I’m still searching for the perfect suit for the girls, so I’ve gone back to my Japanese pattern books by Katie Mitsubashi. I’m making a test version of one from this book now and will show it to you when it’s done.

Happy New Year!

Posted on January 1, 2025 by Deborah Cooke

And here’s 2025. 🙂

I hope you’re having a wonderful holiday season and have managed some time for crafting. Maybe you’ve added some new supplies or tools to your collection, or reference books.

I’ve been organizing my space and making lists of unfinished projects. They really got out of hand in 2024 so I’m hoping to finish up a number of things this year. I’ll share some of that planning with you tomorrow.

All the best to you and yours for the year ahead!

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Category Archives: Miniatures & Dolls