More on the Sinamay Hats

Posted on January 28, 2026 by Deborah Cooke

I shared my first efforts in making sinamay hats for the girls last week, but have been modifying my strategy since. Here’s an update on my changes.

As much as I love those first hats, changes had to made.
• the crowns are a bit too tall. Depending on how the doll’s hair is styled, the hat might fall right over her eyes – which is not a winning look.
• the join in the bias binding isn’t as neat as I’d prefer.
• I needed a larger crown for the 16″ dolls.

I also remembered another book on my shelf. The Art of Making Miniature Millinery is an older book that I found at a used bookstore. It documents the making of hats in many materials – but not sinamay. The authors use buckram for stiffer hat foundations, and they recommend placing a wire in the brim to help the hat keep its shape. I love their pillbox hats, which are reinforced this way.

I put a wire in the brim of several of the hats in this round of hatmaking, sewing it under the bias trim on the outer edge. This is a 22 gauge wire, a fairly stiff one, which seems about right.

Here’s a pic of it being sewn into the brim of the black hat with the shorter crown for the 11.5″ girls. I just tucked it under the bias binding, which in this case is a plaid silk.

inserting wire to the brim of a sinamay hat

I also improved the join in the bias binding on this round of hats. On my first few hats, I sewed most of the binding onto the hat, then made the join. This is what I do with bias binding on people-sized items, but it was tough to get the angle right, given the scale. Instead, I figured out the length the binding had to be cut in order to make a circle of the right size once it was seamed. After it’s seamed, the seam can be pressed open and the binding can be sewn completely onto the hat in one go. The result is much neater – on some hats, I can’t even find the join. If you look at the hat brim above, the join is hard to locate.

The shorter crown, about 1.5cm, is really good for the 11-12″ dolls. It maybe could be a little smaller in diameter for the Silkie girls, but again, that depends upon their hairstyle. This hat is never going to fall over their eyes, and the wire in the brim means it can be shaped.

Best in Black Silkstone in sinamay hat made by Deborah Cooke

The shorter crown with the wider diameter, intended for the 16″ girls, didn’t work quite as well.

Lacey Churchill in sinamay hat made by Deborah Cooke

Daphne Dimples in sinamay hat made by Deborah Cooke

I added lace to the hatband of this one, but it’s still not a fave look for me. (It doesn’t help that the girls aren’t dressed to match. Lacey is in her altogether, while Daphne is still in her lingerie.)

I made another with a deeper crown (2.5cm, like the earliest hats) and a 5″ brim instead of the 4″ brim I’ve been using all along. I also made the crown a little bit wider where it joins the brim. This worked out really well.

Tyler Wentworth in sinamay hat made by Deborah Cooke

Tyler is in the buff, as well. I’m glad I discovered my stash of feathers.

Finally, I made a hat for the 11.5″ girls with a curved crown. This was supposed to be a pillbox hat, inspired by the book, but I watched Four Weddings & a Funeral again and had to add the big brim instead.

Lingerie #6 Silkstone in sinamay hat made by Deborah Cooke

These last two are my favourites of the seven (7!) doll hats I’ve made in the past week or so. I’m going to take a break from sinamay now. Soon, the coloured sinamay will arrive from the UK and it will start me all over again. Not today, though.

I finished the knitting on my Quintessential Cardigan in Judy Long Alba in Kilt (which is a plum heather). This is the second kit I bought of this cardigan – I finished the green one in June 2024. So, I’ll be sewing that one together next and knitting the neckband etc. I decided against buttons on this one, so it’s pretty much a case of just sewing it together. (Ew. I hate seaming, but I will Just Do It!) This has to be a record for me to knit two sweaters in two years and right after getting the kits, too.

Sinamay Hats for Dolls

Posted on January 23, 2026 by Deborah Cooke

sinemay hat made for Silkstone B Best in Black by Deborah Cooke — Sinamay hat for Silkstone B

Sinamay is a material used to make hats. Even if you don’t recognize the name, you would know the material if you saw it. It’s woven from abaca fibres and can be dyed in many colours – it looks similar to a loosely woven linen. It can be steamed and stretched and shaped. Think of all those fancy straw hats and fascinators worn to British weddings and you’re probably imagining sinamay. It’s sold by the yard/meter by millinery shops or as pre-shaped hat forms.

You might remember that I made some hats for the girls, out of linen and felt. I used the DBD Brimmed Hat pattern, which is no longer available for sale. Here are a couple of them:

brimmed linen hat for Tyler — Linen hat for Tyler

I never thought about using sinamay to make hats for the girls until I saw a series of posts by a European maker in one of the doll groups on Facebook. She makes the most gorgeous hats for Silkstone dolls and posted photographs of her process in making various hats of sinamay. Wow! I knew I had to give it a try.

I ordered some sinamay from The Trimming Company in the UK – both ivory and black. I had to debate and think about the process for a while, then this week, I dug in.

For the first two hats, I kept things simple. I just went for a plain brim, and finished the outside edge with self-made bias blinding in silk. (This was in the instructions for the DBD Brimmed Hat.) The crown has to be steamed into shape and left to dry – I used a spice jar from the dollar store as a form. Once the crown and brim were secured together. I decorated the crown of the hat, which is good fun, then glued a piece of ribbon to the interior of the crown to finish that edge.

sinamay hat made for Silkstone B Lingerie #6 by Deborah Cooke

On the left is Silkstone Best in Black wearing an off-white sinamay hat trimmed in a floral cotton print. She’s also wearing the Danielle two-piece dress. On the right is Silkstone Lingerie #6 wearing a black hat trimmed in the black silk. The dress is Hankie Chic’s Simple Sundress. The flowers and ribbons on the hats came from my stash, including the flowers, which are paper flowers from the dollar store.

sinamay hat made for Silkstone B Best in Black by Deborah Cooke

I decided that the crowns were a bit too deep on these two, so I trimmed down the crown for the third hat, an off-white sinamay hat trimmed in the same silk taffeta plaid as the dress worn by Lingerie #6. I did a better job on the join of the binding on the crown for this one, with the help of the plaid as a cutting guide.

These little hats are remarkably sturdy once they’re completed. Here are the three hats I’ve made so far:

1/6 scale hat stand made by Deborah Cooke

I made the hat stands, btw, with more supplies from the dollar store. That’s a styrofoam egg, a bamboo stick and a wooden wheel. On the bottom, there’s a metal washer that’s just a little smaller than the wheel, to keep the hat stand from tipping over.

I really like these hats, although there’s plenty of room for improvement in my technique. They’re Ascot hats to me, or Kentucky Derby hats – or hats like Andie McDowell wore to weddings in Four Weddings & a Funeral. I’m going to try a few with even shallower crowns and do more shaping of the brims.

I’m now on the hunt for a slightly larger jar to shape crowns for the 16″ girls, and more flowers for decorating the crowns. I could probably make some smaller hats and/or fascinators – I have a LOT of sinamay to work with!

Japanese Books

Posted on January 20, 2026 by Deborah Cooke

Things have been quiet here this month, as I’ve been deciding how to go forward. At the end of last year, I discovered that several of my pictures of my dolls were being used on scam sites. I had thought that taking mediocre pictures would keep them from being stolen, but evidently that’s not so – now they look “authentic”. As an author, I have a whole lot of issues with the general dissolution of copyright and its protections, so hmm. As much as I love sharing my progress and results with others, I’m not interested in providing anything to aid scammers or pirates. This is the reason why I’ve never published any patterns or designs for dolls.

I did treat myself to some Japanese books this year and will share that with you today. Again, copyright is a concern – there are people on Etsy selling digital editions of many of these books, sometimes even with a translation by Google, but I doubt these are licensed digital or English editions. The beauty of Japanese craft books is that they’re so thoroughly illustrated that you can follow the directions even if you don’t read Japanese – plus buying the actual print book supports the creator and his/her copyright.

This first book is Doll Knit by Mieko Watanabe, for 20 – 22cm Obitsu dolls. You can find her on Instagram right here. The knits are detailed and very cute. The knits are all charted, so you don’t have to read Japanese to follow the instructions. They’re sized for the Obitsu dolls but fit the current MTM regular Barbie pretty well.

The big challenge is finding yarn substitutes. The designer has used yarns from a Japanese company called Puppy which aren’t available here. There is a Kidsilk Haze equivalent, so that’s easily replaced, but otherwise, not so much. I used Knit Picks Palette for the fair isle cloak and it’s slightly too heavy – I got gauge but the garment is thicker and stiffer than would be ideal.

The best match so far for the Puppy 3-ply is old 3-ply Kroy Socks, so I’m rummaging in my odds and ends for more of that. It does looks as if Holst Garn Supersoft would be a good substitute for the 3-ply, and it comes in shade packs, with five small balls in coordinated colours. I’ll make a road trip to a LYS that stocks this yarn to see it. The 2-ply Puppy is a lace weight, so I’ll try those patterns with some odds and ends in my stash. Maybe I’ll get lucky and find a lace pack of many little skeins in different colours.

I also want to get out my crochet needle and try at least one of those adorable hats.

Next is a sewing book of doll clothes, also for 20 cm dolls including Blythe dolls. I think this is called Tournesol (which is French for sunflower). It’s by Satomi Takei, who can be found on IG right here. These have the usual aesthetic of Blythe doll patterns – lace and petticoats and tiny florals, straw bags and hats – although the fashions are shown on other dolls too. Again, the book is beautifully photographed.

I tried a few of the patterns and they more-or-less fit the MTM regular Barbies – the designs are more like little girl dresses and I’m not sure I like the look on my B girls. There is a pattern for a kimono, which is a tempting project.

Finally, an accessories book from Dolly Dolly Books, although the other two books also have patterns for accessories.

That purse on the cover is what sold me. The instructions for that bag cover seven pages and I’m determined to make one. The author is Taeko Sekiguchi, who has designed a lot of beautifully detailed clothing for dolls. It’s very inspiring to see the work of people who stretch higher.

I bought the books from Pomadour on Etsy. This shop ships promptly from Japan and packs the books extremely well.

McCalls 6260

Posted on December 30, 2025 by Deborah Cooke

This is a vintage pattern for dolls which is out of print. I found a PDF version on Etsy. Like most such PDFs, the sizing of the pages was a bit off – I ended up printing mine at 104% in order to have the measuring tape scale come out the correct size.

Thank goodness it had the scale! If you ever download a pattern that doesn’t have a scale, you can print the pattern pages at different sizes until the seam allowance comes out to 1/4″ – if that’s what the pattern uses. Most of them do.

I like the vintage look of some of the pieces. The kimono reminds me of a bathrobe my grandmother made for my dolls when I was a kid – she (very cleverly) used a baby wale corduroy for that robe, then pre-made narrow bias tape which she applied with a decorative zig zag. (Yes, I still have it.)

I made the ballgown first, which is view B. This one fits pretty well, though the bodice could be a little more snug. I used Chinese brocade, which is quite thick, and that could be a contributing issue. I lined the bodice, as instructed, but not the skirt, also as instructed. When I make it again, I’ll line the skirt too. That brocade sheds like mad, even though I finished the edges.

Of course, I made B a pair of gold opera gloves to go with the dress.

McCalls 6260 gown with stole made by Deborah Cooke

McCalls 6260 gown with stole and gloves made by Deborah Cooke

The stole is interesting. I thought it was like the big bow on the back of that other ballgown, but it isn’t. For this one, the doll’s arms go through the loops of the bow – ha! I looked back at the historic images I found for that bow dress and sure enough, the Balenciaga from 1950 has a stole with similar design. I had found this pic before but hadn’t noticed her arms going through the loops of the stole. You can see that the top loop, for her arms, is lined with another fabric, while the other loops and train are plain tulle. B is always so very stylish, isn’t she?

Interestingly enough, the 80th anniversary Barbie has a gown and stole that looks to be inspired by the same Balenciaga design.

The skirt on this gown could be a teensy bit shorter for vintage B (which might be my fault) and I’m thinking I’ll add a back slit next time around. The colour made me think of this tall B.

McCalls 6260 gown with stole made by Deborah Cooke, modelled by a tall Barbie

It is a fabulous shade for her. She’s thinner than vintage B, so the bodice is a bit loose on her, but the fabric is perfect. (The dress could be maybe 1/4″ longer for her.) I’m thinking she needs a frock coat of this pink brocade, maybe with a pair of black silk cigarette pants and some great boots.

In this image, you can see the topstitching on the part of the stole that goes around the doll’s arms. It’s faced with ribbon and I decided to use a contrasting one. So, the ribbon is bright pink and so is the stitching. It gives the sheer fabric a bit more structure, too.

I also made the coat from this pattern. It’s a swing coat, which I cut from a cotton flannel that looks (in scale) like wool coating. I cut the collar of a thin (very soft) fur and the undercollar of rayon Bemberg lining.

I lined the pockets (which is not suggested by the pattern) with the same rayon Bemberg as well as the coat itself. I like the result, but similar to other swing coat patterns I’ve made for B that are cut this way, there’s really a lot of fabric in the bodice for size of the doll. I’d like to modify this design to make a more flattering swing coat for her – and I have the perfect leopard print fur for that.

It’s hard to see on the pattern image but there’s a matching fur hat for this coat. It’s a band of fur, lined with ribbon, with a bit of elastic at the ends. This is a clever idea, but the one I made was far too small for B. The instructions specify that the fur strip should be cut to 3.25 inches long, which makes it 2.75″ once the edges are turned under. B’s head is over 5″ around, so my elastic wasn’t nearly stretchy enough. I tried another with a strip of fur that was 5.5″ by 1″ and that worked out reasonably well. I think it could be a little bit smaller. In future I’ll start with the circumference of the doll’s head then maybe take it down by half an inch. The elastic stretches but the fur doesn’t. I can’t show it to you because this whole ensemble has been shipped off to a friend. 🙂

Finally, I made dress A in cotton. This pattern is a real gem. The bodice fits B really well.

McCalls 6260 dress made by Deborah Cooke

I lined the bodice – as instructed – but didn’t follow the assembly directions. The pattern says to join the bodice and lining, and turn, then to sew the darts with the two pieces of fabric held together. Since the seam allowance on the dart is trimmed afterward, this would leave raw edges on the inside of the garment. The side seams are also to be sewn with both fabrics held together, which would give more raw edges on the inside. Instead, I did the darts on each piece separately so the raw edges could be trapped between them.

The skirt wasn’t supposed to be lined, but I lined it anyway. (Are you surprised?) I then followed my usual dress construction sequence. I sewed the hems of the skirt and skirt lining together, pressed the seam, and understitched the hem. I then sewed the center back from the lining below the opening around to the main fabric below the opening. I turned and pressed the skirt and top stitched the edges of that back slit. The skirt went into the bodice in the main fabric, then I enclosed all the seam allowances under the bodice lining, sewing the side seams in the bodice by hand. In the picture, you can see that I understitched the neckline as well. I added a ribbon belt, too.

This one had quite a deep hem in the original design, so I could modify the skirt and lining pieces to make the lining longer.

I really like this little dress, and of course, the skirt could be easily changed to be straighter, fuller, longer or some combination thereof. What’s unusual about it is how easily the bodice can be turned, once the lining is sewn to the neck edge and the sleeve edges. Because there isn’t a shoulder seam in either the bodice or the bodice lining, it’s easier to turn the garment. It reminds me of the sleeveless dress bodice McCalls 7550, one of the first patterns I used to sew for B, but turning that bodice was much more challenging – possibly because the neck was smaller. I’ll have to take a look and compare the two.

I had cut a piece of lace for the overskirt as shown in this dress pattern, but decided that it looked too much like an apron, and a permanent one at that. I left it off. I do have a dress that my grandmother made for my dolls which uses lace and taffeta together – they’re treated as one fabric, with the lace giving more interest to the taffeta, instead of the lace being a separate skirt. I may try that with this pattern.

I had originally planned to make view E as well, the jacket and trousers, but the pants are actually cut of a knit. You need the stretch to pull them over her hips. I didn’t have a knit thin enough to be in scale for the girls, but I’ll keep looking.

See how it is? I finish trying out one pattern and end up with a whole list of potential modifications and projects!

Hankie Chic Caracas Dress for 12″ dolls

Posted on December 16, 2025 by Deborah Cooke

Caracas pattern for 12" dolls by Hankie Chic

I made some holiday dresses for the girls, using this pattern by Sylvia Bittner at Hankie Chic. The pattern is called Caracas, and you can buy the downloadable PDF from her online store right here.

This dress has an interesting wrap around the shoulders. It’s attached to a bodice flap overlapping the front body of the dress. The skirt has a big pleat in the front, then there are three bead buttons at the side of the bodice.

I found this pattern an easy make, so long as I didn’t think about it too much. I referred to the pictures of the final dress for that front pleat, because I would have sewn it down wrong otherwise. Similarly, I wrapped that shoulder bit a couple of times before I was convinced that I had it right. It folds back on itself (kind of) which confused me at first.

Here’s the first one I made, modelled by Continental Holilday Silkstone B.

Caracas pattern for 12" dolls by Hankie Chic made in red silk by Deborah Cooke

The three little “buttons” are gold beads, although they’re hard to see from this angle. I also bought the girls some Kaiser stands, which are pretty awesome. They almost disappear and are much more stable than the stands that come with the dolls.

I really like the base bodice design on this dress – it has a center front vertical seam from the waist to the bust, then a crosswise dart on the bust – and may use it in other garments. It fits quite well.

Caracas pattern for 12" dolls by Hankie Chic made in red silk by Deborah Cooke - bodice detail

I did change the order of assembly, in my usual way. I really like to sew the skirt and the lining together at the hem while they’re still flat, then understitch the lining. I did that with the skirt, then the same with the bodice. My handsewn seams end up being the waist seam in the lining, then the back edges to finish up.

I am lucky to have a number of friends who sew and who give me scraps of their wonderful fabrics. The red dress is made from a silk taffeta given to me by Laura.

Caracas pattern for 12" dolls by Hankie Chic made in blue silk by Deborah Cooke

Caracas pattern for 12" dolls by Hankie Chic made in pink silk by Deborah Cooke

The blue and the pink are from silk remnants given to me by Helen. The girls like them all. 🙂

These models are Lingerie #6 in the blue and Lingerie #2 in the pink.

After the first doll was dressed, I realized that she reminded me of Ravishing in Rouge from 2001. I had a look and found one at the right price, so she’s joined the other girls here. She really is lovely.

2001 Ravishing in Rouge Silkstone Barbie

I’ve still planned to make another Caracas, with the wrap in a contrasting fabric. For the moment, though, the girls have some party dresses for the festive season ahead.

More New Girls

Posted on May 29, 2025 by Deborah Cooke

When times are uncertain, people become more careful with their money. I can certainly see that in the book market, and it’s also evident in the doll resale market. My birthday money, earmarked for dolls, has gone a little further this year than expected – and I was able to add one of my grail girls to my collection.

First up, that doll. She’s Tonner’s Sydney Chase Mover & Shaker from 2003.

She is just soooooo pretty.

At left is the official image of her. Even though it’s small, you can see that her lips are pale. IRL, this doll has red lipstick.

In one of the doll forums, a long-time collector explained that the make-up choices were transposed in production between two Sydney Chase dolls being made at the same time. Sheer Glamour (above right in her official image) was supposed to have the red lipstick: instead the actual doll has the paler make-up.

Here’s my girl. I love that red lipstick so much. It’s hard to imagine her with a paler choice.

Some of these older dolls get marks on their bodies from the clothes, particularly if they have been left in their boxes for over 20 years. Mover & Shaker is one said to get those marks – thanks to the black suit – but I bought a NRFB one all the same. She does have some marks on her shoulders, so I’ll have to look into removing them when I change her clothes. For the moment, though, we’re both happy that she’s here, just the way she is.

I also finally identified a Barbie doll that I’ve seen in the past and liked a lot. It’s tough to hunt down a doll if you don’t know the name or serial number, but the universe moved for me and I found both her name and a NRFB doll at a good price. She’s 1 Modern Circle Barbie and that’s her official pic at right.

I just love the orange hue of her hair. It’s lovely and silky, too.

She’s from 2003 – clearly a year I should have been buying dolls! – and is almost the twin of Silkstone Lingerie #6, also from 2003. Here they are together.

1 Modern Circle Barbie & Silkstone Lingerie Barbie #6, both from 2003

This new girl has a different body sculpt than I’ve seen before. She’s articulated, but the pins in the elbows are visible with this sculpt. Also, her hands are very flat – but she can hold her phone, thanks to a knob on the back of the phone and a hole in her hand. The flip-phone is a lot like the one we used to have, and that makes me smile. Here she is unpacked:

She has a laptop, too, but I’d put it inside the briefcase before taking this pic. It’s a great thick one, similar to a Compaq monster that the mister used to sling around before laptops got thinner, lighter and cheaper.

One thing about buying dolls is that there are little tips and tricks to be learned from their garments – for example, the “zipper” on her briefcase is a line of silver trim with a teeny tiny tab sewn at the end. Ha. I like that the older dolls don’t have velcro fastening on their clothes, but that turquoise top could use a third snap.

She came, strangely enough, with two left shoes instead of one left and one right. I have a lot of those black slingbacks – I bought a bag of 50 pair once upon a time – so I can make it right.

As is so often the case with Mattel dolls, I like the style of her clothes but am less fond of the fabrics they’re made from. I’m going to start on my plan of replicating the girls’ clothes in fabrics I do like, and reproducing this long coat will be my first project.

This girl also will be my first hip repair. Her legs are so loose that she can’t stand up, but there’s nothing fancy about the joint – it’s just a piece of 1/4″ black elastic holding her legs in place. It’s sewn into a loop at each end, which is looped around the eyelet in the hip. I can (and will) easily replace that. I won’t be able to sew both ends, but one knot should be fine.

The third girl on her way who arrived last week is the second BFMC Silkstone from last year, the blonde. I thought she was too expensive at the time – actually, it was the conversion to $CAD that I didn’t find compelling – but Mattel put her on sale this past month for 30% off, so I indulged. They also released the third BFMC Silkstone but I chose this one instead.

I was quite impressed with this girl when I unpacked her – the dress is quite lovely and more full than expected. The pink underskirt is actually a separate ruffled slip, and the pink velvet stole is attached to the dress. Of course, I undressed her and took down her hair, which was crunchy with some fixative. (I’ll wash it out.) I still have to decide what to do about her necklace. It doesn’t have a clasp – I’ll have to open a link to take it off, then it probably won’t go back on easily. Hmm. I’ll have a rummage in my jewelry findings and see if I have a clasp that can be put to work.

I had originally thought that she would be very similar to Best in Black, the other blonde articulated Silkstone in my collection, but she has a much paler skin tone and her make-up is very different. She’s quite elegant and I’m glad I got her.

Now I have even more girls who need new clothes!

Natasha’s New Friend, Evangeline

Posted on May 15, 2025 by Deborah Cooke

Last fall, I ordered a doll from AliXpress who I ended up calling Natasha. She has (kind of) a Silkstone Barbie head sculpt and an articulated body similar to the Integrity Toys Fashion Royalty dolls.

FR-25 from the dolls available at AliExpress

Recently, I noticed there were new dolls there, so (yes) I ordered one. Here’s a landing page, although there are plenty of vendors selling these dolls. This is FR-25. She has her left hand raised in all the product pix.

The box is optional – I ordered it, to protect the doll in shipping, and it came dented but the doll was fine. There’s no stand with the doll. She was a little cheaper than Natasha, costing me just over $30 CAD including shipping etc.

Natasha came with a pair of black slingbacks, but not this girl.

And here she is, wearing the mauve silk suit I made for the girls last year – even though it doesn’t fit her very well – and catching some rays after her long flight. She’s so tall that the sleeves on all the items for B are short, and these girls are actually a little wider in the hip than either of the B sculpts that I sew for. That dress is a big snug.

FR-25 doll from AliExpress wearing a silk suit made by Deborah Cooke

She is staring off at the sky (watching contrails, maybe) because her head doesn’t tip down any further. I had to ease something so it *popped* to be able to bend her knees, which was a bit daunting but worked out fine in the end. Her feet are too big for most B shoes, but she fits FR shoes.

Her hair is nice, similar to Natasha’s, very soft but could be a little more thickly rooted. Her nails are shorter than Natasha’s, which is a good thing IMO, and her skintone is more lifelike. I think she’s a good value for the price.

Her face does remind me a little of Linda Evangelista, so I’ll call her Evangeline.

I’m going to have to make clothes for these two, since they can’t borrow from the other girls…

Aileen’s Petite Fashions – 82 Easter Parade

Posted on April 21, 2025 by Deborah Cooke

You don’t have to buy many patterns for doll clothes to come across Aileen’s Petite Fashions. These patterns are hand-drawn and clearly vintage. The title is hand-printed and the instructions look as if they’ve been typed. There’s usually a drawing of the doll and garment. At right is part of the one I’ll show you today.

Something about them reminds me of “ditto” copies, which our teachers made in the 1960’s and 70’s. (Dittos were made on spirit duplicators and characteristically were purple copies. The machines were hand-cranked and had a specific sound, and the process produced a memorable scent.)

I don’t know the history of these patterns, but they seem to date from the early sixties. There are a number of APF patterns reproducing original Barbie outfits. I found a list of them, here, though the site is old and it’s not clear whether the patterns are still being sold from this site. I’ve mostly come by mine via Etsy purchases, though often the finished garment is shown in the picture and I don’t realize it’s an APF pattern until I’ve downloaded it.

I recently made my first APF pattern. It’s APF 82 – Easter Parade, a reproduction of a 1959 Barbie fashion from Mattel. It included a black unlined coat, a print sleeveless dress, a purse and a “hat” (which is kind of a hairband, made with a “garbage tie”. Hmm.) Here’s a description on the Barbie Wiki with a picture of the Mattel original. I got this pattern on Etsy somehow, probably in a bulk pattern purchase.

And here’s my first attempt.

Aileen's Petite Fashions #82 Easter Parade sewn by Deborah Cooke

I made the coat of black Kona cotton. The instructions, like those on many older patterns, seem to assume that you already know what you’re on about. I used ribbons for the bows on the pockets, because I had no idea how big to cut the bias strip to make them, and couldn’t see them well in the picture to mimic the original. The coat has no front fastening because it’s pretty full. I did finish more edges than instructed and it came out reasonably well. I think it would benefit from a lining as the back collar bit does not give me joy but there you go.

silk pillbox hat for Barbie made by Deborah Cooke

Vintage B is wearing it here with a sheath of emerald satin and a pillbox hat with two feathers. (I love this little hat!) I’ll show you the sheath in another post, once I work out some kinks in the pattern.

I also made the dress from the pattern, using a teeny-tiny cotton floral print that I bought on Etsy. This one seems very generous in bodice, particularly in the upper front. I think if I made it again, I might curve down the neckline that takes the bias band. Overall, the fit is generous, more suited to “little fingers” than sleek couture.

The black seemed a bit austere for an Easter coat, so I cut another of bright pink. This is a French shirting cotton with two shades of pink that gives it a pretty crosswise stripe. (I originally made myself a shirt of this fabric. What happened to that shirt???) I added 1/4″ to the length of the sleeves to allow for a doubled hem, and again used ribbon on the pockets. You can see that this kind of collar doesn’t fit under a coat very well.

And here’s an interesting detail. I recently bought Kenneth King’s book on sewing for dolls and was intrigued that he used bridal tulle as a lining on some garments. It’s very thin, as he notes. Well, Aileen was using bridal tulle sixty years ago – the top of the dress is lined with it. It does work out quite well, making a very thin lining. The skirt of the dress is unlined.

Tulle lining in dress from Aileen's Petite Fashions #82 sewn by Deborah Cooke

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!

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Category Archives: Sewing for Barbie