Barbie's Fab Night Life

A few months ago, I was tagged in a Flickr photo challenge, with the theme of "Urban Safari". I thought it would be fun to make a few animal print gowns for the girls, and let them duke it out for Mulder's affections. That seems like something he would enjoy.

I picked up a few animal printed fat quarters and made a few plans, but then the move got in the way, and life got crazy. I finally got all the dresses together and put together my diorama for pictures.

I started with Trichelle's dress. I love this grey snakeskin and I thought the black and grey would suit her. She's so fierce, I wanted a vampy dress for her. This is McCalls 658. This is an older pattern, so I did make a few size modifications for Trichelle's belly button body, but otherwise made it as designed. I love the neckline detail. I added some large hotfix studs to bring the eye up to her beautiful face.

The next outfit I made was Violette's. The dress is made with Advance 9938. I made this view for Midge, so I didn't have to make any alterations for fit. I wanted the giraffe printed cotton to be the star of the show, so I didn't embellish the dress, but I did make Violette a coordinating belt out of a scrap of leather from an old purse. I'm very pleased with how it turned out.

I decided against animal print for Dana. She's Mulder's lady fair, and I wanted her to stand out. Her gown is from a pattern I found on Pinterest. Sadly, it is not credited, so I don't know where it came from, but it is super sexy! The fabric is a silver embossed gold knit. Dana has an Obitsu body, which is much slimmer and bustier than Barbie's body. I took in the dress significantly in the side seams of the skirt and back of the halter portion. If I had made it in a woven, I think I'd have had to deepen the bust dart as well.

I think Trichelle and Violette look amazing in their gowns, and I had tons of fun making them and styling them. Making Violette's belt was easier than I thought. I'll definitely be making more of those.

Of course, the other girls never really had a chance...

Summertime Chic for Barbie

Cropped, slim pants are a look that I love, but just doesn't work for me. Fortunately, it is physically impossible for Barbie to look like her legs are stumpy, so I can make her all the cropped skinnies my heart desires.

And when I saw this print, I knew it had to be pants. I kind of wish I could find this print in human scale. I'd totally make myself some pants out of it.

For a pattern, I deconstructed a pair of dreadful pants that came from a Teresa doll. The fabric Mattel used was an awful plastic-y polyester, and the print was eye searing, but they fit the Fashionista body really well, so they made an excellent pattern.

I added some little vents at the hem, just for the sake of cute. I love this detail on other people, but it never seems to work for me.

For the top, I used Simplicity 4719, which is a knit crop top. I lengthened it to hip length and did an elbow length sleeve, using the finished edge of the lace as both lower edge and sleeve hems. The neckline is just turned and topstitched, but I'm not thrilled with this finish. I think it needs some lace trim.

For under the lace tee, I made a cropped princess seamed bustier. The fabric is a textured knit without much stretch. I tried several different edge finishes, but all added unsightly bulk, so in the end, I left the edges unfinished.

Overall, I'm pleased with this outfit. I think Melodi looks very chic. And thanks so much to my IG friends for helping me name her! You gave me some great ideas for the other girls as well.

McCalls 658: Sleepytime for Barbie

I don't know if you've noticed, but I've been doing a lot of sewing for this girl and her friends lately. I don't know why, but every time I head into my sewing room, intending to make something for an actual human, I just haven't been inspired. My mojo is slumping big time, but I'm still enjoying sewing tiny things, so that's what I'm doing. I hope you don't mind my occasional dip into Barbie and Midge's fantasy world.

I think one of the appeals of sewing for fashion dolls is that I can make things that have no place in my real life.

Bias cut satin negligee and dressing gown? Yes, please! If I tried swanning about it this, I'd trip over it, or run the feathers through a mess.

But I think it suits Midge. The golden satin goes beautifully with her blue eyes and red hair.

Both pieces of the ensemble are sewn from McCalls 658. The fabric and lace trim are from a camisole that has been in my refashion pile for at least 5 years. So glad to finally find a use for it! And I reused the bias tube cami straps, so I didn't have to make my own.

The only change I made to the pattern was to take in the bodice about 1/2 inch. I wanted a nice snug fit. I also made a little sleep mask. Poor Midge doesn't have functioning eyelids. Tragic.

The dressing gown really makes the look though. All those feathers, framing her face and figure - I love it. It brings back old Hollywood glamour for me.

I did end up taking in the gown significantly at center back. I added a seam there for shaping, and took 1 1/4 inch out of the seam. Yowza! It was seriously oversized. The shoulders were very wide, and despite having a nice tailored sleeve cap, they looked sloppy. I also reshaped the neckline to fit the new back width.

What a lovely way to start the day!

March of the Shieldmaidens: Barbie style

Hwæt! March of the Shieldmaidens is upon us! This was the perfect opportunity to sew a fun ensemble for this cute Nordic looking Barbie I stumbled upon at the thrift store. Disclaimer: There are many historical inaccuracies here. It's purely for fun.

The outfit begins with a simple underdress in a spring green. I think this color was a reasonable one, that would have been easily obtainable in Norse times. The fabric is a rather unfortunate polyester faille, but Barbie's skin doesn't need to breathe. The pattern I used (Simplicity 8333) is a peasant top, which I lengthened into a dress. I also added a drape to the sleeves, which is pretty, but probably not very practical for your average Shieldmaiden.

The second piece is her Viking apron. This is made of an earthy brown linen. It is just two rectangles sewn together at the sides. I left long vents below the hip for easy mobility, should Barbie need to do any sword play.

The broaches are decorative beads. I like the simplicity of them. I gathered the neckline of her underdress with some anachronistic elastic. There's a bit of velcro back there, too.

I added a leather thong tied in a square knot for some waist definition.

And of course, our Shieldmaiden needed a Shield! I made this one out of a picture I printed off the internet and glued to a bit of cardboard.

Then all semblance of historical accuracy flew out the window, as I really wanted to sew her a leather corset. This is the same pattern as my last post, but made from a rayon bonded leather from fabric.com. I love it over her underdress.

But it's even more "fantasy Viking wench" over her apron! I'm loving how these pieces work together, and despite the historical inaccuracies, I think I did a better job than Mattel. Have you seen Viking Barbie??

McCalls 658: Itty Bitty bustier

I've been thinking about my March of the Shieldmaidens make. (Spoiler: This isn't it.) My first thought was to make a corset for Barbie to go over a simple shift style dress. But first I needed a good corset/bustier pattern. I decided to start with McCalls 658, which includes several princess seamed dresses.

I didn't want to cut into my teeny scrap of leather without testing the pattern first, so I grabbed some pink gabardine with a similar weight and stretch and made it up, cutting off the dress length at the high hip.

But it turned out so cute, I had to finish it and add some bling. And make a skirt. Basically, this is the muslin that became an entire outfit.

Fit-wise, I did have to take around 1/8 inch off each seam, which ends up being about 3/4 inch all around. Inside, the bustier is finished with twill tape to keep the edges stable. It closes with velcro at center back.

I added some hotfix crystals to define the neckline a little better. And because bling is fun. The skirt is faux stretch leather left over from my leggings and sweater. I drafted the pattern myself by wrapping the leather around the doll and chalking in the seam lines. It has a velcro closure at the side seam. I left the hem unfinished.

I continued the line of crystals in back. I hate when decorative elements are only in front. The rear line of the skirt is very sleek, thanks to the lack of CB seam.

Overall, I'm completely thrilled with this spur of the moment, muslin turned outfit. I think it is my favorite Barbie outfit I've made so far!

Simplicity 5755 and McCalls 658: One shoulder mini and bolero

I promise I've sewn for actual humans. Barbie is just more amenable to my photography schedule.

Still, I kinda love sewing for this girl. Patterns actually fit her, and she can wear all sorts of fun styles that don't work for me at all.

As much as I'd love to swan about in a leopard sweater knit, one shoulder mini... Well, real life. I'm pretty darn thrilled with this one though. The pattern is Simplicity 5755, which Kirsty was kind enough to grab from me at the Bay Area Sewist Pattern swap. Kirsty, you are the best!!

I made it in sweater knit left over from my Plantain tee. It's tricky to find animal prints in a scale small enough for Barbie clothes. I think this one is perfect. The only major alteration I made to the pattern was to add a lining. I really didn't want to topstitch this unstable knit. A lining was an easier way to finish the neckline and hems.

The bolero is from McCalls 685. I made it from a crushed velvet and it is lined in cotton batiste. I didn't make any alterations at all to this pattern and I'm thrilled with the fit!

I added some beading to the neckline, just for a bit of sparkle. It's amazing how little time hand beading takes when the clothes are small.

The belt was also made by me. I found these tiny rhinestone buckles at Hobby Lobby and stitched on a length of velvet ribbon. Since the velvet is 'grippy' the belt holds itself in place without a clasp.

Teresa is so happy with her outfit she had to snap a quick selfie during our photo shoot!