The outfits of the Barbie doll, which, by the way, has a history of almost 6 decades, are as susceptible to fashion trends as the clothes of people. Therefore, sometimes you want to update the wardrobe of your favorite toy and sew something ultra-fashionable or extravagant. Fortunately, the plastic beauty allows you to fully enjoy the role of a couturier and show your imagination and sewing skills.
Before you start updating your Barbie wardrobe, you need to find the right pieces of fabric. The shreds must meet several conditions. First, the material should be thin enough even if the doll needs outerwear. Thick or coarse fabric will not fold into nice folds, such as in the fold of the arm. Secondly, it is advisable to choose monochromatic patches or with a small pattern. A large floral or leopard print on a beauty less than 30 cm tall will not look like part of the ornament. Finally, the fabric should be soft enough not to impinge on the Barbie's body. The most suitable materials for sewing doll clothes are chintz and thin jersey. Synthetics can also be used in sewing outfits.
You don't have to buy new fabric to sew your Barbie outfits. It is enough to find unworn spots on clothes that are out of fashion or simply no longer liked.
The second step in sewing new outfits for the doll is the choice of styles. The proportions of the Barbie are close to the figures of the models, so as an example, you can safely take the works of the world's leading designers from the latest fashion shows - they will all look beautiful on a skinny girl. After careful consideration of the photos from the catwalks, it is worth schematically depicting the clothes on paper, so that it becomes clear what details will need to be cut. When choosing a style, it is worth considering what fabric and accessories are available.
After the choice of clothes is made, it is necessary to create a pattern for all the details of the thing. You can, of course, start building on your own, but it is much easier to find ready-made schemes on the Internet and slightly change them in accordance with your own creative idea. So, any search engine for the query "dress pattern for a Barbie" will give hundreds of links to sites where detail diagrams are presented in the desired scale and described how to sew the product. In accordance with the features of the selected style, you need to increase or decrease the details, build additional elements of the model.
It should be borne in mind that before the 90s of the last century, Barbie had a different figure than now. Previously, she had a larger bust and a not too natural waistline, so some of the patterns on the Internet will not fit new dolls.
The prepared patterns of the parts must be transferred to the fabric. If in doubt, you should first cut out and sweep the outfit out of the auxiliary fabric; ordinary thin cotton is suitable for this. This will allow you to determine if there are errors in the pattern, and correct if any. If everything is in order, it is worth cutting out the parts on the selected fabric with a seam allowance. When it comes to stitching, it is best to use an over-the-edge seam for hand sewing to prevent the material from peeling off. In areas where sewing is used, for example, along the entire length of the leg, it is also worth securing the cuts. Synthetic fabric can be gently singed along the edge, while natural fabric will have to be swept.
The finished doll clothes must be turned out and ironed, decorative elements and Velcro sewn on to fix the thing on the body. After that, you need to supplement the image with accessories, which, by the way, can also be made manually from scrap materials, and you can send the doll to the toy catwalk.
