Dolls! Finished Dress & Capelet for my 1950's Doll

All finished!

I used this pattern, which I think is from the early 1960's, or late 1950's.

The pattern called for 1/4 inch seams, and I lined the bodice in the lightest cotton polyester fabric I could find. I washed all fabrics to ensure that any chemicals used in the dyeing and finishing process were removed as I did not want them to leach into the doll. Washing the fabrics also made them sit better on the doll, which is just under 11 inches tall.

Taking measurements

Cutting out the bodice lining

Shaping the bodice on my dressmaker's ham.

I lined the capelet.

Jaunty little capelet

The Pattern Review.

Barry Sturgill wrote an article in Haute Doll magazine (Vol 7 (1) February 2010) reviewing some vintage patterns made for dolls in the 1960's. It's an interesting article, so track it down if you can. The author writes that a few of these patterns were drafted way too big. He suspects this is because Mums and kids were able to sew and dress the dolls if the clothes were a lot bigger, but this sizing issue is not acceptable to the modern collector seeking to replace a missing outfit for a vintage doll. Simplicity rates highly for good designs and fit. From my experience, I think that you need to test the fit of the patterns first.

Here is a picture of my reproduction vintage pony tail Barbie wearing the dress. While it fits her better in the length of the bodice, it is still way too big. The pattern did come with a belt, but I did not make this as I did not want the dress to be too tight on my vintage 1950's doll as I wanted to preserve the original underwear.

Gaping bodice

My reproduction vintage ponytail Barbie requires an outfit, because she will have to give this one back to the 1950's doll. I will do a post on her new outfit at a later date.



Best wishes for the holiday season to one and all, and thankyou to all those people who have visited my Blog in 2010!

 Lizzie