HISTORICAL BALL GOWN FOR CURVY BARBIE - Marie Antoinette inspired gowns for Barbie

Have you ever dreamed of wearing a beautiful ball gown, long flowing skirt, lace, beads, and lots of flounce? Imagine all the work and fabric to create such a masterpiece back in the day.... Way before mass production, factories and personal sewing machines.

Dolls are such a great way to showcase the fashions from years gone by. Growing up reading historical gothic novels, I'd dream of wearing flowing gowns. Today, I envision ways to incorporate those designs for myself and my dolls. With the new Curvy doll on the market, she is limited on choices, so it is time to catch her up in fashion!

This is a basic Marie Antoinette inspired design with double skirt trimmed in lace. A matching hair scrunchie enables Curvy to wear her hair in a fashionable up-do.

This gown is a Royal Purple Ball gown, with a little secret....

Remember back when our grandma's (or great Aunts) had that dollie in the bathroom with the full sized crocheted gown?? You know, the one on the back of the toilet?  Imagine how convenient to use a toilet paper roll as a doll stand (and for storage!)  Well, I may not put my Curvy in the ladies room, but I think these paper rolls make FABULOUS holders for modeling my dolls and those luscious long skirts!! Stay tuned for... more!

ORIENTAL FLORAL PATCHWORK DRESS - Curvy Barbie Outfit

This fabric is wonderful! I love the vibrant flowers and the black/gold really POPS! Gold buttons to boot in this patchwork dress. 

 I'm experimenting more with patchwork. Stay tuned! 

RED ROSE TEA PARTY DRESS FOR CURVY BARBIE - Tea time!

Red Rose Gown for Curvy Barbie

Tea time for Curvy!

Curvy Barbie all dressed up! And how would you like your tea? 

PINK ROSE TEA GOWN - Curvy Barbie is ready for a tea party!

Curvy Barbie is ready for a tea party! 

 Inspiration from this miniature pink rose tea set! 

And just the right size for Curvy Barbie! 

STRAWBERRY CUPCAKE BARBIE DRESS - Tonner doll fashions too

Cami Tonner Doll with cupcake 

Nothing more yummy than a cupcake! Make that a cupcake topped with strawberry whipped cream and a fresh strawberry on top! And oh how cute is this Barbie and Tonner doll dress! How rare to find such miniature delights in this design. I'm inspired, and craving strawberry cupcakes, with extra whipped cream please....! (sigh) 

Liv (Barbie) doll, with cupcake 

BARBIE DOLL SHORT DRESS - One Size Fits ALL comparison

COMPARISON of the halter One-Size-Fits-All Classic Short Barbie dress. 

I get asked a lot whether this dress will fit their Curvy, or their Silkstone Barbie. This dress has an expandable waistline, and will fit the full sized Barbie, down to the slim and petite. Depending on your taste for fit, these photos will help you to decide if this dress is perfect for your special doll. 

A picture is worth a thousand words! 

Vintage Repro Barbie Doll 

Barbie Clone - Ball Jointed, imported

City Shine Barbie 

Curvy Barbie 

Fashion Royalty Doll 

Liv Doll 

Midge Barbie doll 

My Scene Barbie 

Silkstone Barbie 

Vintage Misty Doll 

As I sew for this design, I try to maintain a 4 1/2" inch length from elastic waist to hem. 
The halter straps are each approximately 3" inch in length. 

This Classic Short Dress, in various colors and designs, can be found on both Etsy and Ebay 

BARBIE DOLL SIZE COMPARISONS - Barbie and friends size chart

Barbie doll sizes 

These Barbie's and Friends are some of my models - showing their differences in height and size. 

A quick glimpse of each doll pictured from left to right: 

A-Fashion Royalty, B-Liv doll, C-City Shine Barbie, 

D-Silkstone Barbie, E-My Scene Barbie, F-Midge Barbie, 

G-Modern Standard Barbie, H-Vintage Barbie 

With heels on the line, each square is 1" inch in width and height for the doll. Counting each square upwards, you can measure doll's height, and across for width. 

***Update soon with size comparison for Curvy Barbie doll. 

CLASSIC SHORT DRESS CHART FOR TONNER FASHON DOLLS - One Size Fits all Design for Tonner and Friends

I've been sewing a lot of the One-Size-Fits-All halter style dress for Tonner, because this fashion is so versatile! It truly takes the guess work out of whether this outfit will fit OTHER similar sized fashion dolls. But to give a better idea HOW WELL this dress fits, I wanted to showcase several of my models wearing the SAME DRESS!

I've blogged earlier on doll sizes in case you need measurements...

  

Here are the ladies wearing/sharing the same dress! 

Tonner Evangeline Ghastly 

Tonner Tyler Wentworth 

Tonner Cami doll 

Tonner Ellowyne Wilde

Tonner City Girls

Vintage Lisa Littlechap 

Vintage Judy Littlechap

Tonner Kitty Collier

Ashton Drake Gene doll 

Some dolls are taller, or thinner. Some have fuller breasts, or smaller hips. Either way, this dress fits higher or lower, fuller or leaner - due to the expandable elastic waistline, and adjustable velcro closure -  and each gal is rocking it! I really love how Tonner can share this dress with friends! 

As I sew for this design, I try to maintain a 5 1/2" inch length from elastic waist to hem. The halter straps are each approximately 4" in length. 

These designs and more are currently available on ETSY and EBAY 

TONNER DOLL SIZE COMPARISON - Tyler Wentworth, Ellowyne Wilde, Evangeline, Cami

Tonner doll Size Comparison for Evangeline Ghastly, Tyler Wentworth, Cami, Ellowyne Wilde, City Girls

One of the top questions I get asked the most is, "Will this outfit fit my doll?" To better answer that question, I've created a pictorial graph showing some of the Tonner Fashion doll models that I use the most for my designs. 

The Tonner dolls are lined up at the heel. Each square is an inch in diameter, so counting upwards or sideways is an estimate on the height and width of each doll. 

Vintage Dolls 

Fashion Doll Size comparisons

Kitty Collier is from the Tonner family, and Gene is from Ashton Drake

Hope this chart helps a little bit better! 

TROPICAL CRANBERRY BATIK FASHIONS - For Curvy Barbie and Ken Doll

More fabulous Batik Fabric for the Barbie and Ken dolls! Already dreaming up sunshine and aqua beaches in this gorgeous cranberry colored tie dye fabric. Okay, which direction for some Vitamin SEA? Pacific Coast? The Florida Keys.... Is it warm enough yet for the East Coast? 

Ken and Curvy Barbie in matching tropical Batik outfits. 

Ken Doll Shark Shirt and Denim Shorts - Clothes for Ken Barbie

Ken is tossing caution to the wind as he sports his shark shirt and shorts while hanging at the beach.

But you gotta admit, those sharks ARE kinda cute. From a distance! These novelty shirts are a lot of fun to create, and half the fun is finding fabric designs that are doll size.