I made a bunch of Barbie clothes for my daughter for her birthday. I was too cheap to go out and buy ugly poorly made Barbie clothes. This is probably the first and last time I make that many pieces. I do not like sewing this small. It makes 18″ doll clothes a dream to sew.

I keep lots of scrap fabric laying around which was perfect for making these.

I used Simplicity pattern 5785 for all the pieces except for the dress on the left in the above pic. I chose this pattern because of the many clothing options, the mixing and matching of pieces plus I loved the 1960′s clothing.

Simplicity 2238

Pattern Description:
Childs dress / tunic / pants

Pattern Size: Size 4

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?
Yes

Were the instructions easy to follow?
The instructions were easy.

 What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?

The fabric flowers are what drew me to this pattern.

Fabric Used:
cotton – Joann Fabrics
Pattern alterations or any design changes you made:
I only added one ruffle on the bottom of the skirt and didn’t leave the  edges raw. I cut the ruffle twice as wide and finished the edges before gathering.

Only added one flower on one of the tunics.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?
Yes.

Conclusion:

The tunic is a bit wide if you’re making this for a very thin child. As am I.   I probably should have cut a 3 in width and a 4 in length. But at least my outcome wasn’t to small. My daughter will grow into it. The tunic looks great with a long or short sleeve shirt under it. It doesn’t have to strictly be a summer dress or tunic. I can see making this pattern out of a pinwale corduroy.

I loved adding the flowers. I even added some yoyo flowers to the last tunic.

These too look great with capri leggings.

I decided to write my first pattern review. A lot of blogs I follow share reviews of sewing patterns they’ve sewn so I thought maybe I’d start doing that. So instead of just posting pics of what I’ve made now I’ll be adding a review along with it. Hope they are helpful.

Simplicity 3895

Pattern Description:
Childs dress

Pattern Size:

Size 4

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?

Yes. Exactly.

Were the instructions easy to follow?
The instructions were very easy. It took about 2 1/2 hours total. A great pattern to start and finish during your kids nap time. It’s a very quick and simple pattern. A great pattern for fun cotton prints.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?

I preferred the V neck dress as opposed to the thin straps, but that is just my preference.

Fabric Used:
Michael Miller Children at Play – (balloons, polka dot, & bicycles) cotton fabric.com

Feeling Groovy Rainbow Blue – cotton fabric.com

Michael Miller Citron – Hobby Lobby

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made:
Cut a four in width and a five in length. Seemed a bit short for my daughter if I had cut the length at a four.

Instead of adding ribbon around the waste I sewed strips of contrasting fabric to the bodice before sewing on the skirt.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?
Yes. I made four dresses.

Conclusion:

The shorter dress looks great with capri leggings.