How to Make Barbie Clothes

To make Barbie clothes, you need to first make or buy a pattern, then sew any type of material you like to make the clothing.

Difficulty:

Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Lace Trims
• Fabrics
• Sewing Kits
• Sewing Machine
• Sewing Needles
• Threads
• Scissors
• Velcro
• Barbie Fashion Designer CD-ROM
• tiny, fake buttons

1. Buy patterns for Barbie clothes at a local sewing/hobby shop or online. Buy any material you like and sew according to the pattern.

2. Use Barbie clothes you already have to make patterns.

3. Find old, worn-out Barbie clothes at garage sales and flea markets to use as patterns.

4. Design your own patterns.

5. Purchase the Barbie Fashion Designer CD-ROM. This program prints out pictures of Barbie clothes that can be used for patterns. It also prints out real clothes on special felt paper.

6. Attach Velcro to clothes instead of buttons or snaps. It is easier for children to use.

7. Add lace, trim or fake buttons to dress clothing up.

8. Look for fun and wild patterns and materials. You will be able to find a lot of good things in the clearance bins at sewing shops because you only need a small amount of the material.

9. Consider making Barbie clothes and outfits for your child using similar material and patterns.

10. Reuse material from clothes your child has outgrown or leftover pieces of material from clothes your child already owns.

11. Understand that some materials just don't work for Barbie clothes. Because the clothes are so small, thick materials such as wide wale corduroy or heavy wool will be too cumbersome.

12. Consider what items of clothing are missing from the Barbie collection. Many collections are short on sleepwear and underwear. Swimsuits are usually not needed.

Tips & Warnings

• Enjoy your designs - the fact that you made the clothes yourself makes them special.

• Use different patterns for Barbie's friends, such as Stacie, Kelly and Ken.