Barbie Simplicity pattern 9697

I adapted the gown pattern to make a Pilgrim costume and a nightgown.
If these two sultry ladies had lived in Salem in the 1600s,
they surely would have been burned at the stake!

The patterns from 9697 all seemed a little large for Barbie,
as you can see by the knickers outfits.

I made the shorts outfit as well but cannot find it.

The short and long peasant dresses were fun to make.

The last pattern I made clothes from as a little girl was Simplicity 9697, dated 1971 for the 1972 market.  I remember I picked out the pattern myself at the fabric store.
Not only did I make some of the mod clothes, I adapted one of the patterns for a freshman high school history project in 1976.  The gown pattern was used to make a Pilgrim dress.  My picky teacher said the gown was cute but I still got only a B!
The dolls in the photo are 1972 SunSet Malibu PJ, Walk Lively Jamie and Walk Lively Steffie.

Barbie and Ken Simplicity 9054

Hippie Ken and Flower Child Barbie

Barbie and Ken could go to a party,
a wedding, the beach and a sit-in!

The suit when made out of heavy double-knit
can be used for martial arts practice.

Mom and I shared the responsibility of sewing the outfits from Simplicity 9054, dated 1970 for the 1971 market.  Mom made the Ken clothes, I made the Barbie pantsuit.  This pattern set was actually my first attempt at making Barbie clothes in the early 1970s.
Oh, Ken's outfits are groovy, especially when made with vinyl!  The fringe looks great!
But the Barbie pantsuit never turned out as well as I hoped it would.  I think I made several of them, but only one survived.  It wasn't just because of my limited sewing skills.  I believe the raglan sleeves of the shirt were not sized properly, and never fit into the bodice panels as they should have.
The two dolls you see pictured are the 1971 SunSet Malibu Barbie and Ken.

Perkins Lincoln pattern A26994

My mail order envelope

The photo of Ricky, Ken, Barbie and Skooter that came with the instructions

Front view of the women's gowns.
There was also a veiled cap for Barbie but I cannot find it.

Side view of the gowns.
As soon as I put the cap on Casey,
I heard her say in a British accent, "Blimey!"

The 1969 Twist N Turn Skippers with the curly ponytails
are quite era-appropriate for their dresses.

Even though the man's coat is supposed to represent the 1860s,
I still think early 1700s Barnabas Collins every time I see it!

The Perkins historical patterns were dated 1968, and first showed up in the back page ads of craft magazines in 1969.  They were still advertised in the mid-1970s, which is when I bought the Lincoln Family pattern.  But I didn't get around to making the outfits until I was in college in the early 80s, as that was then I had gotten my first job and had extra spending money.  At that point, I was able to purchase real fabrics such as satin and felt ribbon at the store for the patterns.

There were five Perkins patterns:  A26992 Colonial Family, A26993 Pioneer Family, A26994 Lincoln Family, A26995 Daniel Boone Family and A26996 Pilgrim Family.

I made two of the woman's gowns, one for my PJ doll and a slightly altered one for my Francie.  I made two Skipper-size dresses for my Twist N Turn and Living Skippers.  The Ken suit was actually fun to make, and I was able to combine some of the steps of making it.

You will notice that the pattern picture has an odd assortment of Barbies: Ricky, early straight leg Ken, Twist N Turn Barbie and a bend leg Skooter.  I didn't make the boy doll outfit because A) I didn't have a boy doll at the time, and B) I never heard of Ricky until I started collecting a few years later.  I didn't add all of the accessories shown in the picture, and obviously didn't make the top hat.

All the dolls are from 1969: Brunette Talking Barbie, brunette Twist Casey (note that her hair has not oxidized), Talking Ken, and blonde and brunette Twist N Turn Skippers.

Barbie McCall's 9099

I don't know why so many of the McCall's outfits had no waistline!

This flowered mini shift is made from picture B,
turned around and without the zipper.

Pastels work well for the nightgown and robe.

The V shaped insert makes for a swingy mini.
Note that the jacket and cap are made of felt.

The mini dress with the yoke seems to fit the Francie-size dolls better.

Taken with my mother's 1940s Brownie camera in winter 1972.
Yes, it was cold on the patio!

Barbie McCall's pattern 9099, dated 1967 for the 1968 market, was designed for the mod dolls.  I think the drawing in pattern F looks like a blonde Natalie Wood.  Some of the others could be Julie Christie, Marta Kristen and Yvonne Craig.  The pattern also included instructions for the earrings, dress bow, purse, cap and boots.  The cap that my mother made still exists, but the vinyl boots she created are gone.
The dolls modeling the outfits are all from 1967 or 1968, and they are a straight leg brunette Barbie, a blonde Twist N Turn Barbie,  a brunette Talking Barbie, a white Talking Stacy, a blonde Twist Francie and two blonde Twist Caseys.
As for the pathetically blurry black-and-white photo, I took it on our back patio in 1972.  It's a combination of my sisters' and my dolls, and they are, left to right, 1970 brunette Living Barbie, 1968 blonde Twist N Turn Skipper, 1970 blonde Twist N Turn Francie, 1966 blonde Tutti in a brunette Hair Fair wig, 1970 Twist N Turn PJ, 1970 Sandy Flatsy, 1971 Growing Pretty Hair Francie and 1968 Talking Ken.  Poor Ken and Skipper did not have winter coats and so they borrowed two of the capes made from pattern 9099.  Neither the white vinyl (Ken) nor the pink corduroy (Skipper) capes are still around, nor is the orange double knit polyester coat that Barbie has on.

Barbie Simplicity pattern 6208

Simplicity sold 6208 in 1966, and resold the pattern as 1242 in 2015.

Three versions--two of them vinyl-
of the double-breasted coat that my mother made.
I knitted the scarf myself about 10 years ago.

A shortened version of the strapless gown
made a nice sundress.

Of all the dresses my mother made,
the drop-waist mini was always my favorite!

I think the longer version of the sundress
is supposed to be a wedding gown.

The coolest of the outfits was the culottes.  The mint green and apricot culottes are perfect for a Color Magic.

The classic 1960s "shift."

Note that both the winter coat and the jacket
to the suit have three-quarter length sleeves.

Two regular length versions
of the high-waisted sundress.

The slacks and jacket have always fit Francie-size dolls better,
although the blouse fits both her and Barbie.

Simplicity pattern 6208, dated 1965 for the 1966 market, was the pattern my mother used the most often.  1966 was the height of the Barbie haute couture period, and the patterns are very classy and yet just a little bit mod too.  My sisters and I had the greatest amount of outfits made from this set of patterns.
The slacks in this pattern are tight-fitting and are more suited for Francie than they are for Barbie.  Mom adapted the slim strapless gown by shortening it and adding straps.  She also lengthened the sundress and made it a maxi dress.  The two dolls modeling the outfits are 1966 blonde Color Magic Barbie (the only Barbie-size doll I own from that year), and 1966 blonde straight leg Francie.
The pattern also includes instructions for making the scarf, the necklace, the rose and the neck bow.  Simplicity recreated the pattern in 2015 with stock number 1242--it's far more costly now than it was in 1965!--and you can find the recreated version in fabric stores now.

Skipper McCall's 7480 pattern

These are all four of the McCall's Skipper patterns.  7841 is the most difficult to find.

The sailor suit is the most difficult outfit
to make, with its pleated skirt.

I've always thought the party dress pattern
was absolutely darling!

The sleeveless blouse and slacks were made
from the jacket and pants pattern,
but the jacket was from the sailor suit combo.

A cousin gave me the McCall's Skipper pattern 7480 in 1974, and my mother and I made a few outfits from it.  I was 13 in 1974 but still playing with my Barbies periodically, and our Skippers had far fewer clothes than Barbie and Francie did.  Like the other patterns, it disappeared, but over time I re-bought it, as well as the other three McCall's Skipper patterns.
7480 was the first pattern, dated 1964 for the 1965 market.  The other patterns are:  7841 from 1965/1966, 7716 from 1966/1967 and 8357, also from 1966/1967 (note the Popover jumper and Francie's Go Granny Go gown, both sold in 1967).
I made the party dress but simply used a small swatch of fabric rather than the two rows of lace in the pattern for the skirt.  I also made the green pantsuit and white blouse, while my mother made the very 70s double knit polyester pantsuit that I think works better as pajamas.  1965 straight leg tan blonde Skipper models the dress and 1965 bend leg tan blonde Skooter shows the two versions of the pantsuit.  You see the back of the jacket; note the fabric cut on the bias.

Barbie Advance pattern B

Advance pattern B shirtwaist outfit was a very popular style to make.
Mary Makeup (center) wears the one from my childhood.
The others are modeled by Calico Lass (left) and Tressy (right).

Either my mother or my grandmother
made the outfit in the bottom center for me.

Mary and Barb and a Barbie clone, Christmas 1963

A closeup of the doll in what I believe is the blue outfit.

I know I am not finished yet with the the outdoor Willows street scenes, but in the meanwhile I've worked on another project.  I've purchased a number of Barbie sewing patterns as an adult collector, and I have re-purchased the ones we had as little girls but were long gone.  However, many of the outfits that either my mother, grandmother or I had sewn were still in existence.  I am going to show you what the outfits made from patterns actually look like.

The oldest pattern I own is Barbie Advance Pattern B, dated 1961 for the 1962 market.  I've shown you the shirt and skirt made from this pattern before.  I thought the outfit had been made in 1965, but now it looks like it may be from 1963.  I found this photo of my sister and me from Christmas 1963; I was born in February 1961 and Barb in February 1963.  Study the top of the photo--there is an orange plastic doll car up there and you can see part of the doll, which was either Debbie Drake or Debbie Dunbar.  It looks like she is wearing the blue handmade dress.

As an adult collector, I've found two other versions of this dress, in another photo you've also seen.  The photo is of Calico Lass, Mary Makeup and Tressy, who had slightly different bodies from Barbie and the blouse and skirt fit them better.