I'm a Barbie Girl, In a Barbie World...

Life in plastic…its fantastic.

Gracie is Barbie obsessed. Her second birthday was a Barbie princess party. She chose the theme. She has about eight Barbie dolls, seven Barbie movies, Barbie’s airplane, house, car, dog (Tanner—Gracie adores him), two dress up costumes from Barbie Fairytopia and Barbie Mermaidia, and she knows the entire chorus to “I’m a Barbie Girl” by the Scandinavian bubblegum pop band Aqua by heart (Me a Barbie girl, me a Barbie world. Issa fastic, ISSA FASTIC!!). Not to mention that she begs to watch the Aqua video on YouTube every single day and the most commonly heard sentence out of Gracie’s mouth is, “You play Barbie me?”

Is there a Barbie-holics Anonymous? Sign her up!

Because Gracie is only two, and Barbie’s clothes are so… teeny tiny (not to mention impossible for a two year old to put on her doll), I like to revamp Gracie’s baby wardrobe into Barbie ball gowns and summer dresses. From Baby Dress to Barbie Dress in 2.5 minutes. And because Gracie is only two, it doesn’t matter how poorly you sew or how little time and attention to detail you want to spend… to her it is a beautiful dress.

Here’s what you need:

1 Barbie in need of a new dress

1 Baby outfit with elastic around the feet, wrists, or a nightdress with elastic around the entire bottom (moms, you know what I’m talking about)

Sewing machine or needle and thread

scissors

Begin with a nude Barbie. If you have small children, chances are a nude Barbie is very easy to come by. For some reason, Barbie is always nude, in our house (no, my husband has nothing to do with it!).

Wrap the elastic hem of the baby outfit above Barbie's chest and snip off the bottom until you have the desired dress length. Then snip off the remaining bit of outfit from the back, taking care that you have about 1/4 inch extra on each side when you pull the dress together (this is to allow room for sewing).

You should now have a flat rectangular piece of fabric with the elastic hem across the top and an unfinished edge on the bottom.

You can hem the unfinished bottom if you want it to look a bit nicer. I don't, as Gracie could care less, but it is up to you and your child.

If you have a sewing machine, it only takes a second to sew a straight stitch to bring the back of the dress together. Don't forget to have the wrong side out when you do the sewing, so the messy looking part is on the inside of the dress. If you don't have a sewing machine, it should only take a minute or two to get the seam stitched up.

Voila. A Barbie dress that is easy for a two year old to put on her favorite fashionista, and a little less scandalous than the Barbie dresses you can buy from the shop! Isn't she a vision in pink?

If you are looking for a handmade Barbie dress that is a little more sophisticated than my five minutes or less tube dress, look no further than Etsy. Here are some of my favorite Barbie items and the shops that sell them:

The first shop I would like to feature is Sew Grandma Cathy. Her shop features dresses for Barbie, Blythe, Bratz, American Girls, and Ken dolls. I think this Halloween gown is just lovely and will get any little girl and her beloved Barbie ready for Halloween.

You can find this dress as well as many others at www.sewgrandmacathy.etsy.com

The next Barbie outfit and shop I would like to feature is this little knit sailor dress from Pamala's Pastime. It is so Yacht Club chic. I didn't even know people took the time to knit Barbie dresses anymore and was pretty impressed at how cute it is. I'd love a halter like this for myself!

You can find this dress and others at www.pamalaspastime.etsy.com

The last shop I would like to feature is Munzie's Shop because I just couldn't resist blogging this adorable Barbie play tent with blanket, two pillows and a matching tote bag. How seriously cute is this? And it doesn't have to be used to Barbie. Any other small doll or stuffed animal would be at home inside this tent or traveling with your little one in the matching tote. Barbie really does have everything! You can find this set, as well as others in a whole mix of fabrics at www.munzies.etsy.com

Enjoy, all you Barbie Girls!