Sunday, March 05, 2023

For the Love of Barbie

When I was a little girl, I loved my Barbie Dolls - I would play with them for hours and hours.

My dolls had a case full of clothes, which included outfits that had been knit and crocheted by my Grandma Vincent, and also clothes that had been sewn by my mother. Those were always my favourites, the clothes that were made especially for me.  

One Christmas, I received the most amazing present - a collection of wooden Barbie furniture. I was so excited! My best friend and I would alternate between her house and mine - taking over the basement rumpus rooms for days on end as we created our Barbie houses across the floors. 

My tiny german dollies

I had a few miniature german dolls that I have now discovered were Ari miniature dolls from  Germany - they promptly became my Barbie's babies.  For me, my Barbie play was about creating a home, and a family - which was what I dreamed of for myself one day.

When I grew up, my Barbies and the collection of furniture, was lovingly packed up and put away. I kept all of it, and when I left home and started my own family, it came with me, always having a home in one storage space after another.

When my daughter Amanda came along, I was delighted to discover that I had a little girl who loved Barbie like I did! And out came my box of Barbie treasures. 

I have to admit, I was hesitant at first to hand over my treasures...what if they broke? What if they were ruined? But then I realized that dolls are meant to be played with, not boxed up collecting dust. So my dolls became Amanda's dolls. How happy those Barbies must have been, to come out of their dark storage box after so many years, and be back in the hands of a lovely little girl!  The Barbie collection grew, with the addition of Amanda's new generation dolls from Christmases and birthdays.

My little girl in the nineties

Well, time has passed, and my little girl grew up. The Barbie collection was once again boxed up and placed on my shelf. 

Amanda blessed us with our first granddaughter six years ago. And I am lucky enough to have another girl with a love of Barbie in the family! I am getting to play with Barbies again! 

I am also getting to be the "crafty grandma" and getting to fill Mom and Grandma's shoes, by creating Barbie clothes for my granddaughter. Not a sewer by any means (my sewing machine is strictly used for sewing paper these days), I am sticking to primarily crochet for my contributions. 

A couch I made

I have combed the internet for crochet patterns, and have found some amazing sources. However, with different yarns in my stash, and different hook sizes, I have found that I can only use these patterns as a "frame of reference" so that my biggest successes have been with my own "designs". I keep my Barbie model close at hand and try the garments on her as I go.  Keeping in mind that dressing Barbie in her clothes can be a challenge for younger ones, I am conscious of making the clothes easy to pull on and off, and that they have loose sleeves (if any) and sturdy, easy to use fasteners. 

Some of my creations

Most are quick projects, and I get a great sense of accomplishment, and a feeling of mastery each time I complete another addition to Barbie's wardrobe. It answers to the little girl in me, and I get to make one of my favourite people in the world happy as well!

P.S. I have made another attempt at furniture, thanks to this post on youtube:

https://youtu.be/v1vT90VNpa0 

It was fun, and I hope to make more, so stay tuned!


If you create anything for Barbie, please share in the comments below...let's inspire eachother!

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