Birthday Party Barbie Dress ~ Free Pattern!

It’s been quite a while since I posted a Barbie dress pattern ~ I believe the last one was the Barbie Leotard, back in…June? It’s been longer than I thought!

Here’s a dress for your Barbie to wear to a birthday party, whether attending as a guest or being the actual ‘birthday girl’. If you’re giving a Barbie as a present, why not make a fancy wardrobe to go along, especially if it’s for a birthday present! 😀

This post is linked to the Clever Chicks Blog Hop {link is in my sidebar.} 🙂

I’m not sure that Katniss looks so happy in a pink frilly dress…

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MATERIALS ~

Light worsted yarn in two colors ~ I used Lion Brand Pound of Love for the darker pink color, which claims to be worsted but is really quite thin. The light pink in the picture above is two strands of fingering weight yarn held together.

Size F (3.75 MM) hook

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This is the prototype I made, the green yarn is NaturallyCaron Spa, which is pretty much the best yarn ever made, IMO. And I picked this skein up at an estate sale! (Why, oh why did they discontinue it?) It’s very droopy, so I fixed that problem in the next version, Barbie Birthday Dress 2.0.

I’m very sorry about the blurry pictures, I was using the camera on my phone and didn’t realize how blurry they were until I saw them on the computer. I think they might still be helpful if you don’t mind the low quality. 🙂

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SPECIAL STITCHES:

Foundation double crochet (fdc): This forms the beginning chain and the first row of double crochets all in one. Here’s a good tutorial for it.

Long double crochet (ldc): Here’s a tutorial on Crochet Spot with a left-handed version as well. It’s basically like a double crochet, except you pull up a massively long loop. The finished product looks much like broomstick lace, without the broomstick.

SKIRT: (I used dark pink in version 2.0)

Fdc 25, join with a sl st to the 1st st to form a ring.

Rnds 2 & 3: (RS) Ch 2 (counts as a stitch), dc in each st around, sl st to join.

Rnd 4: Ch 1, pull up a long loop,

2 ldc in the same stitch as joining. (don’t pull your loops up too high!) 2 ldc in each st around.

Panic not! It will be very ruffly, but the next round will fix that.

Rnd 5: Ch 1, sc in same st and in next 2 sts, sk next st. *sc in next 3 sts, sk next sc* around, sl st to join.

Rnd 6: repeat Round 4. (getting more ruffly!)

Rnd 7: Ch 1, sc in same st and in next st, sk next st. *sc in next 2 sts, sk next sc* around, sl st to join.

Rnd 8: same as previous ldc rows but with only 1 ldc in each st.

Rnd 9: (edging, which is optional): Ch 1, sc in same st. *ch 2, sc in next st* around, sl st to join.

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TOP

Ch 25, join with a sl st to form a ring.

Rnd 1: (WS) Ch 2 (counts as dc), dc in each ch around, sl st to join.

Rnd 2 – 4: Ch 2 (counts as dc), dc in back loops of each dc around, sl st to join.

Do not fasten off!

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JOINING

There is absolutely no sewing, the swoopy things and the joining are all done right from where you left off on the top.

First, put the top inside the skirt, so the right side of the top is touching the wrong side of the skirt. You should clearly be able to see 25 stitches to work into, the chain edge of the skirt fdc, and the previous row on the top.

Make 1 sc into each of the stitches, joining them together.

Then pull the top out of the skirt and admire your handiwork.

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SWIRLY SWOOPY THINGS

There’s no exact method to this, so if you don’t feel comfortable, you can embroider them on, or leave them off altogether ~ don’t worry, Barbie will still look lovely. 🙂 But if you do want to add some swoopy things…

Basically, you sc down towards the bottom of the skirt, along the 3 rows of plain double crochet. Then you sc back up to the top, and sc in the next available joining stitch. I thought I took more pictures of this, but I didn’t. You should be able to tell in the pictures, here’s one again, for easier reference ~

When you’re done, fasten off and weave in the ends!

If you want straps, chain 50 and fasten off, then weave it through three or so stitches on the front. I tried crocheting them on but Katniss got stuck in the dress and I think I will have to cut it off. (oopsie…)

If any of this is unclear please leave a comment and I will help you sort it out. 🙂

Have a wonderful day, both you and any Barbies you may have! ;-D

xxx