I’m super happy to finally be posting a new free crochet pattern…and one that I’m really excited about! I’ve designed a pretty good variety of Barbie clothes by now – swimsuits, mermaid tails, leotards, ball gowns – but there are always more to make. My sister does fencing, and she suggested that I make a fencing outfit for Barbies. This was a great idea and I was happy to oblige.

I’ve learned a lot about fencing in the years my sister has done it. It was my goal to make this the most accurate outfit possible, so I did some research as well as asking her for advice. For instance, there are three types of fencing – foil, saber, and epée – and each has a different kind of sword, and target area on the body, so the fencing outfit looks slightly different for each kind. My sister does saber fencing, so that’s the outfit I made.

There are four parts to this outfit: knickers, jacket, T-shirt, and lame. The first three are self-explanatory. The other one is pronounced luh-MAY, and is an extra layer worn over the fencing top. It is usually gray or gold-colored and often has the fencer’s last name on the back, however, my embroidery skills were not up to the task. The lame is used in electric fencing, which is where the fencers are hooked up to cords to tell when someone scores. Although the actual lame is worn over the other layers, crochet fabric is far too thick for that, so this is designed to be worn over the knickers + T-shirt.

Materials

• Worsted-weight yarn. I used a thinnish worsted-weight for the white fencing top and knickers, which made a more flexible fabric. My yarn didn’t have a label, but a similar style would be Caron Simply Soft. For the lame, I used I Love This Yarn in a  gray color (Graybeard, maybe?). This is a thicker yarn, which the lame pattern reflects.
• G (4.00 MM) crochet hook
• Yarn needle to weave in ends (yes, I can hear you sighing)
• Needle and thread
• Stitch marker (or you can use a yarn scrap)
• 3 hook-and-eye clasps for the fencing top
• 3 snaps for the lame
• About 18″ of elastic cord
• Small amount of stretchy knit fabric for the T-shirt (I used part of an old T-shirt for people)

Notes

I use US crochet terms in all of my patterns. Click here to see a translation chart as well as the abbreviations.

This pattern is designed to fit the Barbie belly button body type (basically the newer style of Barbie without the super tiny waist). It’s being modeled on my Made to Move Barbie, Laia.

The legs of the knickers are worked in unjoined rounds, amigurumi-style. You’ll need a stitch marker to mark the first stitch of the round.

Knickers

LEGS (MAKE 2)

Ch 14.

Round 1-8: Sc around.

Round 9: 2sc, sc around.

Round 10-14: Sc around.

Round 15: 2sc, sc around.

Fasten off on the first leg. Make one more leg and do not fasten off.

JOINING & WAISTBAND

On second leg, sc in next 2 stitches. Use long tail from first leg to sew those 2 stitches together. Then continue on from the second leg with the same yarn.

Round 1: Sc in 8 stitches on each leg for 16 total.

Rounds 2 & 3: Sc in each st around.

Round 4: Decrease (sc2tog) at front and back.

Round 5: Decrease (sc2tog) at both sides.

Round 6 & 7: Sc in each st around.

Round 8: Sc around in back loops only.

Round 9 & 10: Sc in each st around. Fasten off, weave in ends.

Cut one long piece of elastic and tie a lark’s head knot in the back middle of the garment. Then thread the front pieces through the front of the knickers and knot those. These form the straps.

Jacket

BODY

Work in front loops only for the entire top.

Row 1: Ch 16. Sc in 2nd ch from hk and in each ch across. (15 its)

Row 2-4: Ch 1, turn, sc 15.

Row 5: Ch 1, turn. Sc 1. Ch 3, sk 3, hdc 1, dc across. 2 dc in last st.

Row 6: Ch 1, turn. 2 sc in first st, sc in each st across.

Row 7: Ch 1, turn. Sc in each st across, 2 sc in last st.

Row 8-10: Repeat Rows 6 and 7 once more, then repeat Row 6. This forms the increases for the bottom triangle. Now we’ll begin decreasing for the other side.

Row 11: Ch 1, turn. Sc in each st across until 2 sts remain; sc2tog.

Row 12: Ch 1, turn. Sc2tog, sc in each st across.

Row 13-15: Repeat Rows 11 and 12 once more, then repeat Row 11. This concludes the triangle.

Row 16: Ch 2, turn. Sk first st, dc across until 5 sts remain. Hdc. Ch 3, sk 3, sc in last stitch (through both loops for this stitch only).

Row 17-21: Ch 1, turn, sc in each st across.

Ch 1. Turn to crochet along the bottom, where the triangle shaping is. We’re going to crochet an edging to make the edge smoother. Single crochet along the edge, making 3 sc when you reach the point. I found it worked best to make approximately 1 sc per row, trying to insert your hook under two loops to prevent gaps. When you reach the end, fasten off and weave in ends.

SLEEVES (MAKE 2)

Row 1: Ch 17. Sc in 2nd ch from hk and in each ch across. (16 sts)

Row 2-8: Ch 1, turn. Sc across in front loops only.

Fasten off, leaving a long tail for sewing. Fold the sleeve in half lengthwise and seam the ends together. I suggest sewing through the front loop of Row 8 as well as the remaining loops of the starting chain. When you reach the other end, use the tail to sew the sleeve to the armhole. For best results, make sure the seam is facing down (along the underside of the arm).

FINISHING

Sew 3 hook-and-eye clasps to the back.

Cut a 6″ piece of elastic and tie one end to the bottom point. The other end can be tied to the back of the jacket. Adjust as needed. This helps make sure it stays put for the fencer.

Lame (luh-MAY)

This pattern is the same as the jacket without the front triangle, and with the opening in the front to mimic the neckline of a real lame. (The picture shows the back of the lame.)

NOTE: The yarn I used for the lame was thicker than the jacket yarn, so there are less rows in the lame pattern. If your yarn is the same thickness for both garments, and your lame comes out too small, simply add more rows of sc along the back so it fits your Barbie.

Work in front loops only for the entire top.

Row 1: Ch 16. Sc in 2nd ch from hk and in each ch across. (15 its)

Row 2-6: Ch 1, turn, sc 15.

Row 7: Ch 1, turn. Sc 1. Ch 3, sk 3, hdc 1, dc across. 2 dc in last st.

Row 8-17: Ch 1, turn, sc 15.

Row 18: Ch 2, turn. Sk first st, dc across until 5 sts remain. Hdc. Ch 3, sk 3, sc in last stitch (through both loops for this stitch only).

Row 19-23: Ch 1, turn, sc in each st across.

Work a row of sc along the bottom as for the jacket. Then sew 3 snaps along the front so that the fabric lies at a diagonal. The lame should actually have elastic at the bottom too, but I forgot to include it. I’ll add it later.

T-Shirt

I don’t have a pattern for this, just guidelines. Essentially, it’s two T-shaped pieces of knit fabric sewn together. I cut out two square pieces bigger than my Barbie’s torso, set her atop it, and traced around in a T-shirt shape. When you cut the neck hole, make sure it isn’t too big, because it will stretch. Also make sure there’s enough seam allowance and extra room for the shirt to be put on. Next, I whipstitched the underside of the sleeve and the side of the shirt together, on both sides. I turned it inside out and put it on the Barbie. There are also no-sew versions of Barbie T-shirts if you prefer those. A quick Google search will yield you plenty of tutorials.

I hope you enjoy this pattern! Please leave a comment if you need help or find something in the pattern that doesn’t quite add up…it’s happened before and will happen again. If you do make this, I’d love to see pictures of your results.

This outfit is far from complete…the next thing on the list is a fencing mask, since of course you shouldn’t fence without one! I’d also like to make a rolling duffel to hold the saber and supplies, and maybe I can figure out how to make a sword for the Barbies too. Because who doesn’t want a doll rebellion on one’s hands?