Friday, April 15, 2011

Barbie's first sweater


With the small amount of yarn leftover from my Miriam socks I thought I'd make a sweater for Barbie.

Why Barbie? A few years ago Mom and I heard of an organization that operates a "Christmas store" - parents of low income families are invited to "shop" for Christmas gifts for their kids at no cost. Unwrapped toys of any description are welcome, but the organizers made a particular plea for Barbies and Barbie clothes. "Barbie is really popular", they explained.

Just how popular she is was reinforced last weekend when I searched through the toys at the local thrift stores looking for a sample Barbie to check fit. No chance; Barbies are snapped up as soon as they hit the shelf. This Barbie is new, purchased for a few bucks at WalMart.

I've learned a few things after completing this first Barbie sweater (no.114 found here):
• from now on I'm looking for clothes knit in the round. Mattress stitching side and sleeve seams that are this small is painful!
• this little sweater was a lot more work and took a lot more yarn than I originally thought. If the idea is to use up scraps of sock yarn, I'm going to have to look at knitting stripes.
• as a kind of cruel joke Mattel has created Barbie with her thumbs and pinkies splayed outward; dressing her is like to trying to wrestle an angry toddler into a snowsuit.

3 comments:

Wanderingcatstudio said...

Ha - you should have said something - I have lots of Barbies and would have gladly donates some to the cause! I can dig up some of my patterns for you too!
I have Nicky Epstein's Knit for Barbie and a few others.
It's a great cause too - Barbie clothes are almost as expensive as the dolls themselves.

MagicalJane said...

LOL at Mattel's cruel joke. You'd think somebody would have had the foresight ... alas.

Aussie Maria said...

That's a lovely idea. I hate Barbie and I had 3 little girls who loved them. That waist and those hips, so hard to dress, let alone the bust
I was so thankful for Cabbage Patches - larger and rounder