High Waist Pleat Front Wide Leg Cuffed Cropped Trousers...for Dolls: The Pattern Hack

So I wondered, would it be enough to trim the pattern pieces just a bit to convert the pattern from Curvy size to "Original"* size?

 Yep!

 The Curvy waist is 1"/24mm larger than the "Original" waist, so I hypothesized that it would be enough to take ¼"/6mm off of the sides.  Once I drew on that contour, I realized the area above crotch level (the rise) would be too long, so I measured (yes, I actually measured) and then reduced the rise by ½"/12mm.  The waistband got a simple inch taken off of one side.

Here's a picture with my pencil sketch lines for the alterations

   I know it would have been better to print a new copy of the pattern and alter it with actual cutting and taping, but...it's me, so I just folded things.

I might still reprint it sometime, so I can add length to the legs--probably by cutting both leg pieces at approximately the level of the word Front and then taping in the half inch pieces cut off from rise.  There will need to be a bit of angle tweaking, but the way the bottom of the leg is designed to accommodate the cuff means I wouldn't add the make up length there.

Or I could leave 'em short


* anyone who knows anything about Barbie knows "Original" size has been around no longer than Curvy size.  Bah.

High Waist Pleat Front Wide Leg Cuffed Cropped Trousers...for Dolls

In late 2018, I made this somewhat random pair of pants for a slightly-larger-than-Barbie doll

(She's a Calico Lassie, sold in the 1960s by Kellogg's on cereal boxes, whose original style was heavily influenced by Ellie May from The Beverly Hillbillies)

The pants got a decent reception, so I made a quick sketch recreating how I'd cut the  pieces and said I'd make a pattern to share.

I started working on that a bit over a month ago.  It took a few iterations

I'll spare you the photos of the process of getting them right, with all the "oh, if that were a real person, that looks like it would be...uncomfortable" fit issues, so here's the final fit on two Curvy Barbies, left and right (while a Takara Cool Girl looks on from the center.)

Yes, I stubbornly refused to change the thread throughout the whole process, and completely expected the dark printed plaid attempt wouldn't fit right, either, so of course it did and that contrasty thread at the waistband is...contrasty.   It blends better with the lightweight light purple denim, which I made after the dark plaid pair to check that the pattern did indeed work.  The other pair is one of the bad-fit versions, but that doll has a different body so she can wear them a bit better.

You should be able to right click and save each of these.  There's a 1" line and a 1cm line on the pattern, to check that they print at the correct size--make sure *not* to click Fit To Page on that!

All of the shirts are pattern I've created and shared, too--they're on this blog, but I'll go ahead and put copies under the cut here