What do Kenner 12 inch dolls of the 1980s wear? By the time they reach the secondary market,
all the dolls are nude and needy. Bionic
Woman, Dusty and Skye, Princess Leia, International Velvet, and Darci all can wear knitwear
manufactured for Barbie, or they can wear Kenner clothing. The trick is finding
it in good condition.
All the Kenner ladies are broader and sturdier-looking than Mattel's Barbie.Velvet
has blue eyes and blonde hair. Princess Leia has brown eyes, brown hair and
redder lips. They have the same head, which may be the soft vinyl version of the hard vinyl Bionic Woman head. They share a body and legs
with Dusty and Skye (1974) a doll that has
been called the ugliest fashion doll ever. She suffers from a bad factory
haircut and face paint that has aged poorly, but she's not ugly.
Dusty and Skye
outfits were sold separately and with athletic sets such as ball, bat and mitt, tennis racquet , gymnastics equipment
and a horse. These gals had a great selection of clothing, and some of the styles
could be worn by Bionic Woman even
though her added height is mostly in her torso. Looking at illustrations from package backs,
it seems that Bionic Woman and Dusty had the same clothing in different colors.
Bionic Woman and Dusty can wear each other's
shoes, but not Barbie shoes. Velvet and
Leia have the same flat feet as Dusty
and Skye, still another Kenner offering of the 70s, and might have been able to
wear Ken's sneakers.
These are dolls of the mid to late 70s. Doll clothes patterns
of that time ought to fit, and some patterns even suggest that they do fit.
Simplicity 9194 (from 1979) even says it is for 12 1/2 inch dolls. The fashions
have nothing in common with the ultra-slim-ultra fitted Barbie outfits of the
1960s, but they are appropriate for their time. By the 70's, shoulder pads and
tailoring had given way to unlined jackets with minimal shaping. In doll scale,
this is very easy to sew. I made my first shawl collar on a jacket from S9194, and I was nervous about it. Most of the clothing is
tubes and elastic, making it just right for experimenting with the fancy
stitches on your sewing machine.
Bionic Woman Jamie Sommers had her own ideas of proper attire. No binding clothing,
she said. Nothing that will rip when she runs, leaps and brings down bad guys.
Because the Kenner offerings were so minimal -- Jamie came in a white shirt and
blue pants or a blue jumpsuit -- I wanted to start with something girly, something
I'd seen Lindsay Wagner wear on the show. I settled on a peasant blouse and
tiered skirt. It seems to me that the Jamie Sommers who lived in Ojai would be
unbuttoned enough to wear peasant blouses and gathered tiered skirts. For one
thing, this was the style of the Seventies. For another, these items are loose
and comfortable.
Simplicity came to the rescue in 1981, with S5356. A peasant
blouse and tiered skirt, running shorts and a raglan jacket with slacks seem
aimed at Bionic Woman. The pattern says
it is for dolls such as the 12 1/2 inch Darci and the 11 1/2 inch Barbie.
Directions for tiered skirts are all over the internet for
children and adults, and possibly for 18 inch American Girl types. They were not in my vast collection of Barbie
patterns. I added ease to the hip
measurement and came up with 6 1/2 to 7 inches for the first tier. Most tiered
skirts add 1/3 to the previous tier, so 6 1/2, 11, 17 should work. It did, but
seems skimpy. Jamie Sommers prefers 7, 13, 20 inches. My tiers are 2 inches wide.
Simplicity 7210 from
1975 offers the obligatory wedding dress
plus 5 more outfits including a full length slinky dress and caftan, raglan
sleeved top and jumper, long sleeved top and overalls, top and pants, nightgown
and panties. Simplicity 7737 from 1976 mentions Dusty and Skye in the pattern information,
as well as Ken, Curtis and G.I. Joe. Some outfits might have been copied from
Dusty's catalog: a jumpsuit and a shorts
set in particular. You will have to use the boy's jumpsuit pattern to get the correct width
for Bionic Woman, and lengthen it in the
torso as well. Trace the pattern and
test it against the doll before even thinking of cutting fabric. The formal is
a halter top long gown with a ruffle. Leia and International Velvet like it.
Simplicity's 9194 (copyright 1979) has several outfits with minimal
shaping. A tube dress, a tube skirt, and shirt are basic and boring, but are
also true to the era. There is a raglan sleeved wedding gown that can provide the basis for the longer and
looser peasant blouse. Many of these are repeats from Simplicity 7210; The
illustrations were different, but the clothes are essentially the same. The
first time I made anything with a shawl collar was with this pattern. The
sleeves are a little short for Bionic Woman, the torso is too wide for Barbie
unless you sash it.
Patterns that are little
more than rectangles and tubes are fast to sew. You can jazz things up
with trim or machine embroidery. The Bionic Woman is less than pleased with a
straight skirt, but too bad. I had fun
playing with stitching.
Because Bionic Woman doll is larger in the torso than most
Mattel 12 inchers, I tried a pattern sold through newspapers for vintage
Barbies. The killer suit with 3/4 length coat was enormous
on Barbie and only a bit large on Bionic.
The skirt that swallowed Barbie fits well, except that Bionic wants
skirts that will allow her to run.
Simplicity 8281, copyright 1977, has more star power and
fashion sense, and seems geared for the active young woman. A front closing
A-line skirt opens should the Bionic
Woman take off in a sprint after the bad guys. Culottes and a matching vest allow her to work undercover as an
administrative assistant, but won't hold her back should she need to leap over
tall buildings. There is a raglan sleeve
jacket, a flirty sundress. The glamorous 2 piece evening gown designed for Cher
is something Jamie could move in. And the short flirty sundress resembles the
longer evening g dress produced by Kenner.
Probably the best pattern for the bigger dolls (Cher,
Farrah, Toni Tenille, Tuesday Taylor, Dorothy Hamill, Princess Leia) is Marie
Osmond's Butterick Craft 224, issued in
1977-78, but still for sale during the 80s. The pattern also contains patterns
for a 30 inch doll. I was less than thrilled with the pattern at the time I
bought it, because I was gung-ho for vintage Barbie. For Kenner, Ideal and Mego
12 1/2 inch dolls, this pattern cannot be beat. I really appreciate Marie
Osmond's precision.
The Dorothy Hamill skating outfit of a bodysuit and circular
skating skirt look very like the skating costumes of that era and fits the Dorothy
Hamill doll beautifully. The pants for
Toni Tenille fit Ideal's Tuesday Taylor, even though shown on Mattel's Marie
Osmond doll. A schoolgirlish jumper and blouse for Princess Leia is too big on
Barbie. A dolman sleeved tunic and long gown shown on the pattern front on a
Farrah doll could make a good repro Princess Leia dress.
Dolls that cannot share clothing with Barbie can be lots of
fun to sew for.
