How To Make Barbie Doll Clothes Tassels

When I was a little girl, Barbie – who would be a vintage Barbie today was my favorite toy, along with all of the Barbie doll clothes I had to go with her. My twin sister, Carol and I usually played with her with our neighborhood girlfriends.  Off we would go many a morning to their house with our packed Barbie cases in hand, not returning until our mom called us home for dinner.  I can’t recall any other time in my life that I had such a large haute couture wardrobe that fit like a glove and was all neatly arranged and stored in a highly organized traveling closet.  Early Barbie clothes were not just “doll clothes”,  they were true miniature knock-off’s of late 50’s and early 60’s era fashions.  They were made with great detail and the fashion trends of the times were closely followed making them highly collectible today.

I don’t play with Barbie anymore, but thought it would be fun to see some of the favorite outfits I used to dress her with on a daily basis.  I didn’t want to display a doll, but came up with this tassel idea.  The best part about doing this for collectors is that you don’t have to alter the dress at all.   

 Turn back time and bring your childhood memories back by going up to your parent’s attic and dusting – off your Barbie stuff. 

I found that using outfits with high collars and sleeves look the best, but experiment with different outfits until you find one you like or that will coordinate with your decor. 

 I used a wood piece that was shaped like a hanger.  I found it at the craft store. It was called a wood leg.  I went back to the craft store to get more, but they didn’t have any.  You could use a Barbie hanger also.

If you can’t find a wood leg or have a hanger, I saw these wood letter  “I”s that would work just as well.

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supplies needed:

• Barbie outfit
• Ribbon – 3 pools of coordinating ribbon, plus
• 1 – 18″ length piece
• 1- 6″ length piece
• 1 Wood Egg Cup, with hole drilled in through the top
• 1-2  Two Hole Buttons
• 1 or 2 Beads
• 1 Wood Leg or Doll Hanger
• Gold or Silver Spray Paint
• Scissors
• Cardboard

2.  Cut one piece of ribbon to 18 – inches in length.

3.  Fold ribbon in half to make a loop.  Thread beads and buttons onto cut ends of ribbon and slide them up the ribbon leaving about a 6-inch loop.

4.  Thread the ends of the ribbon through the top of the egg cup until the bottom is snugly on top of the egg cup.

5.  Tie ends around the wood leg or hanger.

 6.  Place the egg cup and hanger into dress.  Snap dress closed to see if you have enough clearance between the top of the dress and arms.  Adjust length of ribbon between egg cup and top of hanger.  Double knot under the hanger and let the ends hang free.

7.  To make tassel:  Determine how long you want ribbons to hang from the bottom of the dress.  Cut a piece of cardboard to that measurement and add the length from the bottom of the dress to the bottom of the hanger.   This will be used to wind the ribbon around.

8.  Gather the ends of each of your coordinating ribbons in one hand and start wrapping them around the cardboard until there is no ribbon left on the spools. If one of the ribbons ends before the others, keep winding, you can trim any short or long pieces in the next step. ( Figure 1)

9.  Cut the wound ribbon along one edge of the cardboard, holding the other end in your hand. (Figure 2)

10.  Cut a 6-inch piece of ribbon and tie a knot around the center of the pile of ribbons.

11.  Tie the tassel to the hanger using the two ends of ribbon extending from the hanger. 

12.  Put the dress onto the hanger and snap the dress closed.  Fluff the ribbons, if necessary trim the bottom of the ribbons. 

Hang and enjoy!

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