Do you ever find naked Barbies lying around your house? I know I do. I enjoy buying them from the thrift store, but that also means they come without clothes about 75% of the time. Sewing clothes for Barbies can be a pretty rewarding and cheap hobby.
Though 18 inch doll clothes are almost exactly like people clothes, Barbies present a special challenge because of how small they are. My #1 choice for making Barbie clothes is to use socks, especially socks without solemates! It’s really hard to beat the simplicity of a few cuts and some hot glue (aside from my inevitably burned fingers. Ouch!) Stretchy fabrics are also more forgiving with fit and don’t need to be hemmed.
When I’m feeling fancier, I might actually sit down and sew some real stuff for Barbie. My favorites are all from Craftiness is Not Optional. Though some patterns call for snaps or Velcro, I much prefer Velcro. Sewing on snaps is the devil and they seem to break off really easily.
A couple more patterns I’ve used are found on Janel Was Here. Again, sewing for Barbies tends to be more difficult due to the tiny seams, so I usually just stick with socks!