Welcome to Cyber Week — Day Two!

Today we are thrilled to announce the return of Pattern 1984: Retro '80s Romper with Shaped Belt, Shoulder Pads and Heat Shrink Buckle Craft for 18" Dolls — now available for purchase in the Lee & Pearl Etsy store!

This pattern — which includes an adorable romper, big '80s shaped belt, tiny shoulder pads and a unique buckle craft —  was our previous subscriber-exclusive. Starting today, it will be available for general purchase in our Etsy shop. And to celebrate Cyber Week, we've put it ON SALE at 20% off through Friday, 12/02/22.

CLICK HERE to purchase Pattern 1984: Retro '80s Romper, available at a 20% discount through Friday 12/02/22

And don't forget — all Lee & Pearl DANCE PATTERNS are still on sale at 20% off through Friday 12/02/22, which includes our '80s themed Pattern 1983: She's A Maniac Off-One-Shoulder Workout T-Shirt for Dolls.

CLICK HERE to browse everything currently ON SALE in the Lee & Pearl Etsy shop!

Our love for the '80s was inspired by our own lives.

Both "Lee" and "Pearl" were D&D-playing, New Wave music-loving, giant plastic earring-wearing teens back in the '80s!

We were also girls who could sew and who used sewing to help define our fashion personalities and tastes. And boy, were there a lot of fashion personalities and tastes on offer in that fun and colorful decade.

Pattern maker Pearl still has all her beloved '80s patterns, many of which she made. And when the opportunity came a few years ago to purchase an estate collection of several thousand more, she leapt at the chance!

Looking through those patterns and the fashions worn by the girls on Stranger Things, we were struck by the array of interesting collars, front openings and yokes on otherwise simply-constructed '80s garments. After numerous sketches and muslins, Pearl struck gold with our own interesting collar, front-opening and yoke arrangement: a faux-button front and geometrically-turned lapel collar with bodice fullness gathered into a wide, curved yoke — perfect for color-blocking or dramatically arranging striped fabrics.

That wide curved yoke, extending slightly into cap sleeves, is such an iconic '80s look that we had to include a pattern and directions to make your doll her own itty bitty SHOULDER PADS as well.

Tuck the pads inside the yoke for a proper power-shoulder look, or leave them off for a more casual appearance.

With the bodice design locked in, we turned our attention to the bottom half of the garment — skirt or shorts, skirt or shorts?

Then Stranger Things' Eleven took her first trip to the mall and came home with the cutest little romper ever and we knew we had to follow suit. There's nothing more fun and youthful than a WIDE-LEGGED '80s ROMPER, is there?

Of course, our romper shorts have deep working pockets, because at Lee & Pearl we know that dolls have hands, and hands need pockets.

In the '80s this garment would have been a pull-on with a button front and elastic-gathered waist. But as the dolls have great big heads, we added a center back opening. That allowed us to turn the button front into an easy-to-make faux-front and eliminate the elastic in the waistline for a neatly stitched-down fit that requires no fussing.

Of course, we couldn't do an '80s outfit without an awesome '80s belt. Our slightly curved SHAPED BELT can be made out of a wide variety of materials, from ordinary cottons to faux-suede and vinyl.

And as the perfect finishing touch, we've included four buckle patterns in three sizes each and a six-page craft tutorial to make your own brightly colored BIG '80s PLASTIC BUCKLES using heat shrink plastic — or as it was known back in the '80s: Shrinky Dinks!

If you haven't played with Shrinky Dinks since the '80s, you may be surprised at the modern cutting, coloring and finishing techniques that have taken heat shrink plastic beyond charms and into serious jewelry-making and art applications. We found it a revelation for doll crafts like our buckles and hope that you enjoy working with it as much as we do.

Have fun making the buckles — then use the scraps of heat shrink plastic to make your dolls some Big '80s jewelry as well.

Brightly colored plastic dangles, faux animal prints and geometric shapes like our Ivy's lightning bolt New Wave rocker earrings were huge trends for stylish '80s gals!

CLICK HERE to purchase Pattern 1984: Retro '80s Romper, available at a 20% discount through Friday 12/02/22

And don't forget — all Lee & Pearl DANCE PATTERNS are still on sale at 20% off through Friday 12/02/22, which includes our '80s themed Pattern 1983: She's A Maniac Off-One-Shoulder Workout T-Shirt for Dolls.

CLICK HERE to browse everything currently ON SALE in the Lee & Pearl Etsy shop!

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