Barbie goes camping

Barbie dolls were definitely my favourite toys for a number of years. I can't remember how old I was when I got my first one, or how old I was when I stopped playing with them, but I do remember that I had a lot of cool Barbie stuff and it was endlessly entertaining. Among the awesome accessories I owned: Barbie's horse (it was named Dallas - does anyone else remember that??); the motor home (which was bright yellow and huge - at least 2 or 3 feet long); a hot tub that could be filled with water and produced bubbles; a pink Jeep that came with camping gear; and of course, a dozen different Barbie dolls. All of whom ended up with their hair cut off. I always regretted those haircuts later. (Which weirdly foreshadowed the relationship I now have my own hair - cut it short, let it grow, cut it shorter, let it grow...)

My mom made a lot of Barbie clothes for my dolls, including a complete wedding ensemble with a veil and a bouquet that had a tiny elastic strap to hook over Barbie's wrist. Mom, how did you have the patience or time to make that stuff? I also remember hand-sewn quilts and pillows for Barbie's canopy bed (pink, natch), and other assorted furnishings for the Barbie condo. But the best thing she ever made for Barbie was undoubtedly the tent.

Mine was the perfect shade of Barbie pink with two sleeping bags, fully lined with flannel and quilted to make them look like the real thing. There were even little pillows stitched into the sleeping bags. As if Barbie would sleep in a tent without a pillow - seriously, now.
No detail was overlooked. The tent featured a rear window with a mesh panel to keep out mosquitoes, and flaps on the window and front opening that could be rolled up and secured with a button, or left down when Barbie wanted a little privacy.
A wooden dowel propped up the tent when in use and when it was removed, the whole tent folded down, nice and flat. It made it easy to shove under the bed when it wasn't being used.
Look - the sleeping bags, folded up and tucked a certain way, can be converted to chairs! Awesome!

Even my younger brother had a tent. His was dark brown with plaid-flannel lining in the sleeping bags. Very masculine. His was inhabited by assorted action figures including G.I. Joe, a Spiderman doll, and a Wayne Gretzky doll (who sometimes visited Barbie for a "sleepover"). (Sorry, Kev, you may not have been aware of Barbie's relationship with Wayne.)
Recently my mom busted out the Barbie tent pattern again. However, the fabric she uses is a bit tricky to find these days. It's a stretchy type of polyester that used to come in a rainbow of colours and it was perfect for the tents. I suspect it was also popular for women's pants with elastic waistbands...but let's not think too hard about that.