Please do not give up on those Barbie clothes. Yes, it takes time but when I was making them, I never followed the pattern exactly. It was more fun draping the fabric and coming up with my own fashions. Sometime I made the back seam from neckline clear to bottom of skirt and hooked with velcor tape. Improvise and no one will know plus the children can get the garments on so much easier.
Please let me encourage you by inviting you to my site and seeing the dolls under My Sewing Projects album
http://www.picturetrail.com/sfx/album/view/14429146