Many outfits were made using the same fabrics, which can create confusion when trying to determine which pair of bloomers go with which dress. After all, the patterns look the same, why can’t we just match them up?
Courtesy of April Shaw 
Courtesy of Gia Levato 
It’s all about the frill! (Or lack thereof)
For almost 90% of the outfits I have recorded, the lace used around the sleeves is mirrored around the hem of the bloomer leg holes. If the sleeves don’t have any lace, then neither do the bloomers.
If they don’t match, they don’t go together!
Frilly style lace 
Cotton style lace 
No lace
This holds true for all the original 1983 outfits and all the 1984 preemie dresses. Of the later outfits (#100+), most of them follow the same pattern.
These are the exceptions that I am aware of:
162 – lace on bloomers, not on sleeves
164 – plain white instead of patterned
165 – lace doesn’t match at arm and leg, but the fabric patterns were not used for any other outfits
168 – lace on bloomers, not on sleeves
505 – no lace on bloomers, lace on sleeves
656 – no lace on bloomers, lace on sleeves
705 – no lace on bloomers, lace on sleeves
726 – no lace on bloomers, lace on sleeves
707 – no lace on bloomers, lace on sleeves
