Does that doll’s outfit look familiar? I’m guessing it probably doesn’t, even though it should.

Adding embellishments to a garment (rickrack trim, a swatch of lace, bias tape, or embroidery) can magically transform the look of a garment!

So let’s say you have an old stand-by pattern that you already know how to sew. You’ve made three or four outfits in different colors and prints of fabric, but you want to add pizzazz to the pattern.

Maybe after Christmas shopping, you don’t have the cash to buy a new pattern, but those same garments are feeling kind of tired.

Add a little trim to the garment, and presto-change-o! You have a whole new look.

Today’s project was made using my “Summer Wardrobe” pattern, but by adding a teeny-tiny feather stitch to the neckline of the summer top, I’ve changed the look of the garment significantly. Have a look back at the original posting to see how different it looks without the trim.

Each shirt in that “Summer Wardrobe” photo uses the exact same pattern as the white tank top shown in the “Fall Harvest” photos from today’s post. Can you believe it? Whoa! What a difference a little stitchery makes!

Variations in the fabric choices can also make a big difference.

So this week we’ll re-visit the Summer Wardrobe with a fall-harvest-theme in mind. You have access to the old pattern for this outfit, but I’m also going to post a revision to the tutorial video, showing you how to include stitchery along the collar, as you can see in today’s photos.

Before I go, I’d also like to remind you that my embroidery tutorials have been building a bit of suspense for my upcoming windmill pincushion project. That project is scheduled to post on November 6th, so please hang in there if you’re waiting for that pattern. It’s coming–oh yes it is!

 

Additional Information:

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Some of my followers have wondered what motivates me to give my patterns away for free. First of all, I’m a librarian by trade. Librarians love free stuff! We believe that the more a person knows, the more enriched their life will be. So it may sound kind of crazy, but I want ChellyWood.com to become a sort of library of free patterns that help people learn to sew doll clothes.

If you’d like to learn more about my motives, feel free to visit my Chelly’s Books page.

Please be advised: when I get some time off from my job as a school librarian, I’m planning to develop a new layout for ChellyWood.com, and whenever you redesign something, it’s possible for stuff to get lost! So if there’s a specific pattern you’ve bookmarked because you want to make that outfit, I advise printing the pattern soon. Links may not work quite as well after I redesign my website.

My Gallery Page is the easiest way to search through all of my patterns to find what you want. Each image on the Gallery Page takes you to links for patterns and tutorials.

Need help printing my patterns? This link offers a tutorial showing you how to download and print my FREE patterns using Google Docs. (For the older print-a-pattern tutorial, which uses Microsoft Word, click here.) To review my difficulty scale (demonstrating how hard or easy a pattern is by the number of flowers displayed), take a look back at this blog post.

Please note: you must enlarge my patterns to fit a full-sized piece of American computer paper (8.5 x 11 inches or 216 x 279 mm) without margins, before printing.

My patterns are now available through “Creative Commons Attribution.” This means that I created my patterns (and therefore I own rights to them), but I’m willing to share them with everyone who will tell people about my website.

Here are some helpful ways to tell the world about my patterns:

• You can pin them on Pinterest.
• You can post or like them on Facebook.
• You can tweet about them.
• Use any other form of social media that appeals to you!

Are you new to sewing? I’ve got a playlist of tutorials for the beginning sewists on my YouTube channel. It includes video tutorials showing you how to do a basic straight stitch when sewing by hand, how to use the whipstitch to hem a garment, how to sew on snaps, and even how to design your own doll clothes patterns, for those who are new to design and alterations.

In case you haven’t heard, I have actually designed some commercial patterns for Lammily LLC. You might want to visit the Lammily website to see what they’ve got going on.

If your question wasn’t answered here, feel free to submit a question. You can also write to Chelly Wood at this address. I’m always happy to help my followers find what they need, so they, too, can make amazing doll clothes and crafts.