Month: March 2025

A vintage Ideal Tammy doll stands next to the envelope for the Simplicity 4883 doll clothes pattern for Tammy. The doll wears the exact same dress pictured on the cover art from the Simplicity 4883 pattern: a ball gown with a red satin bodice and straps, a white cotton circle skirt (floor length) that's covered with tulle and dotted with tiny red satin roses. The text says "View 2 Prom Dress" under "Simplicity 4883." The chellywood.com logo appears in the image as well.
Links, Old Patterns from Chelly's Collection, Selling Your Crafts, Tammy Doll Patterns

Where to buy miniature satin roses, now that JoAnn’s is closed #JoAnn #Miniatures

  Some of you may recall seeing a fun little stop-motion video short that I did, in which my “Chelly doll” is wearing a lovely gown with a red satin bodice, tulle skirting, and miniature satin roses. That short was a video I created for a contest at the school where I work. That doll dress was actually designed to fit Ideal Tammy dolls (not … Continue reading Where to buy miniature satin roses, now that JoAnn’s is closed #JoAnn #Miniatures

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On a purple background with tiny white polka dots, we see a Barbie from the waist down, her hands on her hips. She wears a teeny-tiny miniskirt made of pink cotton fabric that has an Easter egg print in pastel colors decorating the pink cotton of the skirt. The hem of the skirt sports a little soft pink zigzag of lace trim. The text reads, "Free sewing pattern!" and beneath this is the logo for Chelly Wood dot com.
11-inch doll clothes patterns, Barbie Patterns, Daily Patterns, For Sale in the Store, Vintage Barbie, Whole Costumes for Dolls

Make an Easter-themed miniskirt for a Barbie doll with today’s free pattern @ ChellyWood.com! #EasterCrafts #BarbieFun

For your free patterns and tutorial videos, please scroll down to the second set of bullets. On March 13th, I gave you a new sleeveless summer top pattern for Barbie, but at the time, I didn’t have anything new designed to go with the sleeveless top. I decided to remake an older tutorial for a lace-trimmed miniskirt, which I thought would look very nice with … Continue reading Make an Easter-themed miniskirt for a Barbie doll with today’s free pattern @ ChellyWood.com! #EasterCrafts #BarbieFun

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The words "free pattern" are angled across a turquoise blue linen background, above the ChellyWood.com logo, and beside these is a Made to Move Barbie who carries a pretty white cotton purse with a yellow strap. The white cotton of the purse is decorated with a tiny fruits pattern. Her dress is made of the same white cotton "fruity" fabric, and the dress has cotton straps made of the same material. The skirt of the sundress is short. She wears yellow plastic sandals.
11-inch doll clothes patterns, Barbie Patterns, Daily Patterns, Made to Move Barbie, Whole Costumes for Dolls

Sew a “fruity” summer sundress for Barbie with a beach bag or purse! #Barbie #Fashion

For your free patterns and tutorial videos, please scroll down to the second set of bullets. This week I’m revisiting a couple of my favorite summer outfits for Barbie because we’ve come to the last week of March. So it’s time to start planning Barbie’s summer wardrobe! This “fruity” sundress is especially easy to make if you use a ribbon for the strap like the … Continue reading Sew a “fruity” summer sundress for Barbie with a beach bag or purse! #Barbie #Fashion

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Surrounded by a quilted frame, we see the ChellyWood.com logo and images of dolls modeling doll clothes from the 1970's. This image comes from Simplicity doll clothes pattern 7737, dated with a copyright of 1976.
Old Patterns from Chelly's Collection, Vintage Barbie

What are the easiest Barbie doll summer clothes patterns for sewing? #Summer #Sewing

As we come to the end of March, it’s time to start sewing our summer projects. So today’s blog post answers the question, “What are the easiest Barbie doll summer clothes patterns for sewing?” Today’s post will be about the vintage patterns that I own, but if you’re looking for more modern summer clothes patterns for your Barbie dolls, I plan to do a couple … Continue reading What are the easiest Barbie doll summer clothes patterns for sewing? #Summer #Sewing

Chelly Wood4 Comments
On a white table, we see all kinds of tools one would find in a sewing room: thread, scissors, a tape measure, and doll clothes patterns. Beside these and in the lower left corner is a blue alarm clock. The implication is that there's not enough time in the day for all the sewing projects!
Crafts and Hobbies, Sewing Chat, Tips for Beginners

How to make more time for sewing projects — three quick tips! #SewingTips #SewingProjects

As many of my regular followers know, I’m a full-time school librarian in my “day job,” and that’s a busy job to have! So every now and then, people ask me, “How do you find time for your sewing projects?” Today’s blog post will show you three quick tips for getting lots of little crafty sewing projects done while maintaining a full-time job (and whatever … Continue reading How to make more time for sewing projects — three quick tips! #SewingTips #SewingProjects

Chelly Wood2 Comments
A Topper Dawn doll models a handmade floral Easter or springtime dress that's sleeveless. She stands next to the text which reads, "Free pattern!" and below this is the Chelly Wood dot com logo.
6-inch doll clothes patterns, A4 Printer PDF Patterns, Palitoy's Pippa Dolls, Topper Dawn Dolls, Tutorials: Sewing for Dolls, Whole Costumes for Dolls

Let’s sew a pretty Easter dress for Topper Dawn and Pippa dolls #Miniatures #Easter

Scroll down to the second set of bullets to download the free printable PDF sewing pattern.* Today happens to be the first day of spring, so what better day to offer a new pattern for a lovely springtime or Easter dress? The pattern I’m giving you today makes a lovely sleeveless dress for 6 to 6.5 inch fashion dolls like Topper Dawn, Palitoy Pippa, Breyer … Continue reading Let’s sew a pretty Easter dress for Topper Dawn and Pippa dolls #Miniatures #Easter

Chelly Wood2 Comments
Inside a purple frame, talk bubbles express Q for Questions and A for Answers. The text reads, "Sewing tips for beginners." This is a thumbnail for a Q and A blog post for beginners who are learning to sew and want to "pick the brain" of an experienced doll clothing designer, Chelly Wood.
Crafts and Hobbies, Sewing Chat, Tips for Beginners

A couple of tips for getting the elastic to go through a casing #SewingTips #Elastic

You may remember that I extended an invitation to submit questions a couple of weeks back. Well today’s blog post answers one of those questions regarding the pulling of elastic through a casing. Before we dive into this topic, I need to make my required disclaimer statement: As an Amazon affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases. To learn more about how affiliate marketing works on … Continue reading A couple of tips for getting the elastic to go through a casing #SewingTips #Elastic

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The Chelly Wood doll stands next to the Advance 9938 Barbie doll clothes sewing pattern with her cartoonish sewing room behind her.
Old Patterns from Chelly's Collection, Vintage Barbie

Learning to Sew with Advance 9938 Doll Clothes Sewing Patterns from 1961 #SewVintage #Barbie

Don’t you just love the artwork on these old Barbie patterns? I could stare at this envelope all day, dreaming of the wonderful outfits I could make with it! I’ve written a few articles about the outfits offered in Advance 9938, and if you click on the links I’ve provided below, you can read all about the lessons I’ve learned by sewing these patterns. I … Continue reading Learning to Sew with Advance 9938 Doll Clothes Sewing Patterns from 1961 #SewVintage #Barbie

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The thumbnail uses a purple background with tiny white polka dots. The text reads "free sewing pattern" using arched words. In the foreground, a vintage Superstar Barbie models a handmade pink cotton solid-colored summer top. It's sleeveless with a scoop neck. It has darts in the front.
11-inch doll clothes patterns, Barbie Patterns, Daily Patterns, Tutorials: Sewing for Dolls, Vintage Barbie

Whip up a fab summer top for Barbie with a free pattern that’ll have her strutting in style! #SewOver50 #SewWithMe

  For your free patterns and additional tutorial videos, please scroll down to the second set of bullets. Recently I made the culottes from my vintage Advance 9939 doll clothes sewing patterns for Barbie. On my Advance 9939 envelope, it shows the culottes paired with a pretty sleeveless summer top, but unfortunately my pattern envelope was missing this shirt pattern. So of course, I designed … Continue reading Whip up a fab summer top for Barbie with a free pattern that’ll have her strutting in style! #SewOver50 #SewWithMe

Chelly Wood4 Comments
12-inch doll clothes patterns, Daily Patterns, Ken Patterns

Sew some retro 1960’s clothes for Ken dolls w/free patterns @ ChellyWood.com — Turtleneck Sweater #1970s #BarbieAndKen

Scroll down to the second set of bullets for the free PDF sewing patterns. Last week I gave you the turtleneck pattern and tutorial. Today I’m making the whole thing accessible, including the jeans patterns and the turtleneck pattern too, along with links to the tutorial videos, of course. Before we dive into this project, I need to make my required disclaimer statement: As an … Continue reading Sew some retro 1960’s clothes for Ken dolls w/free patterns @ ChellyWood.com — Turtleneck Sweater #1970s #BarbieAndKen

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A vintage Francie doll models a St. Patrick's Day green strappy dress with a pencil skirt. The text reads, "free sewing pattern!" The Chelly Wood dot com logo appears beneath the text.
11-inch doll clothes patterns, Barbie Patterns, Daily Patterns, Holiday Crafts, Vintage Francie, Whole Costumes for Dolls

St. Patrick’s Day dress sewing adventure for Barbie or her retro buddy Francie! 🍀✨ #SaintPatricksDay #GirlsNightOut

For your free patterns and tutorial videos, please scroll down to the second set of bullets. I’ve had this dress available on my website for a long time now, but I’ve only posted it as a Valentine’s Day dress and a springtime/Easter dress. Disclaimer Statement: ChellyWood.com earns money by linking to Amazon, eBay, Etsy, and other online affiliate programs. As an Amazon affiliate, I earn … Continue reading St. Patrick’s Day dress sewing adventure for Barbie or her retro buddy Francie! 🍀✨ #SaintPatricksDay #GirlsNightOut

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Advance 9939 vintage Barbie doll clothes patterns (the envelope that the patterns come in) is shown with the Chelly Wood doll, framed in a quilted border. The text reads "Advance 9939 vintage Barbie patterns."
Old Patterns from Chelly's Collection, Vintage Barbie

Sewing the View 2 Culottes for vintage Barbie from Advance 9939 doll clothes sewing patterns… #SewWithMe #VintageBarbie

In today’s blog post, I’ll explain the challenges I faced when sewing the View 2 culottes from vintage Advance 9939 Barbie wardrobe sewing pattern. You’ll find that I’ve been through two rounds with this pattern: one pair of culottes is solid blue; the other is made from soft pink gingham. *Please note: when you click on links to various merchants on this site and make … Continue reading Sewing the View 2 Culottes for vintage Barbie from Advance 9939 doll clothes sewing patterns… #SewWithMe #VintageBarbie

Chelly Wood2 Comments
A Finnick Odair doll handsomely models a handmade black jersey turtleneck shirt for male fashion dolls like Ken. The text says, "Free pattern!"
12-inch doll clothes patterns, Daily Patterns, Ken Patterns

Free Ken Doll Shirt Sewing Patterns @ ChellyWood.com — Turtleneck Sweater #ColdWeather #RetroFashion

Scroll down to the second set of bullets for the free PDF sewing patterns. I’ve had this pattern available on my website for a while, but people complained that it was hard to follow the video tutorial that was associated with it. So I’ve remastered my old video, incorporated voiceover into it, and posted the new one on my YouTube channel. (It’s the same video … Continue reading Free Ken Doll Shirt Sewing Patterns @ ChellyWood.com — Turtleneck Sweater #ColdWeather #RetroFashion

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A woman's fingers place tiny shoes on a cylindrical platform or plinth. The shoes include a pair of rose colored pumps, a pair of hot pink Mary Janes, and a pair of purple oxford shoes. This image accompanies an article on Chelly Wood dot com, which discusses the tiny shoes for dolls both in present day and in history.
Doll Collecting, Doll Shoes, Vintage Barbie

Doll shoes for small dolls… Do you make ’em or buy ’em? Any favorites? #DollCollector #VintageBarbie

As a gift for her young neighbor, my mother-in-law recently knitted the cute little doll shoes/slippers that you see in the image at the top of today’s blog post, and it got me all nostalgic about doll shoes. Do you remember getting “Little Extras” doll shoes or “Foot Notes” shoes or “Shoes N Boots” packages, back when you were a kid? I mean, the  minute … Continue reading Doll shoes for small dolls… Do you make ’em or buy ’em? Any favorites? #DollCollector #VintageBarbie

Chelly Wood4 Comments
The thumbnail of this "sewing video trends" topic shows a woman worrying as she watches a video of someone sewing. Around the video are images of a dollar sign, a megaphone, a purple colored recycle symbol, and an arrow pointing at YouTube as it states "LOOK!"
Crafts and Hobbies, Sewing Chat

“Sewing Trends I’m NOT a Fan Of” — guest video from Julija Gobere (Sewing Julia) #Trending #Sewing

  Today’s blog post is sort of a “guest post” from sewing YouTuber, Julija Gobere, AKA SewingJulia (see link for her channel). Her video is used with permission. After watching this video, I thought… “Uh-oh! Did I give a sob story about how much it costs me to run this website, so people would help me out financially?” Ugh. I don’t wanna be that sewist! … Continue reading “Sewing Trends I’m NOT a Fan Of” — guest video from Julija Gobere (Sewing Julia) #Trending #Sewing

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