Scroll down to the third set of bullets for the free PDF sewing patterns.
Today’s lovely business dress was inspired by a real-life gorgeous dress worn by one of the ladies at the IANDS Conference that I attended in Chicago, Illinois, back in August of 2025. The lady who inspired the dress was named Daniela, and she was a very classy dresser!
But best of all, she was the first person I shared my NDE story with at the conference. It was Daniela who encouraged me to release my memoir into the world. And yes, behind the scenes, I’m working to edit and revise my memoir, so I can send it to my agent for publication.
Before I go on, 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 my website, please go to the Privacy Policy page. Thank you!
I took the photo below with the real Daniela. Although my fabric is more fruity than floral, I think I did a fair job of representing the actual dress worn by her.
What do you think? Feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments.
Isn’t she a lovely lady?
And as I said at the end of today’s video, she was very kind. She listened to me tell the story of my near-death experience, and when it was over, I said, “I feel very vulnerable, telling this story. I’ve been scared to release my NDE memoir into the world because, well… what if people you deeply care about don’t believe you?”
“Oh,” she said, “you’ve got to share this story with the world! It’s incredible!”
I’m so grateful to her! I’ll never forget her reaction. And when my memoir is released, I’ll always have Daniela to thank for saying such kind things about my story.
But let’s talk about making her lovely dress now…
To make Daniela’s beautiful business-y dress, you will likely need one of the following items:
- cotton fabric OR
- cotton fat quarters
- If you want a miniature toile fabric, like the one I used, this link will help you find something like that
- Gondola Snaps on Etsy (I recommend the 7 mm size)
- chopsticks (for inverting doll clothes)
- Dritz fabric pencil
- Fiskars Stitchers mini snips (for clipping seams efficiently)
- Gutermann sewing machine thread
- and the lightbox I use in my video is this one
The list above comes from my “Buyer’s Guide” page, which is easily accessed from the home page.
And if you’re interested in using earth-friendly fabrics, please consider buying your fabric from FabScrap. FabScrap is a fabric recycle and reuse service, where you can buy fabrics that would otherwise go into landfills! Watch my FabScrap unboxing video to see what kinds of fabrics they sent me.
To learn more about FabScrap, this page on their website will tell you what a wonderful resource they offer!
*Today’s patterns will fit these dolls:
- Liv dolls
- Pedigree Sindy dolls
- Queens of Africa Dolls
- Momoko dolls
- modern and Made-to-Move Barbie dolls
- vintage Francie dolls
Here are your free, printable PDF sewing patterns and tutorial videos for making the outfit shown at the top of this page:
- Free American printable PDF sewing pattern for an 11 inch fashion doll’s business dress
- Free A4 (international) PDF sewing pattern for an 11 inch fashion doll’s business dress
- Tutorial video showing how to make the dress is found at the top of today’s blog post
You may also find these tutorial videos helpful:
- How to do a whipstitch
- How to sew snaps on fabric
- How to do a backstitch
- How to gather fabric
- How to do a baste stitch
- How to pull elastic through a casing
- How to use a needle threader
- How to do a basic straight stitch
- How to use bias tape
- How to choose fabric
- How to tie a knot using a needle and thread
- How to measure a doll
- How to press seams open, using a hot iron
- How to sew rickrack
- How to use selvage
- How to attach ribbon to doll clothes
- Tips on sewing with lace
- How to add a ruffle to a skirt
For more of my free tutorials, be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel, ChellyWood1.
If you would like to make a donation to this free doll clothes pattern website, please click here. There’s also a “Donate” button in the main menu.
For anyone who would like to expand their dolls’ wardrobes, you should really check out my “How to Alter Doll Clothes Patterns” course and my “Design Your Own Doll Pants Patterns from Scratch” classes on the C&T Publishing website. Here’s a link to my bio page on their site, where you can learn more about me and the classes I teach online.
For any class on the C&T Publishing site, you don’t have to follow a schedule. Just sign up when you’re ready.
It’s a one-time fee for the course, and there’s no specific time limit to finish your course. You can just take your time and learn at the pace that suits you. So go check out my paid courses on C&T Publishing, using this link.
As always, feel free to share my patterns and tutorials on social media. I only ask that you please let people know about my free doll clothes sewing pattern website, to help spread the word.
To read more about my free sewing patterns and tutorials, please visit the “Helpful Tips” page.
Disclaimer/Credit/Affiliate Marketing Link:
*Please note: when you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include Amazon, Etsy, and the eBay Partner Network. As an Amazon affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases. To learn more about how my website uses affiliate marketing, please visit the website’s Privacy Policy page.
To honor the trademark rights of the doll companies mentioned in this blog post, I am including links to their websites here. Please feel free to visit their website and consider purchasing one or more of the dolls mentioned.
Queens of Africa dolls are products offered by the Slice by Cake company, which holds the trademark for them (™). They were designed by Taofick Okoya. Please visit the Queens of Africa website to learn more about their company and its trademarked toys, books, and fashions.
Momoko dolls are products offered by Petworks, which holds the trademark for them (™). Please visit the Momoko Dolls website to learn more about their company and its trademarked toys.
Barbie, MTM Barbie, Francie, and Vintage Barbie dolls are products offered by Mattel, which holds the registered trademark for them (™). Please visit the Mattel Toys website to learn more about their company and its trademarked toys.
Liv dolls were products designed and distributed by the Spin Master company, which still makes dolls and toys today (although the Liv dolls are no longer in production at the time of this blog post). The Spin Master company held the trademark for the Liv Dolls (™). Please visit the Spin Master Toys and Games website to learn more about their company and its trademarked toys and games. Please be aware that the Chelly Wood animated doll is a Spin Master Liv doll that has been re-painted and had its wig colored to appear to look like the real doll clothing designer, Chelly Wood. This was done as a creative project by Chelly’s daughters, and the Spin Master Toys and Games company was not involved in the doll’s makeover in any way.
Disney Princess dolls are products offered by the Disney corporation, which holds the trademark for them (™). Please visit the Disney Toys website to learn more about their company and its trademarked toys.
Sindy dolls were originally created by Pedigree Dolls & Toys, but they have been made by other manufacturers including Hasbro, Vivid Imaginations, and New Moon. Currently (at the time of this blog post) a limited number of the newest version of these dolls is being manufactured by Kid Kreations of Staffordshire, England. I haven’t tried my doll clothes on this newer version, but sewists have told me my Tammy doll patterns do fit the vintage Sindy dolls created by Pedigree Dolls & Toys. Please visit one of these toy companies’ websites to learn more about the toys they produce. The Sindy dolls are trademarked and as such, it should be noted that Chelly Wood and ChellyWood.com are not affiliated with either Pedigree or Kid Creations. However Chelly has enjoyed designing doll clothes that will fit these dolls along with others in a similar size range…
Dear Chelly, thanks for your continuing story of the IANDS conference in my hometown of Chicago and the free pattern of the dress inspired by the one that Daniela wore. I will copy the pattern and make the dress sometime next year.
Trisha
I’m glad you’re enjoying my stories! (I was worried people wouldn’t like my stories because they’re very personal.) Thank you for leaving a comment about it.