Month: October 2026

Four dolls stand in a mostly empty room (a wall, a chair, and a green houseplant are in the background). Each of the four dolls models the exact same swimsuit or undergarments consisting of a tube-top style bra and a pair of panties sewn from green and white striped jersey fabric. Left to right, the dolls are a brunette bubble-cut Barbie; Mirabel Madrigal (a doll from Disney's Encanto); Made to Move Barbie; Curvy Barbie with a 1980's Christie head and hair. Each of the dolls can wear the undergarments with varying "comfort" fits.
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What kind of fabric should I use for sewing doll underpants? Here’s a list of suggested fabrics with links!

  Today’s YouTube #Shorts video is all about choosing fabric for making doll underpants. As you may already be aware, my website offers free underpants patterns for lots of dolls! I’ll include links in the second set of bullets. 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 … Continue reading What kind of fabric should I use for sewing doll underpants? Here’s a list of suggested fabrics with links!

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A teenage girl displays a handmade rail fence doll-sized quilt in pink, burgundy, and off-white. To her left is an American Girl Kaya doll, and to her right is an 18-inch platinum blonde Madame Alexander doll. Each doll is dressed in flannel nightgowns with bunny slippers, perfectly matching the quilt's size. The scene is set in a pink-themed girl's bedroom, with the chellywood.com logo visible in one corner.
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Here are a couple of Christmas gift ideas you may not have considered…

It might look like AI made the image above, but actually, I used my Canva account to put together that image, in the form of a digital collage. However the quilt is another story. It’s entirely made by hand, with careful hand stitching, by my mother-in-law, Anita. At 18 by 22 inches, this rail fence style doll quilt is the perfect size for 18 inch … Continue reading Here are a couple of Christmas gift ideas you may not have considered…

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Making Francie a Peter Max Sweater Dress Using McCalls 8531. Chelly Wood doll holds up a bright blue sock with hot pink trim. Beside her is a close-up image of the View 4 dress on a cartoonish Francie doll. The pattern envelope shown belongs to McCall's 8531.
Old Patterns from Chelly's Collection, Sewing and Fashion History, Tips for Beginners, Vintage Barbie

Making Francie a sweater dress from a sock, in the style of artist Peter Max #PeterMax #70sFashion

Last week I wrote about creating an “ugly Christmas sweater” for Barbie, using various patterns. To read that article, please click here. But I also mentioned the sweater dress you see on Francie in View E of McCall’s 8531. I’d like to continue sharing my adventures in making Francie a sweater dress, in today’s blog post. Before I go on, I need to make my … Continue reading Making Francie a sweater dress from a sock, in the style of artist Peter Max #PeterMax #70sFashion

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Free sewing pattern for Curvy Barbie yoga pants. Both A4 and American PDF formats are offered. Easy! (Fingers snap!) For the free, printable, PDF and A4 sewing patterns, please visit Chelly Wood dot com.
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Free Curvy Barbie yoga pants sewing patterns with tutorial video @ ChellyWood.com #DollCollector #Sewing

For your free yoga pants patterns, please scroll down to the second set of bullets. If these yoga pants look familiar, that’s because the original pattern was designed for Sindy. Imagine my surprise, when I discovered that my Curvy Barbie could also fit in these stretchy yoga pants! The shirt my Curvy Barbie is wearing in today’s tutorial is from an outfit I designed many … Continue reading Free Curvy Barbie yoga pants sewing patterns with tutorial video @ ChellyWood.com #DollCollector #Sewing

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What is an armscye? A shirt has been sewn together at the shoulders, and it lays flat on a purple surface with the back pieces extending from the shoulder seams. The bodice backs are labeled, as is the bodice front. The garment has not been sewn from underarm to hem yet. Where front and backs come together at the shoulder, there's a bracket indicating that this "arm hole area" is the armscye, on both sides of the shirt.
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Glossary of Sewing Terms with Pictures: What is an armscye? #SewingChat #SewingVocabulary

DEFINITION: The portion of a garment where a sleeve can be attached to the bodice. This is my own definition. Of course you can google this term to find other definitions as well. It should be noted that I’ve only heard this word pronounced like “arm – sigh,” but when doing research for today’s blog post, I also heard someone say it as “arm’s eye.” … Continue reading Glossary of Sewing Terms with Pictures: What is an armscye? #SewingChat #SewingVocabulary

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Ugly Christmas sweater patterns for Barbie. Displayed is the Chelly Wood doll pointing to the View H outfit from vintage Barbie pattern, McCalls 6420, which shows Barbie stepping out in a long-sleeved cowl neck sweater made from tan sweater fabric and a pair of brown tapered trousers. She also wears her signature high heels from the 1960’s. Between this image and the Chelly Wood doll are a sewing machine and various sewing supplies. Visit Chelly Wood dot com to learn more.
Old Patterns from Chelly's Collection, Sewing and Fashion History, Tips for Beginners, Vintage Barbie

Are there any “ugly Christmas sweater” patterns for Barbie dolls? Why yes, there are!

Today’s blog post answers the question, “Are there any ‘ugly Christmas sweater’ patterns for Barbie?” And, yes, in fact, there are. See the image above? In the upper left-hand corner and the upper right-hand corner, you can see examples of cotton fabrics that imitate sweater fabric. So for starters, you could us ANY of my free Barbie shirt patterns that recommend cotton fabric, and just … Continue reading Are there any “ugly Christmas sweater” patterns for Barbie dolls? Why yes, there are!

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Barbie waves. She wears a soft white felt sleeveless top and a black miniskirt dotted with little candy corns. The skirt she wears has a long tulle petticoat. She is also wearing bright orange high heel shoes. Free patterns for making this outfit are found at ChellyWood.com. Text: Halloween ensemble. Free sewing patterns at Chelly Wood dot com.
11-inch doll clothes patterns, A4 Printer PDF Patterns, Barbie Patterns, Daily Patterns, Whole Costumes for Dolls

It’s October… Let’s finish sewing a Halloween ensemble for Barbie!

Scroll down to the third set of bullets for the free PDF sewing patterns. Last week I gave you the little mini candycorn skirt project, and today I’m giving you a tutorial with lots of little stop-motion scenes, showing how to make the easiest felt shirt ever. Yes, the felt shirt project is one that has been available here, on ChellyWood.com, for quite some time, … Continue reading It’s October… Let’s finish sewing a Halloween ensemble for Barbie!

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Recycled fabrics are used to form the circular arrows of the recycle symbol.
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Christmas Gift Idea: Support Afghan Refugees by Purchasing a Christmas Tree Ornament from SilaiWali

  I know that many of you create doll clothes using recycled clothing, which is so admirable! We all want to see that kind of change in the way humans use the earth’s resources. But during the holiday season, it’s easy to slip back into our old habits, buying plastics and non-recycled goods, as we try to fill the Christmas stockings of all our kids, … Continue reading Christmas Gift Idea: Support Afghan Refugees by Purchasing a Christmas Tree Ornament from SilaiWali

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Portland Frog holds up a peace sign in protest. This is part of a blog post at ChellyWood.com that asks the question, "Is being a rebel good?" Discussion centers around McCall's 2970, as this Made-for-Topper-Dawn doll clothes pattern will also fit LOL Surprise OMG dolls (at least the View B dress does anyway).
Old Patterns from Chelly's Collection, Sewing and Fashion History, Tips for Beginners, Vintage Barbie

Is being a rebel a good thing? #SillyMemes #SewingHack

See that image? That’s a thing that happened to me over the weekend. Every time my husband tells me to go buy him a “Whatsit-whoozit” at the hardware store, I always come home with the WRONG item. Then he yells at me, as if I should have known exactly which “Whatsit-whoozit” he meant. So over the weekend, when he had his truck all taken apart, … Continue reading Is being a rebel a good thing? #SillyMemes #SewingHack

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Halloween skirt, free sewing patterns at Chelly Wood dot com. Barbie doll shown from waist down wearing a mini skirt made of candy-corn printed black cotton with white tulle long petticoat underneath. Please click the thumbnail to access the free PDF sewing patterns including A4 doll clothes patterns.
11-inch doll clothes patterns, A4 Printer PDF Patterns, Barbie Patterns, Daily Patterns, Whole Costumes for Dolls

It’s October… Let’s make a Halloween skirt for Barbie!

Scroll down to the third set of bullets for the free PDF sewing patterns. I first started this website in the early 2010’s, more as a side project than a business. I wasn’t expecting it to become a hub for free sewing patterns. Back in those early days, I didn’t have a fancy camera, video software, and a sound system, so my earliest videos aren’t … Continue reading It’s October… Let’s make a Halloween skirt for Barbie!

Chelly Wood6 Comments