Author: Chelly Wood

I am a school librarian with an English degree plus a library science endorsement, and I like to write. I've also designed commercial doll clothes patterns, and I make stop-motion videos with dolls. My literary agent is Elizabeth Kracht of Kimberley Cameron and Associates.
Free Bolero Pattern! Fits 10 inch dolls. A4 patterns available. This YouTube thumbnail shows a Mattel Skipper doll (Barbie's little sister) modeling a handmade purple floral sun dress with a white bolero over the top as a jacket. Visit Chelly Wood dot com for the free patterns and tutorial video.
10-inch doll clothes patterns, A4 Printer PDF Patterns, Daily Patterns, Skipper Patterns, Whole Costumes for Dolls

Make a bolero style jacket or short coat for Skipper with today’s free patterns! #DIYbarbie #SewingProjects

  Scroll down to the third set of bullets for the free PDF sewing patterns. Last Thursday I gave you the free pattern for making the long strappy sundress. Today I’m giving you the free sewing pattern for making a little bolero jacket to go over the top of it! As it says in the video, today’s little jacket is designed for 10 inch fashion … Continue reading Make a bolero style jacket or short coat for Skipper with today’s free patterns! #DIYbarbie #SewingProjects

Chelly WoodLeave a comment
The thumbnail image shows a purple patch sewn onto a turquoise cloth. The words "doll clothes sewing chat" are written in the center of the purple patch. Floating in a circle around the patch are graphics of various sewing notions, from scissors, to a tape measure, to bobbins, to thread, and more. This feature on Chelly Wood dot com, is an open discussion about a sewing concept. The article will begin with a definition of the sewing concept, and then a discussion question will follow. This is a great place for people to ask questions about and/or give advice on sewing concepts related to making doll clothes.
Crafts and Hobbies, Fan Mail, Favorite Books, For Sale in the Store, Glossary of Sewing Terms with Pictures, Old Patterns from Chelly's Collection, Sewing Chat, Tips for Beginners

What is the right side in sewing? A quick guide… #SewingTips #EasySewingProjects

I’ve recently had some sewing newbies reach out to me, including one dad who’s teaching his daughter how to sew. Way to go, to all the dads out there who are learning to sew right along with their kiddos! And a question I often get from people who are new to sewing is this: What does “right sides together” mean in your videos? So today … Continue reading What is the right side in sewing? A quick guide… #SewingTips #EasySewingProjects

Chelly WoodLeave a comment
Chelly Wood doll stands next to the pattern envelope for vintage Simplicity 9097, a 1970s era wardrobe for Barbie dolls. Among these patterns are the following ensembles: view 1: a wedding dress with empire waist, high collar, and bell sleeves; view 2: a similar evening gown shown in purple; view 3 a mod dress with pleated skirt and sleeveless bodice; view 3 B: the same mod dress shown with a short cape and scarf; view 4: a turtleneck blouse with raglan sleeves and a long skirt; view 5: the same blouse with a pair of trousers and a long, below-the-hip length vest.
Old Patterns from Chelly's Collection, Sewing and Fashion History, Tips for Beginners, Vintage Barbie

Learning to sew with vintage Simplicity 9097 Barbie patterns #MeMadeMonday #SewRetro

Today’s blog post is a collection of lessons I’ve learned while sewing the Simplicity 9097 doll clothes patterns. As with other blog posts on my Vintage Pattern page, I’ll be adding to this list of lessons as I create different outfits using this pattern. Before I go on, I need to make my required disclaimer statement: As an Amazon affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases. … Continue reading Learning to sew with vintage Simplicity 9097 Barbie patterns #MeMadeMonday #SewRetro

Chelly WoodLeave a comment
Free sewing pattern! Mattel's Skipper, the little sister doll for Barbie, shows off her handmade purple floor length maxi skirt sundress in a retro floral monochrome print.
10-inch doll clothes patterns, 9-inch Dolls, A4 Printer PDF Patterns, Daily Patterns, Skipper Patterns, Whole Costumes for Dolls

Here’s a free pattern and tutorial video for making a long dress that fits Skipper! #Skipperdoll #FreePatterns

  Scroll down to the third set of bullets for the free PDF sewing patterns. I’ve had the easy-to-sew long sundress (the one with the felt bodice) available on ChellyWood.com for a long time, but I have also used this Barbie pattern to create an all-cotton sundress for Skipper as well. So today’s video shows you how to do that. If you are looking for … Continue reading Here’s a free pattern and tutorial video for making a long dress that fits Skipper! #Skipperdoll #FreePatterns

Chelly Wood2 Comments
Free sewing patterns! Chelly Wood dot com. Next to the image of the paper pattern, which features all the pattern pieces for making a summer crop top and shorts, we see a Mirabel doll modeling the crop top and shorts in a purple floral small-print cotton print. The shorts fit to about mid-thigh length, are high-waisted, and snap in front at the fly. The crop top has four darts and a boat neck, exposes the doll's midriff, and has short sleeves. Please visit ChellyWood.com for the free printable PDF sewing patterns and the tutorial videos that show you how to make these doll clothes for your Mirabel doll.
11-inch doll clothes patterns, Daily Patterns, Mirabel, Whole Costumes for Dolls

Let’s sew a little summer outfit for Mirabel, to Celebrate Cinco de Mayo #CulturallyInspired #CincoDeMayo

Scroll down to the third set of bullets for the free PDF sewing patterns. If today’s summer outfit looks familiar, that’s because it also fits Curvy Barbie dolls, so I’ve posted this pattern before, in the Curvy Barbie gallery on my website. But for Cinco de Mayo, I really wanted to offer a pattern that Mirabel could wear, so I went through the various doll … Continue reading Let’s sew a little summer outfit for Mirabel, to Celebrate Cinco de Mayo #CulturallyInspired #CincoDeMayo

Chelly Wood5 Comments
This image is a quilt-like square with the Chelly Wood logo turned on its side. Beside the logo, we see a photo of Simplicity doll clothes pattern 8466 from the late 1960's or early 1970's. The dolls on the cover of this pattern are dressed in various fashions including one long dress pattern that uses an empire waist.
Daily Patterns

Making Bust Alterations to Simplicity 8466 for Vintage Barbie #MeMadeMonday #SewingHack

I don’t think it will surprise most of my regular readers, if I mention that a modern Barbie doll isn’t as busty as a vintage Barbie doll. If you’re not sure what I’m talking about, compare bust measurements between Barbies of the 60’s and 70’s to the Barbies girls play with today. There’s a big difference! And yet I have a lot of vintage Barbie … Continue reading Making Bust Alterations to Simplicity 8466 for Vintage Barbie #MeMadeMonday #SewingHack

Chelly WoodLeave a comment
An image from the McCalls 4716 doll clothes pattern envelope accompanies a graphic of denim overalls with tiny floral red embroidery on the bib. The text reads "Barbie overalls?" The Chelly Wood dot com logo is in the lower right corner of this image. McCalls 4716 is designed primarily for Sunshine Family dolls, but there's a second set of patterns in this envelope that include patterns for Ken and Barbie. Read more at ChellyWood.com, a website for free doll clothes sewing patterns.
8-inch doll clothes patterns, 9-inch Dolls, Daily Patterns, Fan Mail, Old Patterns from Chelly's Collection, Sunshine Family Dolls

Are there any sewing patterns for making Barbie a pair of bibbed overalls? Yes there are! #Sewing #Patterns

As some of you know, I’ve been on vacation. But I’m back home now, and I’m working on getting caught up. While on vacation, I checked my email from time to time, and I received one that was about making bibbed overalls for Barbie. This is actually a question I’ve been asked before, so I thought I’d share the contents of my email response with … Continue reading Are there any sewing patterns for making Barbie a pair of bibbed overalls? Yes there are! #Sewing #Patterns

Chelly Wood2 Comments
On a purple cotton fabric square background, the words "free pattern" are written above the ChellyWood.com logo. Beside these texts is a photo of a platinum blonde vintage Skipper doll from the 1980s modeling a short-skirted yellow sundress with straps. (Sometimes spelled sun dress.) To locate and print this doll dress for your vintage skipper dolls, go to Chelly Wood dot com. Other dresses and doll clothes patterns are available for free on this free doll clothes sewing pattern website as well.
Creative Spark Online Learning, Doll Clothes for Sale, Donate, Fan Mail, For Sale in the Store, Links, Selling Your Crafts, Uncategorized

Make straps for a doll’s dress the quick and easy way with today’s YouTube Shorts video #Sewingtutorial #SewWithMe

  I just returned from my vacation in Arizona, California, and Nevada. When I got back, I had a partially finished video tutorial showing how to make a long, strappy, purple sun dress for Skipper, but I discovered that today’s video (which I wanted to reference in the purple sun dress video) had never been posted to YouTube as a Shorts video before. I thought … Continue reading Make straps for a doll’s dress the quick and easy way with today’s YouTube Shorts video #Sewingtutorial #SewWithMe

Chelly WoodLeave a comment
The thumbnail image shows a purple patch sewn onto a turquoise cloth. The words "doll clothes sewing chat" are written in the center of the purple patch. Floating in a circle around the patch are graphics of various sewing notions, from scissors, to a tape measure, to bobbins, to thread, and more. This feature on Chelly Wood dot com, is an open discussion about a sewing concept. The article will begin with a definition of the sewing concept, and then a discussion question will follow. This is a great place for people to ask questions about and/or give advice on sewing concepts related to making doll clothes.
Crafts and Hobbies, For Sale in the Store

What are your thoughts on autistic Barbie?

  I’m a big fan of Sam Bentley’s Good News channel, and this month (which is Autism Awareness Month), he did a news story on the new Barbie with autism spectrum. Have you heard about this Barbie? She’s very articulated! What are your thoughts on this Barbie? Personally, I’m excited to see all the facets of diversity that Mattel is offering these days. People come … Continue reading What are your thoughts on autistic Barbie?

Chelly Wood7 Comments
This image is a quilt-like square with the Chelly Wood logo turned on its side. Beside the logo, we see a photo of Simplicity doll clothes pattern 8466 from the late 1960's or early 1970's. The dolls on the cover of this pattern are dressed in various fashions including one long dress pattern that uses an empire waist.
Old Patterns from Chelly's Collection, Sewing and Fashion History, Tips for Beginners, Vintage Barbie

How to alter a turtleneck so it’s a regular style of shirt #MeMadeMonday #SewingHack

The numbers for the View 5 and View 6 outfits are covered up by the price tag in the image above, but today’s blog post will explain how I removed the turtleneck collar from these two vintage Barbie shirt patterns, to create a more basic shirt neckline for this easy-to-make shirt. You may want to look back at last week’s post, so you can see … Continue reading How to alter a turtleneck so it’s a regular style of shirt #MeMadeMonday #SewingHack

Chelly WoodLeave a comment
On a purple background, the text reads "VOTE!" and it shows a person's hand dropping a ballot into a voting box.
Crafts and Hobbies, Fabric, For Sale in the Store

I’ve created another fabric on Spoonflower. Can you vote for it please? #Challenge #SewingLove

  I’m still on Vacation. As I type this, I’m in a hotel room in San Dimas, California. So to keep things simple while I’m away, I’ve created some short videos of me painting honeymoon hibiscus flowers. Before I left on this vacation, I used some painting software to remove the white background from behind the flowers I painted, adding leaves in abundance (also these … Continue reading I’ve created another fabric on Spoonflower. Can you vote for it please? #Challenge #SewingLove

Chelly Wood4 Comments
The thumbnail image shows a purple patch sewn onto a turquoise cloth. The words "doll clothes sewing chat" are written in the center of the purple patch. Floating in a circle around the patch are graphics of various sewing notions, from scissors, to a tape measure, to bobbins, to thread, and more. This feature on Chelly Wood dot com, is an open discussion about a sewing concept. The article will begin with a definition of the sewing concept, and then a discussion question will follow. This is a great place for people to ask questions about and/or give advice on sewing concepts related to making doll clothes.
Crafts and Hobbies, For Sale in the Store

What are you doing in your sewing practice, to keep things sustainable? #EarthDay #Recycle

I think all of us know that our earth is in need of a relaxing day at the spa, right? Tomorrow is Earth Day, and in years past, I’ve done official “Earth Day Challenge” activities. You can view those here and here, if you’re interested in seeing what those challenges looked like. Before I go on, I need to make my required disclaimer statement: As … Continue reading What are you doing in your sewing practice, to keep things sustainable? #EarthDay #Recycle

Chelly WoodLeave a comment
Free fuzzy slippers patterns at Chelly Wood dot com, to fit dolls 13 to 15 inches tall. A Disney Princess Elsa doll (13 inches tall) is shown wearing the blue fuzzy slippers with a cute blue pair of star-themed pajama pants with matching raglan sleeved flannel pajama top. Slippers are shown on and off the doll's feet, and we can see that inside the fuzzy slippers, the star-themed blue and white flannel is the same as the flannel used to make the doll's pajama pants and raglan sleeved pajama top.
13-inch doll clothes patterns, 14-inch doll clothes patterns, 15-inch doll clothes patterns, 16-inch doll clothes patterns, A4 Printer PDF Patterns, Daily Patterns, Disney Princess Dolls, Hearts for Hearts Girls, Wellie Wishers Patterns

Sew pajamas and a pair of fuzzy slippers for Disney Princess Toddler (and similar sized dolls) with today’s free patterns! #FreePatterns #Sewing

Scroll down to the third set of bullets for the free PDF sewing patterns. Today’s tutorial shows you how to make a pair of fuzzy slippers, to accompany a pair of pajamas for your 13 inch to 15 inch dolls. For a full list of all the dolls they will fit, please scroll down to the second set of bullets. I do plan to post … Continue reading Sew pajamas and a pair of fuzzy slippers for Disney Princess Toddler (and similar sized dolls) with today’s free patterns! #FreePatterns #Sewing

Chelly WoodLeave a comment
Chelly Wood is shown silhouetted in profile with snow covered mountains in the distance. She stands with her arms across her body and one index finger tapping against her chin as she thinks hard. There’s a lovely purple sunset in the distance beyond the mountains. Closer to her are the lights of a small town.
Crafts and Hobbies, Fan Mail, Sewing Chat, Uncategorized

What technical challenges are you facing? #PersonalStory #DarkNightOfTheSoul

We all face challenges. That’s what life is all about. I’m sure you’ve had times in your life where it seemed like the challenges were piled up, one on top of another. (Feel free to share such experiences in the comments section. Misery loves company!😉) As you know, I’ve had some technical challenges lately. Starting in February, the digital systems I use to build this … Continue reading What technical challenges are you facing? #PersonalStory #DarkNightOfTheSoul

Chelly Wood4 Comments
The Simplicity 9097 pattern envelope appears on the right. On the left, there’s a close-up of the doll clothes outfits for the View 3 skirt, top, cape and scarf. The blue “ra-ra” skirt is 1960’s style super-short with two pleats in the front. The white top is sleeveless with side darts. The scarf appears to be a white ribbon with red polka dots, tied around the doll’s neck. The blue cape is waist length and has two white buttons at the top of an asymmetrical closure.
Old Patterns from Chelly's Collection, Sewing and Fashion History, Tips for Beginners, Vintage Barbie

Sewing Ribbon to Fabric: Which ribbon would you pick and why? #SewingLessons #SewVintage

Last week’s Monday blog post was about finding someone else’s unfinished doll clothes project in an envelope for a doll clothes sewing pattern that I bought at a second-hand store. I decided to embrace the unfinished project, which was just a skirt piece for the View 3 dress from the Simplicity 9097 doll clothes pattern that you see pictured above. But there was a problem… … Continue reading Sewing Ribbon to Fabric: Which ribbon would you pick and why? #SewingLessons #SewVintage

Chelly Wood4 Comments