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

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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

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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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The image shows a quilted frame around a photo of the cover of the Simplicity 4883 doll clothes pattern envelope. Above the photo, it reads, "Simplicity 4883." Beside the photo is a graphic of a giant yellow and turquoise blue question mark. Below this is the Chelly Wood dot com logo.
Interviews With Crafters, Old Patterns from Chelly's Collection, Tammy Doll Patterns, Uncategorized

Can anyone help me date the year of publication on one of my all-time favorite doll clothes patterns? #Simplicity #RetroSewing

If you’ve been following my blog much at all, you’ve probably run across at least one of the many blog posts I’ve written on this particular sewing pattern, vintage Simplicity 4883 for Ideal Tammy dolls. I have a long history with this pattern, which was the very first pattern I ever sewed. In fact this pattern helped morph me into the doll clothing designer that … Continue reading Can anyone help me date the year of publication on one of my all-time favorite doll clothes patterns? #Simplicity #RetroSewing

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The thumbnail shows the words "Do a Pick" atop a cell phone that shows a close-up of blond Francie modeling Best Buy Fashion #8645. The text beside and slightly to the left reads "Playing Betty and Veronica from Archie comics." The #DoApick shorts offer a series of three items from a bygone Barbie or other doll's era, from which you and a friend might pick out toys and dolls and the dolls' outfits.
Do a Pick! Game, Doll Play Videos, Favorite Books, Vintage Barbie, Vintage Francie

Let’s Do a Pick — Barbie is Betty and Steffie is Veronica from Archie Comics! #DoApick #Archie

Today’s “Do a Pick” game features the following: Best Buy Fashion #8645 Best Buy Fashion #3347 Busy Steffie #3312 Malibu Barbie Blond Francie Vintage Archie Comic Books This “Do a Pick” game asks you to pick between dolls and outfits to play the characters of Betty and Veronica from the Archie comic books of the 1970’s. What’s the story behind this game? When I was … Continue reading Let’s Do a Pick — Barbie is Betty and Steffie is Veronica from Archie Comics! #DoApick #Archie

Chelly Wood2 Comments
Today's tutorial video explains how selvage is useful to people who sew doll clothes. This image is just a header indicating that this is a sewing tutorial for beginners.
Tips for Beginners, Tutorials: Sewing Basics

Selvage is your friend! (A tip for fabric buying, when sewing doll clothes) @ ChellyWood.com #SewingLove #SewingTutorial

    The video at the top of this blog post will explain how I sometimes use selvage (that’s “selvedge” if you live in the UK) for my doll clothes projects, and how selvage can truly be “your friend” when buying fabric. If you want a more extensive video about how to buy fabric for doll clothes, please click here. That’s an older video tutorial … Continue reading Selvage is your friend! (A tip for fabric buying, when sewing doll clothes) @ ChellyWood.com #SewingLove #SewingTutorial

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Thumbnail image shows Vintage Pedigree Sindy (brunette) modeling a pair of ankle-length purple trousers and a raglan-sleeved shirt. The text reads "free patterns" followed by an exclamation point. Get your free sewing patterns for Sindy's dolls' clothes at the website Chelly Wood dot com, which also offers patterns in A4 printer paper as well as American printer paper for the free patterns.
11-inch doll clothes patterns, A4 Printer PDF Patterns, Daily Patterns, Sindy, Whole Costumes for Dolls

Play dress up with your vintage Sindy doll after you sew these dolls’ clothes with free A4 PDF sewing patterns! #UKSewing #SewUK

For your free patterns and tutorial videos, please scroll down to the second set of bullets. All the doll clothes from this series have been made, using a child’s tee shirt from my local charity shop, Goodwill, and through these blog posts I hope to encourage you, my followers, to do the same. Re-use old materials! Let’s maintain the enthusiasm for recycling! It’s good for … Continue reading Play dress up with your vintage Sindy doll after you sew these dolls’ clothes with free A4 PDF sewing patterns! #UKSewing #SewUK

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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

A different way to make a pair of doll’s underpants… but is it easy? #SewingTips #VintageBarbie

Advance 9939 has a pair of bloomers that go with the View 4 ice skating outfit, but it also has a random pattern for a pair of so-called “panties” for Barbie as well. Now my regular followers know that my website, ChellyWood.com, offers free, printable PDF sewing patterns for making underpants for various dolls, from little Barbie dolls all the way up to the big … Continue reading A different way to make a pair of doll’s underpants… but is it easy? #SewingTips #VintageBarbie

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In a bright sky blue frame, a woman's hand holds a small cardboard which houses sew on snaps or poppers.
Crafts and Hobbies, For Sale in the Store, Tips for Beginners, Tutorials: Crafts, Tutorials: Sewing Basics, Tutorials: Sewing for Dolls

Let’s talk about snaps/poppers! (How to Sew Snap Fasteners Tutorial Video) #Crafting #Sewing

  Today’s tutorial video is simple enough. It shows you how to sew snap fasteners (AKA poppers) onto a doll’s shirt or coat. And yes, I’ve made tutorials on this topic before, but in the past, you had to choose: am I sewing snaps/poppers that have a hole in the middle? Or am I sewing snaps/poppers that DON’T have a hole in the middle? Today’s … Continue reading Let’s talk about snaps/poppers! (How to Sew Snap Fasteners Tutorial Video) #Crafting #Sewing

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