Category: Crafts and Hobbies

Chelly’s favorite hobby is sewing for dolls, but sometimes she makes other stuff too. Keep watching for more tutorials and patterns for her other crafty projects.

Easy! DIY Polar Fleece Mittens. Sewing project for the holidays. Special thanks to Christine’s Crafts for giving us this opportunity to learn a new DIY project! Chelly Wood dot com logo.
Crafts and Hobbies, Holiday Crafts, Interviews With Crafters, Links, Sewing Chat, Tips for Beginners, Tutorials: Crafts

Quick and Easy-to-Sew Polar Fleece Mittens — another great Idea for DIY Christmas gifts!

  Today’s “guest post” comes from Christine at Christine’s Crafts. (Click that link for her website, which offers lots of fun and easy crafts to make and give away at Christmas time.) You can make these polar fleece mittens in under 30 minutes — WOW! I’ve been searching for Christmas gifts to make and give to my own family, and when I ran across Christine’s … Continue reading Quick and Easy-to-Sew Polar Fleece Mittens — another great Idea for DIY Christmas gifts!

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The envelope for McCall's 8531 doll clothes patterns for Barbie's cousin, Mod Francie, shows eight different outfits that you can sew for Francie, using McCall's 8531.
Holiday Crafts, Old Patterns from Chelly's Collection, Sewing Chat, Tips for Beginners, Vintage Francie

How to Choose Trim When Sewing a Dress #Ribbon #Rickrack

I never used to think of myself as an “expert” at something like this, but over the years, I’ve come to realize that even as a young seamstress, I had a knack for coordinating solids and prints, rickrack and bias tape, lace and ribbon, etc. especially when it came to making doll dresses. So in today’s blog post, I’m going to share my own technique … Continue reading How to Choose Trim When Sewing a Dress #Ribbon #Rickrack

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McCall's 8531 Francie winter hat project. The Chelly Wood doll holds a colorful knee-high sock as she stands next to the View E image from the McCalls 8531 doll clothes sewing pattern's envelope.
Old Patterns from Chelly's Collection, Sewing and Fashion History, Tips for Beginners, Vintage Francie

Stocking Cap Sewing Project for Francie — super easy to make! #MeMadeMonday #HappyFall!

Over the weekend, my pumpkins got a good crisp frost on them out in the garden, which means it’s time to dress myself and my dolls in winter clothing. So today’s the perfect day to explain how easy it was to make my Francie doll a winter cap, using that same sock I made her little sweater dress out of last week. (Please click that … Continue reading Stocking Cap Sewing Project for Francie — super easy to make! #MeMadeMonday #HappyFall!

Chelly Wood3 Comments
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.
Crafts and Hobbies, Fabric, Sewing Chat

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!

Chelly Wood2 Comments
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.
Crafts and Hobbies, Creative Spark Online Learning, For Sale in the Store

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…

Chelly Wood2 Comments
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

Chelly Wood2 Comments
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.
Crafts and Hobbies, Glossary of Sewing Terms with Pictures, Sewing Chat, Tips for Beginners, Tutorials: Sewing Basics

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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Recycled fabrics are used to form the circular arrows of the recycle symbol.
Crafts and Hobbies, For Sale in the Store

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

Chelly Wood6 Comments
Discover Sewing Magic with Chelly Wood's Doll Clothes Sewing Pattern Creations! Inside a charming quilted frame, a unique Chelly Wood doll (a creatively transformed Spin Master Liv doll featuring a grey wig and custom face paint) strikes a pose, pointing at three vibrant purple question marks. Dressed in a red check gingham short-sleeved shirt and black trousers, the doll accessorizes with a red gingham handkerchief securing her silver grey hair and completes the look with black flats. Click to explore ChellyWood.com, your go-to resource for free, printable PDF sewing patterns to craft stylish doll clothes for dolls of all shapes and sizes. Dive into the sewing community and enhance your skills today!
Old Patterns from Chelly's Collection, Sewing and Fashion History, Tips for Beginners, Vintage Barbie

What can you do if you’ve lost the instructions for a commercial sewing pattern? #MeMadeMonday #SewingHack

Before I started typing today’s blog post, I googled the same question: “What can you do if you’ve lost the instructions for a commercial sewing pattern?” And let me just say that yes, AI can make mistakes. It became very obvious to me that Google doesn’t know how to correctly respond to this question. Granted, Google AI offered links to their sources. So that’s good. … Continue reading What can you do if you’ve lost the instructions for a commercial sewing pattern? #MeMadeMonday #SewingHack

Chelly Wood6 Comments
With a quilted frame around it, we see a section of a McCall's vintage fashion doll clothes sewing pattern for making a cape that will fit a fashion doll like Barbie and similar-sized dolls.
Old Patterns from Chelly's Collection, Sewing and Fashion History, Tips for Beginners, Vintage Barbie

How to Sew a Welted Arm Opening in a Cape

As I type this first sentence, the ground outside my sewing room window is wet with early morning rain. It smells lovely out there! But this means fall is underway, here in the northern hemisphere, so it might be a good time to do a blog post on cape-making. Specifically, today’s post will show you how I made a welted opening in a cape, so … Continue reading How to Sew a Welted Arm Opening in a Cape

Chelly Wood4 Comments
Various sewing and crafting notions like thread, a tape measure, scissors, and a writing utensil swirl around the words "Sewing Vocab" in a thumbnail frame. This is the default thumbnail for the sewing picture dictionary (or sewing glossary with pictures) on ChellyWood.com, a website that offers free printable PDF sewing patterns for making doll clothes to fit dolls of many shapes and all different sizes.
Crafts and Hobbies, Glossary of Sewing Terms with Pictures, Sewing Chat, Tips for Beginners, Tutorials: Sewing Basics

Glossary of Sewing Terms with Pictures: Buttons

DEFINITION: A type of fastener that usually passes through a hole or uses a loop as a method of closure. This is my own definition. Of course you can google this term to find other definitions as well. A lot of people who are new to sewing doll clothes struggle to find tiny buttons that are ideal for making dolls’ clothes, so today I’ll give … Continue reading Glossary of Sewing Terms with Pictures: Buttons

Chelly Wood8 Comments
McCall's 6260 vintage Barbie patterns: view A shows a ponytail Barbie wearing a pink gingham dress with lace skirt overlaid and a matching pair of pink gingham panties (shown below the doll on a silver graphic line); View B shows a silver evening gown (strapless) with matching stole and a pink ribbon tied at the waist; View C shows a pink swing coat with very large pockets and lots of buttons; View D shows an orange Kimono style bath robe with white trim and a white belt tied at the waist; View E shows a pair of high-waisted black pants with a little bolero style pink top over the top of them; View F shows a blue bikini with tiny pink polka dots.
Old Patterns from Chelly's Collection, Sewing and Fashion History, Tips for Beginners, Vintage Barbie

How to Store and Preserve Vintage Sewing Patterns

Today’s topic is near and dear to my heart. If you’re a regular follower of my blog, you’ll know that I own quite a collection of old doll clothes sewing patterns. Many of them are featured in my Monday sewing lessons, all of which can be found on this page. Over the years, I’ve gotten better and better at preserving my vintage sewing patterns, and … Continue reading How to Store and Preserve Vintage Sewing Patterns

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The Chelly Wood doll (a Spin Master Liv doll that has been OOAK-made over to look like the real Chelly Wood) points across her sewing room at an ironing board upon which an unplugged iron rests.
Crafts and Hobbies, Fan Mail, Props and Dioramas, Sewing Chat, Tips for Beginners

What type of ironing board do you use when you’re sewing? #iSew #BeginnerSewing

Every now and then, one of my blog or YouTube followers will reach out to me with a really clever question. That’s the case with the question I’m answering in today’s blog post. But I’d like to hear your responses as well, so when you’re all done reading what I have to say on the topic of ironing boards, please take a moment to leave … Continue reading What type of ironing board do you use when you’re sewing? #iSew #BeginnerSewing

Chelly Wood8 Comments