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.

Charity craft project. Thumbnail shows two elasticized squares of fabric, which have been designed to fit over the stirrups for a medical exam table. Visit ChellyWood.com for the free printable PDF sewing patterns for making these exam table stirrup covers.
A4 Printer PDF Patterns, Charity Work, Crafts and Hobbies, Daily Patterns, Fabric, Tutorials: Crafts

Okay, bear with me… Today’s tutorial teaches you how to make… Umm… 😁 #CharityWork #MedicalSupplies #NursesWhoCraft

Please scroll down to the second set of bullets for the free printable PDF sewing pattern and links to any additional relevant tutorial videos. As it says in the video, this was a community service project of mine. My doctor’s office didn’t have any stirrup covers for their medical exam tables, so I drafted a pattern, sewed up two pair, and gave them to my … Continue reading Okay, bear with me… Today’s tutorial teaches you how to make… Umm… 😁 #CharityWork #MedicalSupplies #NursesWhoCraft

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McCall's 2970 doll clothes sewing patterns. Click the thumbnail for the article which talks about which dolls (including Topper Dawn and Pippa) will fit in this tiny six inch doll's wardrobe. Article available to read at chellywood.com
Fan Mail, Old Patterns from Chelly's Collection, Sewing and Fashion History, Tips for Beginners, Topper Dawn Dolls, Vintage Barbie

Is there a good sewing pattern for Miniature dollhouse-sized dolls and six-inch action figures? #MeMadeMonday #ActionFigures

On Friday I received a message from someone who was looking for patterns to fit the little tiny 6 inch Phicen dolls/action figures. McCall’s 2970 is one such pattern. In the image at the top of this post, I’ve included a list of dolls that the pattern envelope suggests. But I also think many dollhouse-sized dolls and possibly even the Phicen 6 inch action figures … Continue reading Is there a good sewing pattern for Miniature dollhouse-sized dolls and six-inch action figures? #MeMadeMonday #ActionFigures

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See how Chelly Wood created her "Sarah's Marigolds" fabric by watching the YouTube video, "Quiet Meditation Music with Easy Art Inspiration." This video thumbnail shows simple orange marigolds and pale minty green leaves on a paint canvas, resting on a wooden table. Overlaid on top of this are several paint brushes.
Crafts and Hobbies, Fabric, Links, Music Videos for Crafters, Paper Crafts, Tutorials: Crafts

Quiet meditation music and inspiration for your crafts! #Music #ArtsAndCrafts

It has been a while since I created a music video. They still exist on my YouTube channel, and you can find a playlist of instrumental music for crafting right here. This video shows how I designed my latest fabric on Spoonflower. I named it “Sarah’s Marigolds” because marigolds are my sister Sarah’s favorite flower. You can go vote for this fabric in the Spoonflower … Continue reading Quiet meditation music and inspiration for your crafts! #Music #ArtsAndCrafts

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Three headless doll bodies (shown discreetly from the shoulders up) accompany four doll heads, with their hair all wild and woven together against a teal and turquoise polka dot backdrop.
Doll Collecting, Doll Makeovers, Uncategorized, Vintage Barbie

Connecting doll heads to doll bodies… Are there rules? #DollCollector #DollCollection

I don’t know about you, but when I come across a doll head without a body, or a doll body without a head, I feel an uncontrollable urge to connect some doll heads to those doll bodies! No doll body should have to go around headless, and no doll head should have to go around bodiless! How do you feel about putting vintage doll heads on … Continue reading Connecting doll heads to doll bodies… Are there rules? #DollCollector #DollCollection

Chelly Wood11 Comments
Here we see a photo of the Marie Osmond 6664 "Butterick's Personality Doll Wardrobe" envelope and its photo of an actual Marie Osmond doll modeling a red western shirt with white front yokes and a pair of shiny black pants. The pattern options to the doll's right are showing a yellow jumper (in the USA sense of "jumper" -- a sleeveless dress which is sometimes worn over a shirt): a floor length caftan dress with ribbon ties at the sleeve and a waistband; a blue, V-neck long-sleeved shirt with cuffs and a waistband; a long-sleeved white shirt with a collar and cuffs; a purple evening dance dress with a zig-zag-cut skirt and a bodice with straps that tie at the shoulders; a short camel-colored caftan blouse with a waistband and ribbon ties at the sleeves' ends; a green flared ice skater's skirt; a green body suit with long sleeves and a turtle neck. The Chelly Wood doll stands to the left of the envelope. The Marie Osmond doll is on the pattern envelope itself because Butterick 6664 is designed to fit the Marie Osmond Barbie doll.
Fabric, Old Patterns from Chelly's Collection, Sewing and Fashion History, Tips for Beginners, Vintage Barbie

What does “directional fabric” mean? #BeginnerSewing #SewingHack

Have you ever wondered why floral and polka dot fabrics are so popular? One of the reasons why people love polka dots and florals is because they’re usually non-directional fabrics. But what does that mean? Well, that’s what I’ll address today, and I’ll let you know how I made alterations to a Marie Osmond doll dress when I didn’t have enough of a directional fabric. … Continue reading What does “directional fabric” mean? #BeginnerSewing #SewingHack

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In a purple square frame, a photo of spilled straight pins appears under the words "straight pins".
Crafts and Hobbies, For Sale in the Store, Pincushions, Tips for Beginners

What size straight pins should I use? #SewingTips #BeginnerSewer

Sewing for dolls is a great way to break into sewing, for those who’ve never sewn before, so it probably won’t surprise you that I get questions about very basic concepts in my inbox now and then. Someone reached out to me in 2025 with the question, “What size straight pins should I use?” And I thought, That’s a good question to address in a blog … Continue reading What size straight pins should I use? #SewingTips #BeginnerSewer

Chelly Wood3 Comments
In this image, we see the top half of the Barbie Advance 9938 doll clothes sewing pattern. View 1 shows a typical just-below-the-knee strappy sun dress in yellow fabric. View 2 shows an Asian-style sheath dress with side buttons that run from the Mandarin collar across the bust, to the underarm. This View 2 dress is in solid blue. There's an arrow pointing to the View 3 dress, which is made with a pink bodice and a white floor length full skirt that's dotted with tiny pink flowers. This is a strapless party gown, and the doll wearing it is a cartoon-ish blond ponytail Barbie with a pink ribbon in her hair. The text which has an arrow pointing to the View 3 dress says "Advance 9938 View 3."
Curvy Barbie, Holiday Crafts, Jem and the Holograms, Old Patterns from Chelly's Collection, Sewing and Fashion History, Tammy Doll Patterns, Tips for Beginners, Vintage Barbie

Are there any sewing patterns that will fit big bust dolls? #MeMadeMonday #CustomDolls

When you own a doll with a big bust or a curvier figure than the average modern day Barbie, it can be challenging to find sewing patterns to fit her. People reach out to me now and then asking for patterns to fit dolls with curvier figures, from a variety of different doll making companies. So today’s blog post will show you an evening gown … Continue reading Are there any sewing patterns that will fit big bust dolls? #MeMadeMonday #CustomDolls

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Capri pants are trousers that fall between the knee and the ankle. Images shown include (clockwise from the top), a group of mannequins shown from the knee down, sporting various lengths of capris that fall between the knee and the ankle using various fabrics, including camouflage style with drawstrings at the hem, denims, and cotton fabrics; a vintage fashion doll sporting traditional 1950’s style pedal pushers; a photo of a woman in tight-fitting gingham ankle pants and a pair of wedge shoes (showing only her legs at a seated position); a diagram of a woman’s naked leg with brackets showing the hem area which falls between the bottom of the knee and the top of the ankle bone; a graphic of pajama pants with an elastic waist that are capri length; a graphic of a pair of khakis with a rolled hem, fly front, and pockets, that are shown as slightly longer than a pair of Bermuda shorts.
Crafts and Hobbies, Glossary of Sewing Terms with Pictures, Sewing Chat, Tips for Beginners

Glossary of Sewing Terms with Pictures: What are capri pants exactly? #FashionWise #MakeYourOwnClothes

DEFINITION: trousers that fall between the knee and the ankle. This is my own definition. Of course you can google this term to find other definitions as well. Here’s a link to Webster’s definition, and here’s a link to the Cambridge English Dictionary definition. As an Amazon Affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases. You can learn more about my affiliate marketing program on the Privacy … Continue reading Glossary of Sewing Terms with Pictures: What are capri pants exactly? #FashionWise #MakeYourOwnClothes

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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