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.

In this quilt-framed thumbnail image, a lineup of four Skipper-sized dolls stand next to the Chelly Wood doll (which is a Spin Master Liv doll that has been altered to look like the real doll clothing designer, Chelly Wood), and Chelly is holding up vintage Skipper Simplicity pattern 5861. Over the top of this photo, we see the text that reads, "Who can wear Skipper patterns?"
10-inch doll clothes patterns, 9-inch Dolls, Doll Measurements, Fan Mail, Favorite Books, Holiday Crafts, Old Patterns from Chelly's Collection, Petite Barbie Patterns, Skipper Patterns, Stacie Patterns, Uncategorized, Vintage Skipper

Which dolls can wear Skipper patterns? #Sewing #SewVintage

Note: As an Amazon affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Last week one of my followers, Lisa, contacted me with some questions about sewing for Skipper. We had a lively exchange over email about how Skipper has changed over the years, and I answered a few of her questions about who can wear various Skipper doll clothes sewing patterns. Today’s blog post will share with … Continue reading Which dolls can wear Skipper patterns? #Sewing #SewVintage

Chelly Wood3 Comments
A little elf peeks around the corner of this thumbnail square. She wears a red suit with a red stocking cap that has a tiny pom-pom on the end. She waves at the onlookers. Over her head it reads, "December's holiday surprise!" This image accompanies the announcement that Elf on the Shelf will receive some free doll clothes sewing patterns at Chelly Wood dot com this December.
Crafts and Hobbies, For Sale in the Store

Announcement: Guess who’s making an appearance on ChellyWood.com in December…

Note: As an Amazon affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Since this blog began, every December I’ve gotten requests from its followers to create a few doll clothes patterns to fit the Elf on the Shelf doll. Last year, my inbox was full of requests for Elf on the Shelf outfits! But I didn’t own an Elf on the Shelf… until last January. After the … Continue reading Announcement: Guess who’s making an appearance on ChellyWood.com in December…

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Here we see a collage of eight different Christmas or holiday fabric patterns. In the first row we see (left to right) a green sweater fabric with tiny reindeer, a white fabric with light blue swirls and holiday images, a green-on-red plaid, and a white sweater fabric with tiny red snowflakes and trees in a row. The bottom row of fabrics can be described as follows (again, left to right): Christmas gnomes, sprigs of evergreen trees with red and white dots scattered about, white fabric with red holiday candy stripes, and green leaves with red berries. In the center of the collage, the white words "holiday fabrics" appears on a green strip.
Crafts and Hobbies, For Sale in the Store, Tips for Beginners

Fabric — a necessity for a beginner’s sewing kit! #LearningToSew #Sewing

Please note: As an Amazon Affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Today’s blog post is part of a series of posts on the top 10 items I would include in a sewing kit for an absolute beginner, who is just learning to sew. Fabric is the #8 item on the list, but by no means less important than the others I’ve blogged about so far. … Continue reading Fabric — a necessity for a beginner’s sewing kit! #LearningToSew #Sewing

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Within a purple frame, a holiday card reads, 'happy holidays' surrounded by botanical vines and wreaths. The text above the watercolor painted holiday card reads "DIY Holiday Card." The adjoining blog post offers a tutorial video, showing how to make a Christmas card using watercolor pencils and Sharpie markers.
Crafts and Hobbies, For Sale in the Store, Holiday Crafts, Paper Crafts, Tutorials: Crafts

Holiday Card Making with Watercolor Pencils! #HappyHolidays #ChristmasCardIdeas

  Please note: As an Amazon affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases. In today’s video and blog post, I’m taking a brief break from my usual video formats. I created this “artsy” video for both you, my regular followers (in case you want to pick up a new hobby with watercolor pencils) and my art students at school. (I work at a middle school for … Continue reading Holiday Card Making with Watercolor Pencils! #HappyHolidays #ChristmasCardIdeas

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The text in this thumbnail reads "What is a seam ripper used for?" and the purple frame surrounds a red seam ripper tool with a metal pointy end and a red plastic ball on the shorter of the forked ends. The handle of the seam ripper / unpicking tool is made of shiny red plastic.
Crafts and Hobbies, For Sale in the Store, Tips for Beginners

What is a seam ripper used for? How to use an unpicking tool… #ChristmasCrafts #Handmade

Note: As an Amazon affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Here at ChellyWood.com, I’ve been giving you my list of the top 10 items I would put in a beginner’s sewing kit. Coming in at #7 is a seam ripper (AKA an unpicking tool). A beginner may not know how to use one of these handy little items, so I’ll include in today’s blog posts some … Continue reading What is a seam ripper used for? How to use an unpicking tool… #ChristmasCrafts #Handmade

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The image shows a close-up of the digital sewing planner page that was designed by Chelly Wood for setting sewing goals. The top of the image says "Editable PDF" and the edge of the planner is decorated with purple stitching on a white background with lace edging. The heading on the planner itself says "My Sewing Goals" in purple, but you can also see where someone has typed in "Date: January 1, 2023" and in one of the flag-shaped, stitching-edge bars where you are meant to type your goals, someone has typed in "Clean Sewing Room." This shows an example of how this digital planner is editable.
Crafts and Hobbies, Holiday Crafts, Interviews With Crafters, Paper Crafts

Set sewing goals for 2024 with my 99 cent digital, editable sewing planner @ ChellyWood.com #SewingGoals #NewYearsResolution

The purchase of this item in my Etsy store will help me pay the bills for running my free doll clothes pattern website! As the end of 2023 rolls around, I’ll be reviewing last year’s goals and updating my New Year’s Resolution planner.  Each year, I use this one-sheet planner to set goals, and I’m always surprised at the end of a year, by how … Continue reading Set sewing goals for 2024 with my 99 cent digital, editable sewing planner @ ChellyWood.com #SewingGoals #NewYearsResolution

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Crafts and Hobbies, Daily Patterns, Holiday Crafts, Plushies/Stuffed Animals, Tutorials: Crafts

Make a Hawaiian shirt and a pair of pants for a plush bear toy #Toys #GiftIdeas

Note: as an Amazon affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Last week I gave you my free patterns for making a Hawaiian shirt for my plush bear toy. With today’s blog post, I’m completing the ensemble by giving you the pattern and tutorial for making the pants as well. This is a great Christmas gift idea for the little boys in your family! The tutorial … Continue reading Make a Hawaiian shirt and a pair of pants for a plush bear toy #Toys #GiftIdeas

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Crafts and Hobbies, For Sale in the Store, Tips for Beginners

Slice Through Sewing with These Beginner-Friendly Scissors #Fiskars

Please note: As an Amazon associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. If you follow my YouTube channel, you’ve probably noticed that I love my little Fiskars Stitchers mini scissors, and yes, if you’re new to sewing, you can buy those too. However the #6 MUST-have item in my list of things to put in a beginner’s sewing kit, is a pair of actual sewing scissors. … Continue reading Slice Through Sewing with These Beginner-Friendly Scissors #Fiskars

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This blue thumbnail square contains the words "free pattern" and a photo of a little tan bear wearing a Hawaiian shirt with a collar and a pair of black pants. There's an arrow pointing from the words "free patterns" to the Hawaiian shirt, as this link will take you to the patterns and tutorial video for making the Hawaiian shirt to fit my 8 inch plush bear.
Crafts and Hobbies, Plushies/Stuffed Animals, Tutorials: Crafts

FREE Hawaiian shirt pattern for Chelly Wood’s “firefighter bear” and other 8 inch baby dolls

Note: as an Amazon affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases. If you watch the news in the United States at all, you’re probably aware that the Hawaiian island of Maui suffered terrible damages last summer. I don’t like to jump on the hype bandwagon, so I waited for Hawaii to start its healing process before I decided to post today’s tutorial. This tutorial shows you … Continue reading FREE Hawaiian shirt pattern for Chelly Wood’s “firefighter bear” and other 8 inch baby dolls

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The image shows a plush bear, dressed in blue jeans. The text reads, "free pattern" and offers the website Chelly Wood dot com as a resource for free printable PDF sewing patterns for making this plush bear toy and other crafts, plus hundreds of free patterns for making doll clothes to fit dolls of many shapes and all different sizes.
Crafts and Hobbies, Plushies/Stuffed Animals, Tutorials: Crafts

FREE firefighter bear PDF sewing patterns are great for making your own plush toys as Christmas gifts this year…

Note: as an Amazon affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Today’s blog post is a re-post of an older pattern, which I’ve converted into a PDF. And yes, if my “Firefighter Bear” looks vaguely familiar to you, as a child, I had a “Smokey Bear” plush toy that was a particular favorite of mine. He was, of course, the inspiration for my own “firefighter bear” … Continue reading FREE firefighter bear PDF sewing patterns are great for making your own plush toys as Christmas gifts this year…

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On a turquoise blue square of linen fabric, we see a photograph of a small tan bear wearing a cute red hat with a turned-up brim. The overlay says "free patterns" and the watermark reminds us to go to ChellyWood.com for free printable PDF sewing patterns for making the stuffed animal shown here, along with his Paddington-bear-like hat.
Crafts and Hobbies, Daily Patterns, Holiday Crafts, Plushies/Stuffed Animals, Tutorials: Crafts, Yarn and Embroidery

Paddington bear plush toy free sewing patterns #PaddingtonBear #FreePatterns

Please scroll down to the second set of bullets for the free printable PDF sewing pattern and links to any additional relevant tutorial videos. Note: as an Amazon affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases. How cute is this little fellow? Today’s blog post is actually a re-post, which dates back to when my best friend’s daughter was pregnant, and she wanted books for her baby … Continue reading Paddington bear plush toy free sewing patterns #PaddingtonBear #FreePatterns

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Six green stocking caps (two with red pom poms) and six red stocking caps (three with black pom poms, two with white pom poms, and one with no pom pom on top) appear on a pink cutting board that shows they are quite tiny, being about an inch tall or so each.
Crafts and Hobbies, For Sale in the Store, Holiday Crafts, Palitoy's Pippa Dolls, Remco I Dream of Jeannie Dolls, Selling Your Crafts, Topper Dawn Dolls, Vintage Skipper, Yarn and Embroidery

The Story of the Miniature Stocking Caps: Part 3

My regular followers will remember a story that I shared last summer about Evelyn, who hand-knitted a plethora of itty-bitty stocking caps before she passed away. I bought them at a church rummage sale, from a woman who seemed very disrespectful toward Evelyn. I opened my online store last summer, and attempted to sell these very tiny handmade stocking caps in a way that would … Continue reading The Story of the Miniature Stocking Caps: Part 3

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On a blue background, there's a photo of a red tomato pincushion with tiny pins in it. A red strawberry dangles from the center of the tomato by an embroidery thread. The text above reads, "pincushions! Please add to the discussion."
Crafts and Hobbies, For Sale in the Store, Tips for Beginners

Please describe your favorite pin cushion and why you like it…

I’ve been doing a series of blog posts on all the items a beginning sewist needs to have in his/her first sewing kit. Today’s blog post is about pincushions, the #5 item on my list. Please note: As an Amazon associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Do you see in the image above, how a crafty lady has made her own pincushion? Etsy has plenty … Continue reading Please describe your favorite pin cushion and why you like it…

Chelly Wood8 Comments
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, Tips for Beginners

Straight pins with colored heads and other “pointers” for people learning to sew…

Lately I’ve been building a list of the top 10 items every beginning sewist/seamstress/tailor needs to have in his/her sewing kit. Coming in at #3 is the all-important collection of straight pins. You may think your grandmother’s hand-me-down straight pins will work fine for a beginner, but they do not. Second-hand pins are not sharp, so they’re likely to create runs in the fabric. There’s … Continue reading Straight pins with colored heads and other “pointers” for people learning to sew…

Chelly Wood3 Comments
Sewing machine image on a turquoise blue background with sewing accoutrements.
Crafts and Hobbies, For Sale in the Store, Tips for Beginners

What brand of thread do you prefer to use? Please leave a comment!

So far, on my list of 10 items every doll clothes sewing enthusiast should have, I’ve mentioned hand-stitching needles and a needle threader. But now, coming in at #3 on my list, I can’t go any further without mentioning the thread. But what brand is best? There are so many! When my girls started sewing, I bought them each one of these boxes of a … Continue reading What brand of thread do you prefer to use? Please leave a comment!

Chelly Wood12 Comments