Category: Fan Mail

Seated in her sewing room, we see the Chelly Wood doll holding up a sign that shows a page from Facebook, but over the top of the Facebook page, someone has a giant red X through the text and the word "NO!" has been written beside the big X.
Chelly's Books, Crafts and Hobbies, Doll Collecting, Fan Mail, For Sale in the Store, Links, Selling Your Crafts, Sewing Chat

Here’s why I haven’t been on Facebook lately… #Disgruntled #Censorship

Do you recognize the header at the top of today’s blog post? If so, you’ve probably navigated over to my Facebook page at some point in the past. The last time I posted something on my Facebook page was February 25th. In fact, I haven’t even opened my Facebook account since then. Not even once. Until today, that is, when I went in to take … Continue reading Here’s why I haven’t been on Facebook lately… #Disgruntled #Censorship

Chelly Wood18 Comments
Crafts and Hobbies, Doll Collecting, Fan Mail, History and Research, Interviews With Crafters, Links, Vintage Barbie

Estrela Barbie: a rare treasure! #Collectibles #Toys

Have you ever heard of the Estrela Barbies? After a fan from Brazil named Debora left a lengthy comment about them on one of my blog posts, I contacted her to find out more about these rare and highly collectible Barbie dolls. Today’s blog post will give you the details, as they were explained to me by Debora, in my online interview with her. Before … Continue reading Estrela Barbie: a rare treasure! #Collectibles #Toys

Chelly Wood4 Comments
On a turquoise blue linen background, a pair of cartoon-like pinking shears lie open, with their teeth exposed. The text reads "pinking shears" and the Chelly Wood dot com logo appears at the bottom of the image.
Fan Mail, Interviews With Crafters, Sewing Chat, Tips for Beginners, Tutorials: Sewing Basics

Are pinking shears a useful tool for beginners who are just learning how to sew doll clothes? #SewingTips #DollClothes

I recently received an interesting “fan mail” question about pinking shears from a follower named Debora. She wanted to know my thoughts on pinking shears. Debora asked, “Chelly, how do you use pinking shears, anyway? All over the Internet, you can find crafters who seem to get really excited about them and use them for everything. Especially among people who sew for dolls, because honestly, … Continue reading Are pinking shears a useful tool for beginners who are just learning how to sew doll clothes? #SewingTips #DollClothes

Chelly Wood2 Comments
The image shows a sewing machine with a tiny pink swatch of fabric between the presser foot and the feed dogs. Thread, bobbins, and other sewing tools are scattered around a white table top near the sewing machine's base. This image represents Chelly's sewing room while she recovers from West Nile Virus.
Crafts and Hobbies, Fan Mail, Sewing Chat, Tips for Beginners, Tutorials: Sewing Basics

How do you finish off your seams? — Please comment! #SewingTips #SewingChat

For today’s “Doll Clothes Sewing Chat,” let’s talk about finishing off a seam. Personally, I use a backstitch, so I’m going to define what that means to me before we get the chat underway… DEFINITION: A backstitch is when you stitch in one direction, you stitch backwards from there, and then you stitch in the forward direction again. This can be done by hand or … Continue reading How do you finish off your seams? — Please comment! #SewingTips #SewingChat

Chelly Wood9 Comments
The image shows a purple, white, and turquoise colored infographic with the title "Buyer's Gide" at the top, and the following elements listed within the text boxes of the infographic: buttons, snaps, ribbon, elastic, labels, zippers. The watermark says "ChellyWood" to remind you that you can get lots of doll clothes sewing advice and free patterns at ChellyWood.com
Buyer's Guide, Crafts and Hobbies, Doll Measurements, Fan Mail, Interviews With Crafters, Links, Tips for Beginners, Tutorials: Sewing Basics

Buyer’s Guide

I often get questions about where to buy tiny buttons, small-print fabrics, snaps, itty-bitty buckles, miniature zippers, and even sewing machines and their parts. So I’ve put together a “Buyer’s Guide” to help you with that. This is primarily an affiliate marketing page. As an Amazon Affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases. However I am an affiliate marketer for other websites too. To learn more … Continue reading Buyer’s Guide

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The image shows the Chelly Wood doll holding an envelope. Beside her is a sewing machine and behind her is a dess form modeling a handmade doll dress. The watermark says, "Chelly Wood dot com : free patterns and tutorials."
Crafts and Hobbies, Donate, Fan Mail, For Sale in the Store, Links, Selling Your Crafts

Fan mail… “Love your free sewing patterns! Is there anything I can do in return?” #FanMail #FreePatterns

Every now and then I get an email, a public comment on this website, or even a letter in my post office box that says, “Thank you so much for providing all these free doll clothes patterns! Is there anything I can do in return?” Having recently received similar fan mail, I thought I’d do a quick blog post answering that commonly-asked question: “Is there … Continue reading Fan mail… “Love your free sewing patterns! Is there anything I can do in return?” #FanMail #FreePatterns

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A fashion doll like Chatty Cathy or Miss Revlon stands at an open truck filled with a whole wardrobe of vintage doll clothes for her to wear. Standing at her feet are four other vintage-style fashion dolls, like Tammy or Babs or Tressy or vintage Barbie, for example.
Charity Work, Contests, Crafts and Hobbies, Fan Mail, History and Research

Special feature on ChellyWood.com coming up in July! #Dolls #DollCollectors

During the month of July, I’ve got quite a full plate of things to do, so I’m going to take a brief hiatus from blogging. That means you’ll see some re-posts of things I’ve posted before, and even the videos on my YouTube channel may look somewhat familiar. Now, as we saw last Thursday, I’ve got some great Barbie clothes patterns coming up, and I’m … Continue reading Special feature on ChellyWood.com coming up in July! #Dolls #DollCollectors

Chelly Wood4 Comments
Framed by a purple and turquoise blue quilted fabric frame, we see the Chelly Wood doll standing next to a book entitled, Little Quilts, with the subtitle "all through the house" by authors Alice Berg, Mary Ellen Von Holt, and Sylvia Johnson. In one corner of the book, it also says, "designer series." This book was published by "The Patchwork Place" in 1993.
Doll Furniture, Fan Mail, Favorite Books, Holiday Crafts, Old Patterns from Chelly's Collection, Props and Dioramas

Advice for Making a Doll Quilt #Books #Quilting

I received an email from one of my followers, asking me for advice on doll-sized quilts. The question she asked was, “[If] you were to make a doll blanket or quilt for [a 14 inch] doll, what dimensions would you suggest?” So today’s blog post is a variation on the advice I gave her over email… There’s a fantastic book called Little Quilts : All … Continue reading Advice for Making a Doll Quilt #Books #Quilting

Chelly Wood4 Comments
What do you want to read about thumbnail image of Barbie laptop on a purple coffee table with a question mark
Crafts and Hobbies, Doll Collecting, Fan Mail, Interviews With Crafters, Selling Your Crafts

Tell me about your doll world… Who are you? What do you do with dolls? #DollCollector #QandA #DollChat

The rules have changed for bloggers. When I first started this website, back in 2014 (yep, it has been 10 years), I could learn a lot about my followers from the analytics provided by my web hosting service. I knew how old they were, what part of the world they lived in, and whether they were male or female. I could even see what search … Continue reading Tell me about your doll world… Who are you? What do you do with dolls? #DollCollector #QandA #DollChat

Chelly Wood37 Comments
The image shows the Chelly Wood doll holding an envelope. Beside her is a sewing machine and behind her is a dess form modeling a handmade doll dress. The watermark says, "Chelly Wood dot com : free patterns and tutorials."
Crafts and Hobbies, Donate, Fan Mail, For Sale in the Store, Links, Selling Your Crafts

Fan mail… “Love your free sewing patterns! Is there anything I can do in return?” #FanMail #FreePatterns

Every now and then I get an email, a public comment on this website, or even a letter in my post office box that says, “Thank you so much for providing all these free doll clothes patterns! Is there anything I can do in return?” Having recently received similar fan mail, I thought I’d do a quick blog post answering that commonly-asked question: “Is there … Continue reading Fan mail… “Love your free sewing patterns! Is there anything I can do in return?” #FanMail #FreePatterns

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This is a Canva-made purple framed image of basic sewing tools, including scissors, thread, straight pins, safety pins, buttons, and some swatches of felt. The text reads "sewing basics" under the photo, with the Chelly Wood dot com logo below the photo.
Crafts and Hobbies, Fan Mail, Interviews With Crafters, Links, Plushies/Stuffed Animals, Tips for Beginners, Tutorials: Sewing Basics

Tips and Tricks for Beginners, Just Learning to Sew @ ChellyWood.com #LearningToSew #SewingTips

Are you new to sewing? Or are you thinking about teaching a child how to sew? If so, you might want to read my blog post about the top 10 sewing supplies you’ll need in a beginner’s sewing basket. I’ve got a playlist of tutorials for the beginning sewists on my YouTube channel as well. It includes video tutorials like: how to do a basic straight stitch when sewing by hand how … Continue reading Tips and Tricks for Beginners, Just Learning to Sew @ ChellyWood.com #LearningToSew #SewingTips

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The turquoise blue frame surrounds a photo of a woman writing goals into a spiral notebook, as she sits beside her computer. The text reads "Submit a Request" and includes the Chelly Wood dot com logo at the bottom of the photo.
American Girl Doll Patterns, Crafts and Hobbies, Daily Patterns, Doll Collecting, Elf on the Shelf, Fan Mail, Holiday Crafts

Chelly’s sewing goals for 2024 and (drumroll…) Oh, HEY! Please submit your requests!

As many of you know, I keep a little spiral notebook, wherein I list each of your doll clothes pattern requests. At the start of 2024, I want to begin the year with some new and wonderful ideas to inspire the patterns I’ll design. So please drop down to the “comments” section and leave your request. It helps to be specific, so instead of writing … Continue reading Chelly’s sewing goals for 2024 and (drumroll…) Oh, HEY! Please submit your requests!

Chelly Wood21 Comments
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 woman stares off into space with a dreamy look on her face. The "thought bubble" above her head shows three doll face silhouettes and just above this, we read the words, "dream dolls."
Crafts and Hobbies, Doll Collecting, Fan Mail, Interviews With Crafters

Which “Dream Dolls” you would like to add to your collection? — Please add your comments!

Since I don’t actually own any of my “dream dolls,” there won’t be any official pictures of them. Instead, I’ll use these little silhouetted images to represent them and give you a link to them on a website, just in case you want to see what they look like or buy one for yourselves. But today’s blog post isn’t just about me. I want to … Continue reading Which “Dream Dolls” you would like to add to your collection? — Please add your comments!

Chelly Wood18 Comments