Text reads "ORT holder or thread catcher" and the image shows a fabric basket that collapses and pops out, for holding "old ratty threads" and other miscellaneous sewing accoutrements.

What is an ORT holder? #Sewing #Handmade

Also known as a “thread catcher,” the item you see above is sometimes referred to as an ORT holder. The letters O-R-T stand for “old ratty threads” or sometimes “odd random threads.” My mother-in-law, Anita, has made me half a dozen of these, and I absolutely love them! So when she asked if she could sell one of her lovely creations in my online shop, … Continue reading What is an ORT holder? #Sewing #Handmade

How to do a basic fly stitch #Embroidery #Boderie

  Today I’m re-posting my fly stitch embroidery tutorial from 2019. That’s because you may find this stitch helpful if you want to embroider my little jacket project that I’m posting tomorrow, for 6 inch dolls like Chelsea, Strawberry Shortcake, Anna and Elsa mini toddler dolls, and the 6 inch Dawn/Pippa dolls. Here’s a preview of that coat project: See that zigzag-shaped stitch running along … Continue reading How to do a basic fly stitch #Embroidery #Boderie

A vintage skipper from the 1970s is pictured wearing (on the left) a three quarter length sleeve bolero jacket or coat with matching pleated skirt and knee high socks along with plastic shoes; (on the right) a sleeveless cropped top with underpants and knee high socks, all made of yellow stretchy jersey fabric. The text reads "for sale" and sideways, "doll and shoes not included" over the top of the chellywood.com logo.

Still for sale in my online store: handmade doll clothes for Stacie or vintage Skipper #DollClothes #Handmade

The entire ensemble pictured above has been for sale in my online shop for a while now, but I only recently realized that I’d only advertised it as an outfit that will fit Mattel’s Stacie dolls, when in fact, it was originally designed to fit vintage Skipper. So I thought I’d re-post it with at least a couple of images showing it on my vintage … Continue reading Still for sale in my online store: handmade doll clothes for Stacie or vintage Skipper #DollClothes #Handmade

Baby Dresden doll quilt with vintage fabrics on sale thumbnail text reads "now only thirty dollars plus shipping" -- baby Dresden doll quilt with vintage fabrics. On sale!

SALE! $5 off on this lovely handmade doll quilt! #AmericanGirl #DollCollector

When I first announced that my mother-in-law’s handmade baby Dresden doll quilt was for sale in my store, the asking price was $35 plus $7 shipping. But that was back in February, and well, it hasn’t sold yet. So my mother-in-law, Anita, asked if we could lower the price a bit. It’s now up for grabs at a mere $30 (plus the usual $7 shipping … Continue reading SALE! $5 off on this lovely handmade doll quilt! #AmericanGirl #DollCollector

The text reads "sewing room for dolls (DIY)" and the image shows a glue gun poised over the top of an open diorama room box that contains a miniature dress form mannequin, a table, and on the table stands a tiny vintage sewing machine. Visit my website, Chelly Wood dot com to learn how to make your own doll's sewing room diorama like the one I use in my stop motion videos.

Would you like to make a sewing room for your dolls? Here’s how I made mine… #Dolls #Diorama

  Over the years, I’ve had lots of people ask me how I made my doll’s sewing room. There are plenty of options out there, but today’s blog post shows you how I turned a Gloria home office dollhouse set for 1:6 scale dolls (i.e. Barbie-sized) into the little sewing room you see in my videos. Now the earliest version of this sewing room used … Continue reading Would you like to make a sewing room for your dolls? Here’s how I made mine… #Dolls #Diorama

The text reads, "Breyer Rider doll clothes for sale, eight dollars plus shipping at Chelly Wood dot com." The photo shows navy blue pants with wide legs and a scoop neck striped long sleeved tee shirt sitting on a cutting mat.

Breyer Rider handmade doll clothes for sale $8.00 for top and pants! #Breyer #Horses

Crazy as this sounds, there doesn’t seem to be anybody making doll clothes for the Breyer Riders, and after receiving many requests for me to sell my handmade Breyer Rider doll clothes, I’ve finally broken down and made some just for that purpose… to sell. The Breyer company is best known for its model horses. I’ve got five of these horses pictured below, so you … Continue reading Breyer Rider handmade doll clothes for sale $8.00 for top and pants! #Breyer #Horses

Text reads "American Girl Kiya Doll Clothes for Sale" with a misspelling of the name Kaya. The text also says, "twelve dollars plus shipping at Chelly Wood dot com" and the red "for sale" medallion appears in one corner. The full Kaya Native American dress, boots, and belt are shown on a blue cutting mat.

New in the Shop: $12 for American Girl Kaya Deerskin Outfit — This is a DEAL! #AmericanGirl #DollCollectors

Okay everybody, I’ve been holding onto these doll clothes, thinking I would eventually sell them with a Kaya doll I found at a thrift store and cleaned up, but it’s time to give up on that dream. I never ran across a Kaya doll at a thrift store, so I’m just going to sell these doll clothes for someone else to enjoy. These lovely Native … Continue reading New in the Shop: $12 for American Girl Kaya Deerskin Outfit — This is a DEAL! #AmericanGirl #DollCollectors

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."

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

Vintage Skipper wears a floor-length ball gown with a red bodice, decorated with red ribbons. Barbie wears a floor-length ball gown with a black bodice, decorated with black ribbons. Both dresses have white skirts and match in terms of style. The text reads "They Match!"

Matching patterns to fit Barbie and Skipper @ ChellyWood.com #Sewing for #Barbie

Did you know you could purchase patterns for Skipper and Barbie that match? Yup! I bought my Vogue 9964 pattern for vintage Skipper and vintage Barbie back when it first came out, in 1999. I made all of the outfits pictured on the envelope, and I can tell you that it’s not my favorite pattern. Why not? Well the purse is easy enough to make, … Continue reading Matching patterns to fit Barbie and Skipper @ ChellyWood.com #Sewing for #Barbie

A photo of a very old bisque baby doll is on the right and on the left, a lineup of modern fashion dolls wearing Victorian dresses includes different sizes of dolls. The text reads, "World Doll Day 2024."

Doll lovers meet up! Join me for doll-collecting fun in the Seattle area! — #DollCollector #BarbieCollector

If you’ve ever wanted to go to one of these official doll shows, I invite you to attend this one. You can meet me, in person, because I’ll be attending too! I registered for the Barbie Breakfast, but there will be so many great dolls to see at this event! In today’s blog post, I’m going to give you a little background information on each … Continue reading Doll lovers meet up! Join me for doll-collecting fun in the Seattle area! — #DollCollector #BarbieCollector

This is a close-up of one of the flowers on Anita's baby Dresden quilt. The center of the flower is pink. The fabric on the flower petal at 2 o'clock is a grey and white check. The fabric at three o'clock is a bright blue-purple-yellow-orange feather patterned fabric; the petal at four o'clock is a pink floral fabric; the fabric at five o'clock is a petal made of a leafy green fabric; the petal at seven o'clock is white with very tiny red polka dots; the fabric at eight o'clock is a vintage red with tiny white flowers and leaves; at ten o'clock we see a petal made of purple mottled fabric; and the eleven o'clock or noonish petal is made of a blue and green floral fabric. The whole flower has been appliqued by hand onto a white square, which is surrounded by a barely-visible blue fabric that has an almost not-noticeable blue floral print that barely shows.

Today’s blog post is for those of you who sew for dolls, but you don’t quilt… #DollQuilt #DollCollector

Yes, today’s blog post is for all the followers, friends, and other folks who love to sew for dolls, but perhaps they don’t enjoy quilting. Why? Because I have a quilt for sale in my store today! The quilt you see below was made by my very talented mother-in-law, Anita, who has made almost all of the tiny quilts you’ve seen in my videos and … Continue reading Today’s blog post is for those of you who sew for dolls, but you don’t quilt… #DollQuilt #DollCollector

The text reads "for sale in the shop" and below this is an image of several items of handmade doll clothes, including a skirt, jacket, shirt, socks, and underpants. The Chelly Wood dot com logo appears in one corner.

New in the store this week: Chelly Wood’s own handmade doll clothes for Stacie #DollClothes #Handmade

I’m not sure everyone caught it, but last week when I posted the tutorial for making a pair of socks for Stacie, I also mentioned that the entire ensemble pictured above was being sold in my online shop. This outfit includes the underpants, socks, and sleeveless top (which are all made of the same yellow jersey fabric) plus the houndstooth cotton pleated skirt and the … Continue reading New in the store this week: Chelly Wood’s own handmade doll clothes for Stacie #DollClothes #Handmade

This thumbnail image shows the Chelly Wood doll (a Spin Master Liv doll) holding up a spreadsheet of expenses and income for 2023. The text reads, "2023 income full disclosure" and beneath this text is a turquoise blue coin-shaped circle with a dollar symbol inside it.

How much money did ChellyWood LLC make in 2023? Full disclosure… #TaxTime #Charity

Many of you know that in my “day job,” I’m a full-time school librarian. I also teach art and library research classes for the middle school where I work. This has been a good paying job, helping me and my husband (who also works full time) to pay for our children’s college educations, and generally keeping the bills paid in our little manufactured home with … Continue reading How much money did ChellyWood LLC make in 2023? Full disclosure… #TaxTime #Charity

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.

New to Sewing — What do I need? Here are the 10 basic sewing supplies for beginners who are just learning to sew…

For those of you who are regular followers, in recent months you’ve seen a number of posts about the top ten items I would put in a sewing kit, if I were a beginner and brand new to sewing. Today’s blog post is a roundup of all ten items. On the other hand, if you just happened to stumble across my website, you may have … Continue reading New to Sewing — What do I need? Here are the 10 basic sewing supplies for beginners who are just learning to sew…

The image shows a craft fair store with bags, bobs, bits, and T-shirts on display. The text says (at the top) "ChellyWood LLC" follwed by "sewing supplies," "handmade items," "and more." There's a sign hanging from a push pin that says "Open" as well.

Where to Buy Miniature Buttons, Zippers, and Buckles for Dolls #SewingProjects

As an Amazon affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases. On my “Contact” page, I often get emailed the question, “Where can I buy tiny buttons for my doll clothes?” From time to time, people also ask me for advice on zippers and buckles. I use Etsy for tiny doll buttons, extra small zippers, and similar sewing notions, but I generally buy my tiny snaps from … Continue reading Where to Buy Miniature Buttons, Zippers, and Buckles for Dolls #SewingProjects