Category: Interviews With Crafters

Do you sew doll clothes or doll accessories? Would you like to provide an interview for ChellyWood.com? Contact Chelly through her “Submit a Question” form, providing a link to your website. Let her know you’re interested in doing an interview.

On a blue background, we read the words "Why don't my seams match?" overlapping a photo of fabric that has been sewn askew.
Interviews With Crafters, Tutorials: Sewing Basics, Tutorials: Sewing for Dolls

Why don’t my seams match up? 10 tips from doll clothing designer Chelly Wood #SewingTips #DollClothesPatterns

I’ve done a number of different “sewing tip” blog posts on the ensemble you see in the image above, but what you may not have noticed is that my seams didn’t always match up when I made these garments. “What?!” you say. “How can that be? You’re the expert!” When you sew doll clothes, and especially when sewing very small doll clothes, you can expect … Continue reading Why don’t my seams match up? 10 tips from doll clothing designer Chelly Wood #SewingTips #DollClothesPatterns

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On a purple background, we see a woman's fingers holding a recently sewn strap under the title "straps and belts" on a purple square background.
Interviews With Crafters, Tips for Beginners, Tutorials: Sewing Basics, Tutorials: Sewing for Dolls

Tips for Sewing Tiny Straps and Belts with Chelly Wood #SewingTips #DollClothesPatterns

The arrows in the image at the top of this page point to the feed dogs on a sewing machine. These are the “teeth” that grab the fabric and move it along when you press your foot against the pedal that makes your sewing machine move. Those of us who have been sewing doll clothes for a while have run across the problem of not … Continue reading Tips for Sewing Tiny Straps and Belts with Chelly Wood #SewingTips #DollClothesPatterns

Chelly Wood2 Comments
On a purple cotton background with tiny white polka dots, we see the words "why snaps?" and beneath this heading, a photo of a woman's hand holding a package of 12 Dritz snaps. In the corner of this image is the ChellyWood.com logo.
Crafts and Hobbies, Interviews With Crafters, Tutorials: Sewing Basics

Why I love Dritz sew-on snaps (and how to read a Dritz snaps card)! #SewingOnline #DollClothesPatterns

Yesterday I did a blog post asking you which one you liked better: Velcro, or snaps, for the back closure of your doll clothes garments. Although I use both kinds of closures, I prefer snaps, and as I have said many times before on this website, I prefer Dritz snaps to other brands. That’s because Dritz snaps come on a cardstock sheet, so you can … Continue reading Why I love Dritz sew-on snaps (and how to read a Dritz snaps card)! #SewingOnline #DollClothesPatterns

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Crafts and Hobbies, Fan Mail, Interviews With Crafters, Tutorials: Sewing Basics

Velcro or snaps? Which one do you prefer and why…? #SewingChat #DollClothesPatterns

Velcro. It’s that fabulous hook-and-eye stuff that you can sew onto fabric, making a doll dress or shirt’s back closure easy for children to take off and put back on. But is it the best closure method for your doll clothes? In today’s blog post, I’m going to explain when I use Velcro for my doll clothes and when I use snaps. Plus, at the … Continue reading Velcro or snaps? Which one do you prefer and why…? #SewingChat #DollClothesPatterns

Chelly Wood5 Comments
The image shows two rag dolls. The text says, "PDF Sewing Pattern" and below that, "rag doll patterns!" Plus we see the logo for ChellyWood.com in the lower left corner of the turquoise blue linen frame.
Crafts and Hobbies, Interviews With Crafters, Plushies/Stuffed Animals, Yarn and Embroidery

Rag Doll Patterns from Nikki at PinCutSew! #FridayFollow #DollClothesPatterns

Some of you, my followers, have asked me to design a plush doll pattern. Well… I have given that a try, only to discover I’m not very good at it. However another blogger and YouTuber, Nikki from Pin, Cut, Sew Studio is fantastic at making plush doll patterns! Plus, her blog post entitled, “The Ultimate List Of Barbie Sewing Patterns” has sent me over a … Continue reading Rag Doll Patterns from Nikki at PinCutSew! #FridayFollow #DollClothesPatterns

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The Chelly Wood doll points to a pink dress. In America, we would call this type of dress (that's sort of strappy at the shoulders and is intended to go over the top of a blouse) a "jumper," but in the UK they don't say "jumper" for this type of dress. The dress, which is very straight (not flared or A-line at all) is pink with tiny multi-colored polka dots.
2 Enchanting 2B True -- Doll Pics, Crafts and Hobbies, Fan Mail, Interviews With Crafters, Props and Dioramas, Tips for Beginners

Upcoming Tutorials, Videos, Projects, and Patterns

Today I’m going to give you a brief preview of the many projects I’m working on behind the scenes. As I’ve said in a previous blog post, I’ve started filming for my next class. That takes a lot of time and concentration, so I have to get lots of blog post materials prepped before I start to work on my Creative Spark coursework. And here’s … Continue reading Upcoming Tutorials, Videos, Projects, and Patterns

Chelly Wood2 Comments
In this image, we see a smattering of tools that will be needed to take the Creative Spark course on doll clothes pattern alterations with Chelly Wood. The items include the following: a doll, a ruler with metric and imperial measurements, a pencil with an eraser, graph paper, patterns that don't quite fit your doll, fabric, craft felt, ribbons, elastic, and post-it notes or scratch paper.
101 Ways to Support this Website, Creative Spark Online Learning, Interviews With Crafters, Tutorials: Crafts

“How to Alter Doll Clothes Patterns” Class Update @ctpublishing #DollClothesPatterns #DollCollector

I’m a school librarian in my “day job,” so over spring break, I brainstormed with my editor at C&T Publishing’s Creative Spark online learning platform. I wondered why so many people were curious about my class, but so few people actually signed up for it. My editor and I decided that the general audience didn’t understand a key element of my class: how to re-size … Continue reading “How to Alter Doll Clothes Patterns” Class Update @ctpublishing #DollClothesPatterns #DollCollector

Chelly Wood2 Comments
On a purple cotton background, we see the words "filming has begun for a new class" plus a video camera icon atop an image of two different sizes of dolls with tape measures all around them and a set of patterns beneath them. The ChellyWood.com log is in the lower left corner.
101 Ways to Support this Website, Interviews With Crafters, Tutorials: Doll Photography

Filming has begun for a new Creative Spark class! @ctpublishing #CraftLessons #DollClothesPatterns

Did you vote, back when I posted class topic options, on March 8th? Well it has nearly been a month since then, and the votes are all in! The next Chelly Wood class on the Creative Spark platform will be “How to Design Your Own Doll Pants From Scratch!” I really want to work with 15 inch dolls in particular, although the techniques I’ll be … Continue reading Filming has begun for a new Creative Spark class! @ctpublishing #CraftLessons #DollClothesPatterns

Chelly Wood4 Comments
The image shows two flowers embroidered on pink felt, using the Algerian Star and Rambling Rose Stitches with Detached Chain Stitch Leaves
Crafts and Hobbies, Daily Patterns, Interviews With Crafters, Yarn and Embroidery

Learning at the Laundromat @ ChellyWood.com #Embroidery and #DollClothesPatterns

Last weekend our dryer quit working, so, as it was raining (and therefore I couldn’t use the laundry line), I had to take my wet laundry to the laundromat to finish. When I was in college, I used my laundromat a lot, so I know that there’s a whole lotta waiting involved at a laundromat. These days most people look at their phones while they … Continue reading Learning at the Laundromat @ ChellyWood.com #Embroidery and #DollClothesPatterns

Chelly Wood11 Comments
With a purple frame around it, we see a hand with a tiny sewing project right in the middle of the palm of the hand. Beside this photo, we read the words "sewing in the time of covid." Below these images is the ChellyWood.com logo overshadowed by a graphic image of the corona virus.
Crafts and Hobbies, Interviews With Crafters

Sewing with Covid Fingers… #SewingProjects with #DollClothesPatterns

These are the projects I’m working on. I don’t know if you can tell, but those are some awfully tiny little doll clothes. Teeny tiny! Itsy bitsy! And… I have covid again. Ugh. At least, it’s the form of covid that I always seem to get. Whenever my husband gets covid, I get… something. I’m one of those weird freaky people who gets “covid toes” … Continue reading Sewing with Covid Fingers… #SewingProjects with #DollClothesPatterns

Chelly Wood10 Comments
Framed in purple, a brunette Barbie with Steffie face mold stares out of a photo at the camera past the words "who is this lovely lady?" and the logo for ChellyWood.com
Crafts and Hobbies, Doll Makeovers, Interviews With Crafters, Selling Your Crafts, Tips for Beginners, Vintage Barbie

Can you help identify this Barbie doll? #CollectibleToys #VintageDolls

Can you help me identify this Goodwill find? I recently discovered this lovely lady at my local Goodwill, for less than $3.00, and what a find! Her hind quarters indicated that she was a vintage Barbie doll, but her face doesn’t look that old. So I think we have a “mix-and-match” going on here. Sometimes a year will be printed on the back of the … Continue reading Can you help identify this Barbie doll? #CollectibleToys #VintageDolls

Chelly Wood14 Comments
Framed by a blue and purple quilt, the ChellyWood.com logo accompanies a close-up image of Simplicity 4883 Ideal Tammy doll clothes patterns and a pattern for making a shoe box closet that would work for most 11 inch or 12 inch fashion dolls like Ideal Tammy, Mattel's Barbie dolls, Rainbow High dolls, and dozens of other fashion dolls in this size range.
Interviews With Crafters, Old Patterns from Chelly's Collection, Tammy Doll Patterns, Tips for Beginners

Make a doll clothes closet out of a shoe box #DollClothesPatterns #ValentinesDayCrafts

The pattern you see my Chelly doll holding up in the image above is a Simplicity 4883 vintage Ideal Tammy doll clothes pattern. But did you notice that it also has a shoebox closet on the front of the pattern? It even gives instructions for making the shoe box closet for your fashion dolls, and it tells you what kinds of notions to buy for … Continue reading Make a doll clothes closet out of a shoe box #DollClothesPatterns #ValentinesDayCrafts

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