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.

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, Interviews With Crafters, Sewing Chat, Tips for Beginners, Tutorials: Sewing Basics

What do you do to prevent fray in your sewing projects? #SewingChat #SewingVocabulary

DEFINITION: Fray is when the threads or weave of a fabric or ribbon, or the braiding or twisting of string or yarn begins to unravel. This is my own definition, but you can find the Merriam-Webster definition here as well. As an Amazon Affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Please learn more about my affiliate marketing program on the Privacy Policy page. DISCUSSION QUESTION: What … Continue reading What do you do to prevent fray in your sewing projects? #SewingChat #SewingVocabulary

Chelly Wood2 Comments
This is the street view of the store, Home Grown Quilts, in Grangeville, Idaho, with its "Viking Husqvarna" sewing machine sign hanging from the rafters outside the store.
Crafts and Hobbies, Holiday Crafts, Interviews With Crafters, Links, Pillow Patterns, Yarn and Embroidery

Let’s take a tour of Home Grown Quilts in Grangeville, Idaho!

Last year for the 4th of July (American Independence Day), I went to visit family in North Idaho, and while I was there, I went to a quilting store called Home Grown Quilts. Breezi, the store manager’s daughter-in-law, who seemed to be in charge of the store around lunchtime that day, wasn’t just standing behind the cut counter scrolling through Tic-Toc jokes on her phone. … Continue reading Let’s take a tour of Home Grown Quilts in Grangeville, Idaho!

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With a tiny quilt framing it, we see an image of the McCall's 5462 doll clothes pattern on the right and an image of a Barbie doll modeling the shirt from view B in the McCall's Barbie clothes pattern on the left. An arrow points from the pattern to the doll's shirt.
Interviews With Crafters, Old Patterns from Chelly's Collection, Tips for Beginners

How to sew a boatneck top, using McCall’s Barbie pattern 5462 #SewingTips #DollClothesPatterns

If you’ve only recently started to sew doll clothes, you may feel a little challenged by projects that use a boatneck. According to Webster’s online dictionary, a boatneck top has “a wide neckline that extends toward the tips of the shoulders.” Don’t be discouraged when you see this type of neckline because I’m going to give you some tips by sharing one such project, from … Continue reading How to sew a boatneck top, using McCall’s Barbie pattern 5462 #SewingTips #DollClothesPatterns

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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.
Crafts and Hobbies, Holiday Crafts, Interviews With Crafters, Links, Selling Your Crafts

Where do you sell your handmade items? #CraftFair #Handmade

Recently it occurred to me that my pot holders — many of which are 10 years old or older — were starting to look pretty shabby. I was thinking about buying myself some new ones, when I wandered into my local health food store, Stay Well Health Foods, and discovered that handmade goods were being sold there. They had hand-knitted scarves and matching hats, aprons, … Continue reading Where do you sell your handmade items? #CraftFair #Handmade

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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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American Girl Doll Patterns, Favorite Books, Interviews With Crafters

What’s the Best Book for Teaching a Child to Sew? — Sew in Style by Erin Hentzel! #CraftyMoms #CraftyKids

Full disclosure here… I’m actually acquainted with Erin Hentzel, the author of Avery Lane Design’s book, Sew in Style. She’s a member of one of the doll clothes sewing groups that I belong to on Facebook, and she’s a fellow instructor at the Creative Spark Online Learning platform. Furthermore, as an Amazon affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases. But I actually bought this book back … Continue reading What’s the Best Book for Teaching a Child to Sew? — Sew in Style by Erin Hentzel! #CraftyMoms #CraftyKids

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The image shows a homeless man smiling while he holds a large quilt in front of a tent. The text reads, "Charity."
Charity Work, Crafts and Hobbies, Holiday Crafts, Interviews With Crafters, Sewing and Fashion History, Tips for Beginners

Do you quilt? My cousin’s story will warm your heart! ❤️ #Charity #Homelessness

When my cousin Anita Queen posted these pictures on Facebook, I called her up and asked if I could interview her about her charitable work as a quilter. Being a family relative and fellow seamstress, she gladly shared her story. Have you ever had a quilt that seems to grow dust? You’ve posted it on Etsy, taken it to craft fairs, and no matter what … Continue reading Do you quilt? My cousin’s story will warm your heart! ❤️ #Charity #Homelessness

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

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On a turquoise blue background, we read the words "Skates, boots, and high-tops." Below this and at a slight angle is a photo of the following (left to right): silver cowboy boots, black army boots, and white ice skates.
Crafts and Hobbies, Doll Shoes, Interviews With Crafters

The Woes of Buying Doll Boots, Skates, and High-tops on eBay #DollCollector #DollClothesPatterns

Doll boots can be a lot of fun to dress your doll in, when you’re making winter raincoats and ponchos for them to wear in your fall dioramas. But if you’ve ever tried to buy vintage Barbie boots, you’ll probably already be familiar with this little problem: Some sellers on eBay are experts at hiding the flaws in their products. Then, when you buy it … Continue reading The Woes of Buying Doll Boots, Skates, and High-tops on eBay #DollCollector #DollClothesPatterns

Chelly Wood18 Comments
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.
Charity Work, Crafts and Hobbies, Doll Clothes for Sale, Donate, For Sale in the Store, Interviews With Crafters, Selling Your Crafts, Uncategorized

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

Chelly Wood4 Comments
This thumbnail image shows the Chelly Wood doll (a Spin Master Liv doll) sitting at her computer, at her desk, in her office. The screen of her computer says, "YouTube" with the red and black YouTube logo (or something similar to it) on her little doll-sized computer screen. The text over Chelly's head says, "Favorite YouTube Channels! -- Please Share!"
Crafts and Hobbies, Doll Makeovers, Interviews With Crafters, Links

What’s your favorite doll-collecting or sewing-related YouTube channel? Please share! #FridayFollow

  Want to be entertained while you sew? Want to laugh out loud at funny memes, but also “Ooh” and “Ahh” at someone’s vast collection of cool vintage sewing patterns? If so, then Stephanie Canada is a sewist worth following! I’m starting off today’s blog post with one of Stephanie’s latest videos: “I made a Holiday Barbie dress out of TRASH!” The Holiday Barbie video … Continue reading What’s your favorite doll-collecting or sewing-related YouTube channel? Please share! #FridayFollow

Chelly Wood9 Comments
Use the link provided in the caption to get you to the free patterns and tutorial videos for this embroidery sampler that looks like a windmill.
Crafts and Hobbies, Interviews With Crafters

History Inspires Us — a little story from Chelly’s life experiences #StoryTime #History

Here’s a little-known fact about me: I’m a member of the DAR — the Daughters of the American Revolution. That means I have an ancestor who fought in the American Revolutionary War. And today I’m sharing a little story I wrote for my local DAR chapter’s newsletter. At the very end of this tale, you’ll see how it connects to sewing, so be patient as … Continue reading History Inspires Us — a little story from Chelly’s life experiences #StoryTime #History

Chelly Wood4 Comments
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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Two women share a sewing table, as seen from above, with the words "Who shares your sewing passion?" above the photo. This thumbnail image is framed in purple fabric with tiny white polka dots, and the Chelly Wood dot com logo appears at the bottom of the thumbnail.
11-inch doll clothes patterns, Barbie Patterns, Daily Patterns, Interviews With Crafters, Whole Costumes for Dolls

A sister-in-law who shares your passion is a treasure indeed!

For your free patterns and tutorial videos, please scroll down to the second set of bullets. Look at this pretty freckle-faced beauty! She’s modeling a lovely pleather jacket that my sister-in-law made from black pleather and (I believe cotton) cheetah print fabric. My sister-in-law used my Ken jacket pattern and made some alterations to the jacket, so it would basically fit a Barbie doll. I … Continue reading A sister-in-law who shares your passion is a treasure indeed!

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