A photo of a sewing table is overlapped by a photo of a "closed" sign on a pink background. The text above these two images says, "Out of the Office." All of these elements are on a blue background with stars and swirly white filaments. This is the thumbnail for a blog post about how Chelly Wood will be out of the office for a while, because she is recovering from West Nile Virus.

Please keep me in your prayers!

Please keep me in your prayers everyone. I spent two days in the hospital before the doctors discovered that I have West Nile Virus. I’m back at home now, but like “Long Covid,” the after effects of West Nile Virus can lead to long-term complications. Right now I’m on strict bed rest, so I’ll be “out of the office” for a while, as far as … Continue reading Please keep me in your prayers!

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.

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

The image shows an African American or African doll wearing her underpants and bra. All around her are images of outfits someone has made for her. She stands next to a tape measure.

Should I bring back doll sewing measurements? Your opinion is needed! #Sewing #TapeMeasureTuesday

I used to do a blog post under the category “Tape Measure Tuesday,” and I’ve been thinking about bringing this feature back. After all, when it comes to sewing, measurements are important! They help you decide whether or not your favorite doll can swap clothes (and sewing patterns) with other dolls of a similar size and shape. Today I’d like to get a little feedback … Continue reading Should I bring back doll sewing measurements? Your opinion is needed! #Sewing #TapeMeasureTuesday

The image shows the Difficulty Scale for Chelly's flowers. These are purple flowers with turquoise blue center. Lowest on the difficulty scale is a single flower. The most difficult projects have five flowers.

Helpful Tips and FAQ’s for People Who Love to Sew for Dolls #DollClothes #SewingTips

The following information is also found on my “Frequently Asked Questions” page (i.e. FAQ’s). You may have noticed that my difficulty scale’s flowers have changed colors over time. You can tell how old my patterns are by the colors of the flowers on them. Now this doesn’t seem related, but actually it is… My oldest daughter graduated from Idaho State University recently with a college … Continue reading Helpful Tips and FAQ’s for People Who Love to Sew for Dolls #DollClothes #SewingTips

This image shows Chelly Wood's sewing goals printable digital sewing planner sheet, filled out with Chelly's goals for 2023. Beside the image of the goal sheet is a hot pink text that says hashtag goals!

My goals for 2023! #SewingGoals #DigitalPlanner

The goal sheet shown in the image at the top of this page is easy to download and available as a PDF document that you can purchase in color or in greyscale, in my Etsy store for a whoppin’ 99 cents (American)! Please consider supporting the Chelly Wood library of free, printable PDF sewing patterns, by purchasing your own printable goal sheet from my Etsy … Continue reading My goals for 2023! #SewingGoals #DigitalPlanner

On a purple cotton fabric with tiny white polka dots (the backdrop color) we see an orange cat wearing spectacles, seated at a sewing machine. Pink fabric is in the machine, and the cat's facial expression clearly shows her frustration, even though she carries her white-tipped tail high as she sits at the sewing machine with grumpy whiskers.

There’s a CAT in my Sewing Room! #CharityProject #FeralCat

It has always been my goal to build a sustainable business income that will help me endure any hardships my family and I may face, once I retire from my day job as a school librarian (my retirement is scheduled for 2026 — three years away). However, as I said in my March 15th blog post, the income for this website actually dropped by about … Continue reading There’s a CAT in my Sewing Room! #CharityProject #FeralCat

Surrounded by a purple fabric with white polka dots, is an image of the Chelly Wood doll holding up her business ledger, while seated in her sewing room/office. Beside this photo is a green circle with a white dollar symbol in the middle, and above both of these images are the words, "twenty twenty-two income full disclosure". This is the thumbnail for a blog post on the Chelly Wood dot com website, about the amount of income ChellyWood LLC earned in the year 2022.

How much money does Chelly Wood make? Here’s a quick look at the $$$ I made in 2022… #TaxTime #DollClothesPatterns

Every year, since this website began to earn money, I’ve been divulging how much money I make on this website and what charities I have given to. You can see sums of income and charitable donations of the past when you click on “About the Designer” in the main menu. The scribbly-scrawls in today’s blog post are from the actual pages of my business ledger … Continue reading How much money does Chelly Wood make? Here’s a quick look at the $$$ I made in 2022… #TaxTime #DollClothesPatterns

This thumbnail shows the Chelly Wood doll (a Spin Master Liv doll) seated at her computer and over the top of her desk are the words "free canva course!" In the lower left corner of the thumbnail is the Chelly Wood dot com logo.

Let’s take a FREE Canva class together on March 23rd!

Have you ever wondered how I create my thumbnails, colorful blog images, and business logos? I use a type of software that’s available to everyone who has internet access, and the software is actually free: Canva! Today’s blog post is a simple announcement with a helpful tip for those of you out there who are small-business owners, making doll clothes and selling them online. Or … Continue reading Let’s take a FREE Canva class together on March 23rd!

The image shows a handmade oven hot pad, sewn using holiday printed fabric, which can be purchased online at StayWellHealthFoods.com

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

This past holiday season, 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 … Continue reading Where do you sell your handmade items? #CraftFair #Handmade

Sewing machine image on a turquoise blue background with sewing accoutrements.

Which New Year’s resolutions did I accomplish in 2022? #NewYearsResolutions #DollClothesPatterns

Everybody’s busy making resolutions for the upcoming year, but today I’m going to reflect on the resolutions I set back in 2022. What was I able to accomplish? My Strawberry Shortcake 11 inch doll, which I bought at a second hand store and restored from her earlier state of disarray, now has her own gallery, here on ChellyWood.com, so that was an accomplishment for 2022! … Continue reading Which New Year’s resolutions did I accomplish in 2022? #NewYearsResolutions #DollClothesPatterns

The image shows a floral frame around the words "Happy 2023" on a pastel background.

Submit Questions to Doll Play Video YouTube Channel “Unicorn Rainbows” #FunStuff #QandA

Disclaimer: the video above is not one of Chelly Wood’s videos, and Chelly is not affiliated with the Unicorn Rainbows Toys & Dolls YouTube channel. Recently the YouTubers at Unicorn Rainbows Toys and Dolls left a kind comment on one of my videos. Out of curiosity, I visited their YouTube channel and discovered all the amazing videos they are making. Go check out their YouTube … Continue reading Submit Questions to Doll Play Video YouTube Channel “Unicorn Rainbows” #FunStuff #QandA

Framed by a purple and turquoise blue quilt, we see the Simplicity 1372 doll clothes pattern, which fits Ginny dolls (vintage Vogue Ginny) and muffy dolls, with someone's handwriting written over the top stating "1955 copyright". Also, a "spotlight" image has enlarged View 6 from the pattern, showing a close-up of a little vintage Vogue Ginny doll with a rose in her curly blond hair. The doll's arms are partly raised, and she wears a bright pink dress with tiny white polka dots, white lace trim, and a big pink ribbon (which is tied around her waist). The ChellyWood.com logo is found alongside the cover art for the Simplicity 1372 doll clothes patterns envelope.

What doll clothes patterns do you remember fondly from long ago? #SewingChat #DollClothesPatterns

I keep a PO Box for my ChellyWood.com business, and just imagine my surprise when I opened up my post office box and found vintage Ginny doll clothes wardrobe pattern, Simplicity 1372, waiting inside! This Christmas will be the first year my husband and I will be spending the holidays alone (without our two grown children) in more than 20 years. I was worried that … Continue reading What doll clothes patterns do you remember fondly from long ago? #SewingChat #DollClothesPatterns

Here we see blue fabric with multi-colored (yellow, turquoise, lime green, and navy) polka dots. A doll's jacket pattern has been laid on top of the blue mulit-polka-dot fabric. The obvious instructions on this jacket pattern is a giant two-headed arrow, running north-and-south along the front of the jacket.

How to cut out a Barbie doll clothes sewing pattern Part 3 (What do the arrows mean?) #Fabric #DollClothesPatterns #Sewing

Do you see that double-headed arrow, which runs north-and-south on my Barbie coat pattern from the Simplicity 7601 doll clothes sewing patterns? When people first start sewing, a lot of times they have no idea what that arrow means. Its officially called a grainline arrow, but my mom and grandma always called it the “nap arrow.” It lets you know how to align your doll … Continue reading How to cut out a Barbie doll clothes sewing pattern Part 3 (What do the arrows mean?) #Fabric #DollClothesPatterns #Sewing

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.

Set sewing goals for 2023 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 2022 rolls around, I’m realizing that I didn’t make as much money as I had hoped on my Creative Spark classes, my website ads, and the ads on my YouTube channel. Somehow I have to earn enough to … Continue reading Set sewing goals for 2023 with my 99 cent digital, editable sewing planner @ ChellyWood.com #SewingGoals #NewYearsResolution

The square turquoise-and-purple frame looks like a miniature quilt frame surrounding the image of Simplicity doll dress pattern number 4364 and the new Chelly Wood logo. Visit ChellyWood.com to read the article that accompanies this image, entitled, "What are the easiest doll dress patterns to sew?"

Simplicity 4364: a great pattern for 18 inch dolls’ holiday dresses! #18inchDolls #DollClothesPatterns

Are you looking for a holiday dress pattern to fit 18 inch dolls like Adora Amazing Girls, American Girl dolls, My Generation Journey Girls, and some of the other popular brands of 18 inch dolls? Well Simplicity 18″ doll clothing pattern #4364 is a really good choice! It only shows one dress in holiday fabric on the envelope for this pattern, but use your imagination and … Continue reading Simplicity 4364: a great pattern for 18 inch dolls’ holiday dresses! #18inchDolls #DollClothesPatterns