Category: Old Patterns from Chelly’s Collection

In a quilted frame, a grandmother hugs a granddaughter beside the photo of a Simplicity 4883 Tammy doll sewing pattern. The text reads, "Who taught you how to sew?" and under this text it says, "Simplicity 4883."
Old Patterns from Chelly's Collection, Tammy Doll Patterns

Who taught you to sew? Please share a memory… #SewingLove #Family #Friendship

The pattern you see my Chelly doll holding up in the image above was the first doll clothes pattern I can remember sewing. It was given to me by my grandmother, along with a sewing lesson. Both this pattern and my grandmother’s sewing lesson, combined with a single year of my childhood spent in solitude, transformed me into the doll clothes designer I am today. … Continue reading Who taught you to sew? Please share a memory… #SewingLove #Family #Friendship

Chelly Wood17 Comments
Here we see the Chelly Wood doll (she's actually a Liv doll that has had a make-over so it looks like the real person, Chelly Wood) holding up McCall's vintage Barbie pattern #6420 which has images of Barbie wearing six different outfits. The pattern's container is very worn but the images are colorful and sharp. This pattern was marked with a copyright of 1962. The thumbnail is framed with a purple and turquoise blue quilted frame.
Old Patterns from Chelly's Collection, Vintage Barbie, Vintage Ken

Vintage Barbie doll clothes patterns with underpants pattern — try McCall’s Pattern #6420 #VintageBarbie #VintageSewing

If you’ve been sewing for dolls for very long, you’re probably aware that doll underpants patterns are hard to come by. Of course, I have free underpants patterns on this website, and my patterns will fit lots of dolls, including the 6 inch American Girl dolls, Skipper, Barbie, and many Barbie-sized dolls, in addition to my baby doll bloomers and 18″ doll underpants pattern. (Click … Continue reading Vintage Barbie doll clothes patterns with underpants pattern — try McCall’s Pattern #6420 #VintageBarbie #VintageSewing

Chelly Wood2 Comments
The image shows a close up of the McCall's 9449 small baby and toddler doll pattern published in 1968. This image was part of a vintage pattern discussion on the ChellyWood.com website on Martin Luther King Day, in January of 2023. The patterns were shown to fit modern-day baby alive dolls.
18-inch doll clothes patterns, American Girl Doll Patterns, Old Patterns from Chelly's Collection, Tips for Beginners

I’ve been sewing with vintage McCall’s 9449 and here’s what I’ve learned about sleeve elastic! #Sewing #Vintage

My niece has a birthday coming up, and I’ll be giving her an 18 inch American Girl doll this year. I’ve made her a few doll clothes with my own, personally-designed patterns, of course, and I’ve also been experimenting with Simplicity 5276 (a modern pattern). But for my favorite outfit I’ve made so far, I used my re-sizing formula to adapt the pattern for making … Continue reading I’ve been sewing with vintage McCall’s 9449 and here’s what I’ve learned about sleeve elastic! #Sewing #Vintage

Chelly Wood1 Comment
The text reads "making pants with Simplicity 5276" and the image shows an American Girl 18 inch Kaya doll wearing a sleeveless top and a pair of denim look pants alongside the scanned image of the Simplicity 5276 sewing pattern for 18 inch dolls.
Crafts and Hobbies, Old Patterns from Chelly's Collection

Sewing my 18 inch dolls some pants/jeans with Simplicity 5276… #ShowAndTell #Sewing

I’ve been making a pair of denim-look pants for my 18 inch American Girl Kaya doll, using the sewing pattern Simplicity 5276. I really like the versatility of this pattern. As you can see in the image above, it offers a lot of casual combo outfits for an 18 inch doll, and it includes options for both summer and winter wear. Before I go on, … Continue reading Sewing my 18 inch dolls some pants/jeans with Simplicity 5276… #ShowAndTell #Sewing

Chelly WoodLeave a comment
On the left a real vintage Skipper from the 1960's models a handmade ball gown floor length dress decorated with red ribbons and bows on the red bodice and white skirt of the dress. On the right, a similar drawn figure of Skipper wears an identical ribbon and bow-embellished ball gown in red and white. The text reads "tricky tricky ribbons and bows! Simplicity 5861" -- between the real photo of a Skipper and the drawn Skipper in a fancy dress, we see a curly ribbon dangling from above and at the bottom, a big red bow.
Old Patterns from Chelly's Collection, Tips for Beginners, Uncategorized, Vintage Skipper

How to Make Ribbon Bows Simple with Simplicity 5861 for Skipper #Ribbons #Bows

In this lengthy series of blog posts, I’m sharing what I’ve learned by sewing all of the outfits offered in Simplicity 5861, a very extensive and well-designed pattern for vintage Skipper dolls. Today’s blog post explains how I made the bows that you see on my Skipper doll’s evening dress in the images above and below. I followed the instructions for making this dress — … Continue reading How to Make Ribbon Bows Simple with Simplicity 5861 for Skipper #Ribbons #Bows

Chelly WoodLeave a comment
This image shows a single music note with the words "inspirational crafting music" and it accompanies crafting or sewing inspirational music videos made by Chelly Wood, using the musicians featured on the Animoto movie making platform.
Crafts and Hobbies, Music Videos for Crafters, Old Patterns from Chelly's Collection

Inspirational quiet crafting music for sewing doll clothes w/Simplicity 5861 Skipper patterns @ ChellyWood.com #Music #MusicVideos

Okay, folks, I’ve created yet another music video to inspire your crafts! This music has gentle guitar and ukulele melodies in each of the instrumental tunes. Today’s video features the video clips and photos I took while making doll clothes for Skipper, using Simplicity 5861 vintage Skipper doll clothes sewing patterns. If you look back at Tuesday’s blog post, you’ll understand that by adding this … Continue reading Inspirational quiet crafting music for sewing doll clothes w/Simplicity 5861 Skipper patterns @ ChellyWood.com #Music #MusicVideos

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On the far left, we see the drawing from the cover of the envelope for vintage Skipper sewing pattern Simplicity 5861; in the center, a modern Mattel Stacie doll models a handmade version of the swing coat from view 5 of this vintage Skipper pattern, along with a scarf that looks slightly different from the one on the package / envelope drawing. In the far right photo, a vintage Skipper doll wears the exact same scarf and swing coat as we see pictured on the envelope for Simplicity 5861's vintage Skipper patterns. The text reads simply, "Simplicity 5861."
Old Patterns from Chelly's Collection, Stacie Patterns, Tips for Beginners, Uncategorized, Vintage Skipper

Scarf sewing secrets from Simplicity 5861 vintage Skipper doll clothes patterns! #SewingTips #Dolls

As my regular followers know, I’ve recently created all the doll clothes in Simplicity 5861 vintage doll clothes sewing patterns for vintage Skipper dolls. And I like to tell you what I’ve learned, once I’ve finished making a classic pattern like this one. Today I’ll give you a few simple pointers for making the scarf that goes with the View 5 pattern in the Simplicity … Continue reading Scarf sewing secrets from Simplicity 5861 vintage Skipper doll clothes patterns! #SewingTips #Dolls

Chelly Wood6 Comments
The text reads "lessons learned form sewing wedding dresses." Below this text is an image of the wedding dress from Simplicity 8281 Barbie doll fashions beside a handmade Barbie wedding dress with a three-tier skirt.
Old Patterns from Chelly's Collection, Uncategorized

How to make your Barbie wedding dress VINTAGE style! #SimplicityPatterns #Sewing

Last summer my best friend’s grandmother made a special request. She brought me some eyelet from her daughter’s original wedding dress and shared a photo of her daughter on her wedding day. Then she asked if I could create a similar dress for a doll. I gladly accepted the challenge, because dolly wedding dresses are just so much fun to make! YAY! I was already … Continue reading How to make your Barbie wedding dress VINTAGE style! #SimplicityPatterns #Sewing

Chelly Wood8 Comments
We see side-by-side images of vintage Simplicity 5861 sewing patterns. One has the original images of a blond vintage Skipper doll wearing each outfit in the ensemble. The other image shows a modern Stacie doll wearing the exact same outfits -- even the fabrics match! -- on the cover of the Simplicity 5861 original pattern envelope. This Stacie doll is Black with an African American natural hair look. She even wears the exact same socks and shoes and headbands/hair ribbons that Skipper wears on the original cover art for this Simplicity Skipper pattern ensemble! At the top of this pair of patterns, it says, "Who knew?"
Links, Old Patterns from Chelly's Collection, Stacie Patterns, Tips for Beginners, Vintage Skipper

Who knew modern Stacie dolls and vintage Skipper dolls were an exact match? #SewVintage #Barbie

Check this out! Can you believe it? I made the whole ensemble of doll clothes with my Simplicity 5861 pattern for vintage Skipper, and every single item in the ensemble fits not only vintage Skipper, but also modern Stacie dolls! I loved sewing this set. It was pure joy! Of course there were challenges along the way. I started with the View 2 gingham dress … Continue reading Who knew modern Stacie dolls and vintage Skipper dolls were an exact match? #SewVintage #Barbie

Chelly Wood2 Comments
Thumbnail shows a woman's hand preparing a swatch of fabric for making knife pleats. The two dolls shown are the modern Stacie in African American rendition of the doll, plus the drawing on the front of the Simplicity 5861 pattern envelope, showing a vintage Skipper doll modeling the handmade skirt.
Old Patterns from Chelly's Collection, Stacie Patterns, Tips for Beginners, Tutorials: Sewing Basics, Tutorials: Sewing for Dolls, Vintage Skipper

Making Pleats for a Skipper Skirt with Simplicity 5861 #VintageToys #Sewing

Do you see the folds in that little green skirt, in View 3 of my Simplicity 5861 doll clothes sewing pattern for Skipper dolls? Those are called pleats. Sometimes they’re referred to as “knife pleats.” And for a doll that’s tiny, like vintage Skipper and modern Stacie (shown below), it can be especially tricky to get the pleats just right. Yes, as the text says … Continue reading Making Pleats for a Skipper Skirt with Simplicity 5861 #VintageToys #Sewing

Chelly Wood2 Comments
Surrounded by a quilted frame, we see the ChellyWood.com logo and images of dolls modeling doll clothes from the 1970's. This image comes from Simplicity doll clothes pattern 7737, dated with a copyright of 1976.
Old Patterns from Chelly's Collection, Uncategorized

Whatever happened to Kenner’s Dusty dolls and Skye dolls? #VintageDolls #DollClothesPatterns

Are you old enough to remember Kenner’s Dusty and Skye dolls? Want to know why nobody seems to collect them these days? The Simplicity 7737 doll clothes pattern shown at the top of this blog post was one I owned back in the 1970’s and ’80’s. The patterns loosely fit Barbie, but they fit Dusty and Skye really well. Dusty was a doll with an … Continue reading Whatever happened to Kenner’s Dusty dolls and Skye dolls? #VintageDolls #DollClothesPatterns

Chelly Wood6 Comments
The image shows a vintage McCall's printed sewing pattern for making a wardrobe of doll clothes for "chubby baby and toddler dolls" in the size range from 12 to 22 inches, depending upon whether you purchase the small, medium, or large doll clothes pattern set. The striking image on this pattern (published by McCall's in 1968) is the fact that a doll with brown skin and black hair appears on this pattern front, along with a variety of little blond and red headed dolls.
Baby Doll Patterns, Old Patterns from Chelly's Collection, Uncategorized

Why aren’t there more multicultural dolls on sewing patterns? #SewingChat #BlackHistoryMonth

As we’re celebrating Black History Month in February, in the United States, I’d like to write about the fact that images on doll clothes sewing patterns available in the US today do not accurately reflect the demographics of our nation. Before Caucasian people came to North America, only Native American people lived here. To this day, Native American people and mixed-race Native Americans live in the … Continue reading Why aren’t there more multicultural dolls on sewing patterns? #SewingChat #BlackHistoryMonth

Chelly Wood6 Comments
A vintage Skipper wears a handmade yellow shirt and green pleated skirt with matching green knee-high socks and little black ballet flats. The skipper doll is dressed exactly like the image in view 3 on the envelope for Simplicity 5861, a wardrobe designed and published in the 1960's for a vintage Skipper doll. There's also a close-up of her hand-stitched green knee-high socks. This thumbnail's text reads "vintage Simplicity 5861" and it's framed by turquoise blue and purple quilted fabrics.
Old Patterns from Chelly's Collection, Uncategorized, Vintage Skipper

Nancy Drew, the mystery girl, makes a magical appearance with my Simplicity Skipper pattern 5861 #NancyDrew #SewVintage

Last summer I got my hands on an uncut version of this wonderful Skipper doll clothes pattern, vintage Simplicity 5861, an original pattern from 1964. Holy hand-stitching, Batman! I have REALLY enjoyed sewing this whole ensemble! My goal, last summer, was to make each item in the wardrobe to match the image on the envelope cover exactly. And guess what… I’ve gotten the whole thing … Continue reading Nancy Drew, the mystery girl, makes a magical appearance with my Simplicity Skipper pattern 5861 #NancyDrew #SewVintage

Chelly Wood2 Comments
The image shows a woman's fingers holding a tiny doll pants pocket, the cover art of Simplicity 8466 doll clothes sewing patterns from the 1960's, and a text that reads "vintage Simplicity 8466. All of this is framed by a turquoise blue and purple quilt.
Old Patterns from Chelly's Collection, Tips for Beginners

Transforming regular doll pants into pocketed cargo pants with vintage Simplicity 8466 #BarbiePatterns

I love my Simplicity 8466 Barbie doll clothes sewing pattern from 1969, but of course the outfits offered in this set of patterns (while vintage-adorable) are a little outdated for today’s children. But pants are pants, right? Wrong. The pair of pants in View 7 are sort of short with a bell bottom feature, that just doesn’t appeal to todays kids… UNLESS… Unless you add … Continue reading Transforming regular doll pants into pocketed cargo pants with vintage Simplicity 8466 #BarbiePatterns

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Surrounded by a quilted purple and blue frame, we see the logo for Chelly Wood dot com beside a close-up photo of a vintage bubble-cut Barbie wearing a white short sleeved blouse and a puffy green skirt with a waistband. The photo is somewhat pixelated, indicating that it's a vintage photo.
Old Patterns from Chelly's Collection

I’m making a blouse from the enchanting Sew-Easy Advance Barbie Pattern #2896, with a touch of whimsy… #Vintage #SewVintage

Disclaimer: As an Amazon affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases. A colleague of mine has two little girls who love Barbie, so of course, I’m sewing them a wardrobe of Barbie clothes because, well… that’s what I do. The first project I decided to tackle was the shirt shown in View 3 of the Sew-Easy Advance Barbie Pattern #2896. When I started the project, I … Continue reading I’m making a blouse from the enchanting Sew-Easy Advance Barbie Pattern #2896, with a touch of whimsy… #Vintage #SewVintage

Chelly Wood4 Comments