The Chelly Wood doll stands next to the Advance 9938 Barbie doll clothes sewing pattern with her cartoonish sewing room behind her.

Have you ever made a Barbie dress with panels? #HolidaySewing for #Barbie

My Advance 9938 sewing pattern for Barbie comes from the early 1960’s, and it has some really fun patterns to try. I’ve truly enjoyed making a Christmas dress, using the strapless gown in the View 3 image from this vintage doll clothes pattern. *Please note: when you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this … Continue reading Have you ever made a Barbie dress with panels? #HolidaySewing for #Barbie

The text reads "Holiday Sewing Inspiration Music" and it shows Christmas tree ornaments hanging from the top of the thumbnail in purple and pink colors, with a snowy turquoise and white colored background. On top of this background are vintage sewing patterns Advance 9938 for vintage Barbie dolls and Simplicity 4510 sewing patterns for vintage Barbie dolls, both from the early 1960's. When you go to the ChellyWood.com website to watch this video, it shows a woman's hands sewing the doll clothes from these two patterns, using some vintage fabrics from the 1960's and 1970's, along with final images of the dolls dressed in their holiday dresses. This video is supposed to inspire your own holiday Barbie doll sewing projects! The YouTube channel, ChellyWood1 offers more inspirational videos for making doll clothes, both for the holiday season and any time of the year...

Vintage holiday Barbie sewing inspiration music! Get inspired to sew! #SewingInspiration #Sewing

Okay, folks, I’ve created yet another music video to inspire your crafts! Want to make doll clothes with these vintage Barbie sewing patterns? Here are the links to purchase them on eBay: Simplicity 4510 for Vintage Barbie Vintage Advance 9938 Barbie If you look back at this blog post, you’ll understand that by adding this music to your playlists on YouTube, it not only gives … Continue reading Vintage holiday Barbie sewing inspiration music! Get inspired to sew! #SewingInspiration #Sewing

The text reads "simplicity 4510" followed by the words "holiday dress." The image shows the cover art for the envelope for the Simplicity 4510 Barbie doll clothes wardrobe from the 1960's, and beside this, a titian bubble cut Barbie models a red holiday dress dotted with tiny white Christmas trees.

How important is the grainline with dolls’ clothes sewing projects? Simplicity 4510 from the 1960’s will show us! #Sew #Vintage

Before we start, I’d like to thank my friend Julie for giving me this lovely doll. She’s a real vintage bubble-cut Barbie! I had never owned one before — even as a kid — and one day Julie stopped by, to drop off a huge box of Barbies. This lovely lady was among the dolls she gave me. That’s a story for another day, but … Continue reading How important is the grainline with dolls’ clothes sewing projects? Simplicity 4510 from the 1960’s will show us! #Sew #Vintage

The text atop this photo collage says, "Writing a Memoir." Then we see a string of Polaroid photos held up with clothespins. Left to right, the photos show a personal notebook with a rainbow on the cover; a series of outline notes that include an image of a Tammy doll clothes sewing pattern; two vintage Barbie doll clothes patterns.

What are you working on for the holidays? Please leave a comment! #ChristmasProjects #ChristmasGifts

As many of my regular followers know, in my “day job” I work as a school librarian. This year in December I will be giving my “Secret Santa” gifts to our PE teacher, who happens to have a little girl who’s three years old. So of course I’m making doll clothes for her, to give as my Secret Santa gifts! REQUIRED AFFILIATE MARKETING STATEMENT:  As … Continue reading What are you working on for the holidays? Please leave a comment! #ChristmasProjects #ChristmasGifts

The image shows sewing pattern Simplicity 8281 for Barbie, Cher, and Farrah Fawcett dolls.

The Patterns of Christmas Past — Share a memory! #Sewing #VintageSewing

Whenever I dig up my Simplicity 8281 doll clothes sewing pattern, it always reminds me of a Christmas in about 1982  or 1983, when I used this pattern to sew a whopping 60 doll clothes outfits, and I sold them all to classmates and neighbors, to raise money for our family’s Christmas gifts. My favorite of these patterns was the View 4 dress because it … Continue reading The Patterns of Christmas Past — Share a memory! #Sewing #VintageSewing

Beside the Advance 2896 vintage Barbie doll clothes sewing patterns we see a series of swatches of solid colored fabrics lying next to a harvest printed fabric. A yellow arrow points to a line of colored and numbered circles along the selvage (also spelled selvedge) edge of the harvest printed fabric. The text reads, "Advance 2896: What are these dots?"

How to use the selvedge (AKA selvage) circular color guide (AKA the color registration marks) when choosing matching fabrics @ ChellyWood.com #Fabric #Sewing

Over the last two weeks, I’ve been sharing with you my sewing adventures, as I made a harvest-themed outfit for vintage Barbie dolls, using Sew-Easy patterns by Advance, pattern number 2896, view three, the shirt and skirt separates set. As you can see in the image on the right (above), the outfit I’ve made uses a pretty harvest-themed cotton fabric. But what if I wanted … Continue reading How to use the selvedge (AKA selvage) circular color guide (AKA the color registration marks) when choosing matching fabrics @ ChellyWood.com #Fabric #Sewing

A vintage Malibu Barbie models a handmade dress. She stands beside a photo of Advance 2896 vintage Barbie doll clothes sewing patterns, which is labeled "Sew-easy by Advance, Barbie, Mattel teen fashion doll patterns, around-the-clock wardrobe."

How I altered the neckline of vintage Barbie pattern Advance 2896 to fit better #SewingTips #VintageSewing

Last week we took a look at the skirt pockets on my Sew-Easy Advance 2896 vintage Barbie doll sewing pattern, and today I’m going to explain how I altered the neckline of the cap-sleeved shirt that is part of this View 3 pattern set. To be clear, the skirt in the image above is a separate garment from the shirt. Now quickly, let me make … Continue reading How I altered the neckline of vintage Barbie pattern Advance 2896 to fit better #SewingTips #VintageSewing

A vintage Malibu Barbie models a handmade dress. She stands beside a photo of Advance 2896 vintage Barbie doll clothes sewing patterns, which is labeled "Sew-easy by Advance, Barbie, Mattel teen fashion doll patterns, around-the-clock wardrobe."

Sew-Easy by Advance 2896 vintage “Around the Clock” sewing patterns — Let’s talk pockets! #Pockets #VintageSewing

While making this lovely harvest-themed Advance 2896 View 3 skirt for a vintage Malibu Barbie, I read through the directions, and while the directions are quaint and a lot of fun to read, it may surprise you to learn that I don’t always follow them. Sometimes I know an easier way of piecing together a garment, and I believe that’s the case with my vintage … Continue reading Sew-Easy by Advance 2896 vintage “Around the Clock” sewing patterns — Let’s talk pockets! #Pockets #VintageSewing

In a quilted frame the text reads "Advance 2896" and a photo of a Bubblecut Barbie shows her wearing a Halloween candy printed black dress. An arrow points from the Barbie to the View 5 image on the envelope of a Sew-Easy Advance pattern for Barbie.

What can you do when a doll dress is too small? Here’s one idea… #LittleThings #SewingTips

Last Monday’s blog post was all about a mystery surrounding the bodice from my Sew-Easy Advance 2896 doll clothes pattern, View 5 dress. Today’s blog post will pick up where I left off, so if you didn’t read about last week’s bodice mystery, click here to go back to that mysterious story to learn more. *Please note: when you click on links to various merchants … Continue reading What can you do when a doll dress is too small? Here’s one idea… #LittleThings #SewingTips

This thumbnail shows harvest colors of fabric with three images of Barbie dolls in holiday or harvest or Halloween outfits. The text reads, "Halloween slash harvest holiday music for crafting."

Please consider adding today’s holiday crafting music video to your YouTube playlists for the holidays! #HolidayCrafting #MusicVideo

Okay, folks, I’ve created yet another music video to inspire your crafts! If you look back at this blog post, you’ll understand that by adding this music to your playlists on YouTube, it not only gives you music to inspire your crafting and sewing projects, but it also help the YouTube algorithm to understand that my channel is worth watching! So if you like the … Continue reading Please consider adding today’s holiday crafting music video to your YouTube playlists for the holidays! #HolidayCrafting #MusicVideo

In a quilted frame the text reads "Advance 2896" and a photo of a Bubblecut Barbie shows her wearing a Halloween candy printed black dress. An arrow points from the Barbie to the View 5 image on the envelope of a Sew-Easy Advance pattern for Barbie.

I discovered an unexpected gem in vintage Sew-Easy by Advance Barbie patterns! #VintageClothes #VintageBarbie

If you’ve ever bought a vintage doll clothes pattern, you may have found a hidden gem inside the pattern envelope. Sometimes I’ll find an old receipt, a pre-cut outfit with its original vintage fabric still pinned onto the pattern, or a hand-written note that the previous owner left, to help them remember little nuances about the pattern (see image above for one such example). But … Continue reading I discovered an unexpected gem in vintage Sew-Easy by Advance Barbie patterns! #VintageClothes #VintageBarbie

The image shows the Chelly Wood doll holding up a McCall's Crafts sewing pattern which displays the finished projects of a Barbie sized wedding dress, various pants and shirts, a cape, and evening gowns. The article that goes with this image offers advice for buying sewing patterns for making doll clothes, using the eBay auction platform. Please visit ChellyWood.com for additional sewing ideas plus free printable sewing patterns and tutorial videos for making doll clothes to fit dolls of many shapes and all different sizes.

Tips for Buying Used Doll Clothes Patterns on eBay @ ChellyWood.com #AmSewing #DollClothes

  Have you ever purchased doll clothes sewing patterns on eBay? I have. In fact, the pattern pictured above, McCall’s Crafts pattern 4400, was one I purchased about a year ago. Yes, the pattern you see in the image above is outdated, but there are some timeless patterns in this set, as well as out-of-style fashions. The wedding dress pattern can be used for a … Continue reading Tips for Buying Used Doll Clothes Patterns on eBay @ ChellyWood.com #AmSewing #DollClothes

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.

Reversible Garment Examples and What Can Go Wrong! #SewingTips #SewingHacks

Among all the hundreds of free sewing patterns here on ChellyWood.com, I actually do have a couple of examples of reversible garments. I recommend the reversible tank top you see above, for a couple of reasons. First, it’s a good starter project if you’re new to sewing reversible garments. Second, as a clothing item, it fits a lot of different dolls. Furthermore, if you’re up … Continue reading Reversible Garment Examples and What Can Go Wrong! #SewingTips #SewingHacks

Ah, the power of tulle! #Sewing #SewingProjects

Today I want to explain the many uses of tulle in my blog post, but before I begin, I need to make my disclaimer statement. First, as an Amazon affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Second, I belong to other affiliate marketing programs as well. Please read more about how affiliate marketing works on my Privacy Policy page. Quite some time ago, I used my … Continue reading Ah, the power of tulle! #Sewing #SewingProjects

Please visit ChellyWood.com for free printable sewing patterns and tutorial videos for making doll clothes to fit dolls of many shapes and all different sizes. This is a text box with a purple and turquoise quilted look to it. The text states, "Sewing tips for beginners: clothing items to avoid." This is the fourth installment in a four part blog article series which reviews the topics, terms, and items to watch out for on a pattern's instructions if you're just starting to learn sewing. Visit ChellyWood.com for free printable sewing patterns and to read the other blog articles in this series for beginners just learning how to sew.

How to Tell When a Sewing Pattern Is NOT for Beginners (Part 4: Difficult Garments) #SewEasy #SewingFun

This is the last installment of a four-week journey to discover what makes a pattern difficult for beginners who are just starting out with their very first sewing projects. By “beginners,” I’m referring to adults learning to sew as well as children of all ages who are learning to sew. We’ve been studying a single pattern, Simplicity doll clothes pattern #4654, which is a fun … Continue reading How to Tell When a Sewing Pattern Is NOT for Beginners (Part 4: Difficult Garments) #SewEasy #SewingFun