Advance 9939 vintage Barbie doll clothes patterns (the envelope that the patterns come in) is shown with the Chelly Wood doll, framed in a quilted border. The text reads "Advance 9939 vintage Barbie patterns."

I made a SUPER CUTE Valentine’s Day jacket for Barbie with vintage Advance Barbie Patterns 9939! #ValentinesDay #SewVintage

When I first got this Advance 9939 vintage pattern set for Barbie, and I took all the patterns out of the envelope, I took one look at this jacket and thought, “Oh boy. That’s not good.” The green arrow in the image above shows how weird that sleeve looks. Why on earth would someone design a sleeve like a letter M? That’s just strange. If … Continue reading I made a SUPER CUTE Valentine’s Day jacket for Barbie with vintage Advance Barbie Patterns 9939! #ValentinesDay #SewVintage

Advance 9939 vintage Barbie doll clothes patterns (the envelope that the patterns come in) is shown with the Chelly Wood doll, framed in a quilted border. The text reads "Advance 9939 vintage Barbie patterns."

Learning to Sew with Advance 9939 Vintage Barbie Doll Clothes Patterns #VintageSewing #SewOver50

I purchased my vintage Advance 9939 sewing pattern for Barbie dolls last summer, and ever since then, I’ve been exploring these patterns with joy in my heart! Once I complete an outfit, I try it on various dolls to see which modern and collectible dolls can fit in these outfits, and I hope to share what I’ve learned in the blog posts I’ll be linking … Continue reading Learning to Sew with Advance 9939 Vintage Barbie Doll Clothes Patterns #VintageSewing #SewOver50

The image shows a quilted frame around a photo of the cover of the Simplicity 4883 doll clothes pattern envelope. Above the photo, it reads, "Simplicity 4883." Beside the photo is a graphic of a giant yellow and turquoise blue question mark. Below this is the Chelly Wood dot com logo.

Three times I made mistakes when sewing Simplicity 4883 for Ideal Tammy dolls #MLK #Oops!

If you are a regular follower of this blog, then you probably already know I’m a big fan of the Simplicity 4883 sewing pattern. I’ve been making doll clothes with Simplicity 4883 since my early childhood. In fact, it was the first pattern ever given to me, and it was from this pattern that I learned how to alter doll clothes. From there, I learned … Continue reading Three times I made mistakes when sewing Simplicity 4883 for Ideal Tammy dolls #MLK #Oops!

Advance 9939 vintage Barbie doll clothes patterns (the envelope that the patterns come in) is shown with the Chelly Wood doll, framed in a quilted border. The text reads "Advance 9939 vintage Barbie patterns."

I jazzed up a vintage Barbie pattern, Advance 9939, by slapping on a bias tape collar!

See that cute little summer top in View 2 of this vintage Advance 9939 doll clothes pattern* package? That’s what I was working on — creating that set of culottes with the sleeveless blouse that looks so cute and sweet on Ponytail Barbie in the drawings. That’s not what I got though. Ugh! *Please note: when you click on links to various merchants on this … Continue reading I jazzed up a vintage Barbie pattern, Advance 9939, by slapping on a bias tape collar!

Advance 9939 vintage Barbie doll clothes patterns (the envelope that the patterns come in) is shown with the Chelly Wood doll, framed in a quilted border. The text reads "Advance 9939 vintage Barbie patterns."

Can Ideal Tammy dolls wear vintage Barbie clothes? #SewVintage #IdealToys

Today’s blog post attempts to answer the question, “Can Ideal Tammy dolls wear vintage Barbie clothes?” I’ll be focusing on one vintage Barbie doll clothes pattern in particular: the ice skating outfit from View 4 of the Advance 9939 doll clothes pattern from 1961. The two dolls–Ideal Tammy and vintage Barbie–have very different body measurements, and you can learn more about Tammy’s body measurements in … Continue reading Can Ideal Tammy dolls wear vintage Barbie clothes? #SewVintage #IdealToys

The Chelly Wood doll stands beside a close-up image of the view 3 doll dress from Simplicity 4510, a vintage Barbie pattern. This view 3 dress is red, has a one-shoulder style bodice, and a pencil skirt. there's a tulle overlay atop the pencil skirt of the dress.

How to make a tutu for a doll — super easy instructions! #isew #cosplay

I’ve already given away this lovely one-shoulder dress, which I made using the vintage Simplicity 4510 pattern, view three. And the tulle “tutu-style” overskirt is not a part of the actual dress, as you can see in the image above. Instead, the tutu (made of tulle with a bias-tape-like waistband that ties in the back) is a separate item of clothing, from the one-shoulder pencil-skirt … Continue reading How to make a tutu for a doll — super easy instructions! #isew #cosplay

The Chelly Wood doll stands beside the Simplicity 4510 vintage Barbie pattern envelope. The Chelly Wood doll looks like she's holding up the envelope. The Chelly Wood doll wears a red and white gingham shirt with matching hair scarf, and a pair of black pants with black flats. The image has a quilted frame.

Can Curvy Barbie wear vintage Barbie doll clothes? #BarbieStyle #ChristmasGifts

I was pleased to discover that Curvy Barbie was able to wear one of the garments from this vintage Simplicity 4510 doll clothes pattern from the 1960’s! But which garment do you think it is…? Which view from the envelope? Give it a guess before scrolling down to see if you’re right. *Please note: when you click on links to various merchants on this site … Continue reading Can Curvy Barbie wear vintage Barbie doll clothes? #BarbieStyle #ChristmasGifts

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