Category: Tips for Beginners

McCall's 4716, as discussed at chellywood.com (free doll clothes sewing pattern website). Left section shows all outfits offered by the pattern. Top row, left to right: overalls with check shirt and scarf; Native American style fringe-trimmed leather jacket with jeans; puffy vest, turtleneck, and trousers; check shirt with pants and scarf. Middle row, left to right: collared blouse with long skirt and apron; collared shirt with long ruffled sleeves, over which a shawl has been crisscrossed and a long skirt with ruffle; pinafore style long dress over collared shirt; cape with hood. Third row (bottom row), left to right: baby diaper; baby bunting; neck scarf; shawl. To the left of these drawings of the various outfits, Steve and Steffie and their little baby are pictured wearing the handmade overalls, check shirt with scarft, collared shirt, pinafore dress and a blue denim apron; and the baby bunting, respectively. The title of the pattern is "Carefree Patterns from McCall's 4716" and the price is listed as one dollar and twenty-five cents, with a Canadian amount at $1.35. The envelope also says "envelope contains all sizes."
Old Patterns from Chelly's Collection, Sewing and Fashion History, Tips for Beginners, Vintage Barbie

Is there a sewing pattern that fits 8 inch, 9 inch, 10 inch, 11 inch and 12 inch dolls? #DollClothes #SewingHacks

Today’s blog post is a collection of lessons I’ve learned while sewing McCall’s 4716 doll clothes patterns. As with other blog posts on my Vintage Pattern page, I’ll be adding to this list of lessons as I create different outfits using this pattern. The one feature of this pattern that surprises people most, is the fact that it fits both little dolls (Sunshine Family 8 and … Continue reading Is there a sewing pattern that fits 8 inch, 9 inch, 10 inch, 11 inch and 12 inch dolls? #DollClothes #SewingHacks

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McCall's 2970 doll clothes sewing patterns. Click the thumbnail for the article which talks about which dolls (including Topper Dawn and Pippa) will fit in this tiny six inch doll's wardrobe. Article available to read at chellywood.com
Fan Mail, Old Patterns from Chelly's Collection, Sewing and Fashion History, Tips for Beginners, Topper Dawn Dolls, Vintage Barbie

Is there a good sewing pattern for Miniature dollhouse-sized dolls and six-inch action figures? #MeMadeMonday #ActionFigures

On Friday I received a message from someone who was looking for patterns to fit the little tiny 6 inch Phicen dolls/action figures. McCall’s 2970 is one such pattern. In the image at the top of this post, I’ve included a list of dolls that the pattern envelope suggests. But I also think many dollhouse-sized dolls and possibly even the Phicen 6 inch action figures … Continue reading Is there a good sewing pattern for Miniature dollhouse-sized dolls and six-inch action figures? #MeMadeMonday #ActionFigures

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Here we see a photo of the Marie Osmond 6664 "Butterick's Personality Doll Wardrobe" envelope and its photo of an actual Marie Osmond doll modeling a red western shirt with white front yokes and a pair of shiny black pants. The pattern options to the doll's right are showing a yellow jumper (in the USA sense of "jumper" -- a sleeveless dress which is sometimes worn over a shirt): a floor length caftan dress with ribbon ties at the sleeve and a waistband; a blue, V-neck long-sleeved shirt with cuffs and a waistband; a long-sleeved white shirt with a collar and cuffs; a purple evening dance dress with a zig-zag-cut skirt and a bodice with straps that tie at the shoulders; a short camel-colored caftan blouse with a waistband and ribbon ties at the sleeves' ends; a green flared ice skater's skirt; a green body suit with long sleeves and a turtle neck. The Chelly Wood doll stands to the left of the envelope. The Marie Osmond doll is on the pattern envelope itself because Butterick 6664 is designed to fit the Marie Osmond Barbie doll.
Fabric, Old Patterns from Chelly's Collection, Sewing and Fashion History, Tips for Beginners, Vintage Barbie

What does “directional fabric” mean? #BeginnerSewing #SewingHack

Have you ever wondered why floral and polka dot fabrics are so popular? One of the reasons why people love polka dots and florals is because they’re usually non-directional fabrics. But what does that mean? Well, that’s what I’ll address today, and I’ll let you know how I made alterations to a Marie Osmond doll dress when I didn’t have enough of a directional fabric. … Continue reading What does “directional fabric” mean? #BeginnerSewing #SewingHack

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In a purple square frame, a photo of spilled straight pins appears under the words "straight pins".
Crafts and Hobbies, For Sale in the Store, Pincushions, Tips for Beginners

What size straight pins should I use? #SewingTips #BeginnerSewer

Sewing for dolls is a great way to break into sewing, for those who’ve never sewn before, so it probably won’t surprise you that I get questions about very basic concepts in my inbox now and then. Someone reached out to me in 2025 with the question, “What size straight pins should I use?” And I thought, That’s a good question to address in a blog … Continue reading What size straight pins should I use? #SewingTips #BeginnerSewer

Chelly Wood3 Comments
In this image, we see the top half of the Barbie Advance 9938 doll clothes sewing pattern. View 1 shows a typical just-below-the-knee strappy sun dress in yellow fabric. View 2 shows an Asian-style sheath dress with side buttons that run from the Mandarin collar across the bust, to the underarm. This View 2 dress is in solid blue. There's an arrow pointing to the View 3 dress, which is made with a pink bodice and a white floor length full skirt that's dotted with tiny pink flowers. This is a strapless party gown, and the doll wearing it is a cartoon-ish blond ponytail Barbie with a pink ribbon in her hair. The text which has an arrow pointing to the View 3 dress says "Advance 9938 View 3."
Curvy Barbie, Holiday Crafts, Jem and the Holograms, Old Patterns from Chelly's Collection, Sewing and Fashion History, Tammy Doll Patterns, Tips for Beginners, Vintage Barbie

Are there any sewing patterns that will fit big bust dolls? #MeMadeMonday #CustomDolls

When you own a doll with a big bust or a curvier figure than the average modern day Barbie, it can be challenging to find sewing patterns to fit her. People reach out to me now and then asking for patterns to fit dolls with curvier figures, from a variety of different doll making companies. So today’s blog post will show you an evening gown … Continue reading Are there any sewing patterns that will fit big bust dolls? #MeMadeMonday #CustomDolls

Chelly Wood2 Comments
Capri pants are trousers that fall between the knee and the ankle. Images shown include (clockwise from the top), a group of mannequins shown from the knee down, sporting various lengths of capris that fall between the knee and the ankle using various fabrics, including camouflage style with drawstrings at the hem, denims, and cotton fabrics; a vintage fashion doll sporting traditional 1950’s style pedal pushers; a photo of a woman in tight-fitting gingham ankle pants and a pair of wedge shoes (showing only her legs at a seated position); a diagram of a woman’s naked leg with brackets showing the hem area which falls between the bottom of the knee and the top of the ankle bone; a graphic of pajama pants with an elastic waist that are capri length; a graphic of a pair of khakis with a rolled hem, fly front, and pockets, that are shown as slightly longer than a pair of Bermuda shorts.
Crafts and Hobbies, Glossary of Sewing Terms with Pictures, Sewing Chat, Tips for Beginners

Glossary of Sewing Terms with Pictures: What are capri pants exactly? #FashionWise #MakeYourOwnClothes

DEFINITION: trousers that fall between the knee and the ankle. This is my own definition. Of course you can google this term to find other definitions as well. Here’s a link to Webster’s definition, and here’s a link to the Cambridge English Dictionary definition. As an Amazon Affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases. You can learn more about my affiliate marketing program on the Privacy … Continue reading Glossary of Sewing Terms with Pictures: What are capri pants exactly? #FashionWise #MakeYourOwnClothes

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The Chelly Wood doll stands next to the Advance 9938 Barbie doll clothes sewing pattern with her cartoonish sewing room behind her.
Fabric, Old Patterns from Chelly's Collection, Tips for Beginners, Vintage Barbie

What fabrics to avoid when sewing doll clothes #VintageBarbie #thriftedfabric

Today’s project is a vintage Barbie dress with panels across the bodice. I used two different vintage Barbie patterns to make this dress for a good reason: I was trying to use up my tiny bits of leftover purple fabric! I also had some black fabric, which I had bought at a yard sale. This black fabric was some sort of polyester blend, and it … Continue reading What fabrics to avoid when sewing doll clothes #VintageBarbie #thriftedfabric

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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, Fan Mail, Favorite Books, For Sale in the Store, Glossary of Sewing Terms with Pictures, Old Patterns from Chelly's Collection, Sewing Chat, Tips for Beginners

What is the right side in sewing? A quick guide… #SewingTips #EasySewingProjects

I’ve recently had some sewing newbies reach out to me, including one dad who’s teaching his daughter how to sew. Way to go, to all the dads out there who are learning to sew right along with their kiddos! And a question I often get from people who are new to sewing is this: What does “right sides together” mean in your videos? So today … Continue reading What is the right side in sewing? A quick guide… #SewingTips #EasySewingProjects

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Chelly Wood doll stands next to the pattern envelope for vintage Simplicity 9097, a 1970s era wardrobe for Barbie dolls. Among these patterns are the following ensembles: view 1: a wedding dress with empire waist, high collar, and bell sleeves; view 2: a similar evening gown shown in purple; view 3 a mod dress with pleated skirt and sleeveless bodice; view 3 B: the same mod dress shown with a short cape and scarf; view 4: a turtleneck blouse with raglan sleeves and a long skirt; view 5: the same blouse with a pair of trousers and a long, below-the-hip length vest.
Old Patterns from Chelly's Collection, Sewing and Fashion History, Tips for Beginners, Vintage Barbie

Learning to sew with vintage Simplicity 9097 Barbie patterns #MeMadeMonday #SewRetro

Today’s blog post is a collection of lessons I’ve learned while sewing the Simplicity 9097 doll clothes patterns. As with other blog posts on my Vintage Pattern page, I’ll be adding to this list of lessons as I create different outfits using this pattern. Before I go on, I need to make my required disclaimer statement: As an Amazon affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases. … Continue reading Learning to sew with vintage Simplicity 9097 Barbie patterns #MeMadeMonday #SewRetro

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This image is a quilt-like square with the Chelly Wood logo turned on its side. Beside the logo, we see a photo of Simplicity doll clothes pattern 8466 from the late 1960's or early 1970's. The dolls on the cover of this pattern are dressed in various fashions including one long dress pattern that uses an empire waist.
Old Patterns from Chelly's Collection, Sewing and Fashion History, Tips for Beginners, Vintage Barbie

How to alter a turtleneck so it’s a regular style of shirt #MeMadeMonday #SewingHack

The numbers for the View 5 and View 6 outfits are covered up by the price tag in the image above, but today’s blog post will explain how I removed the turtleneck collar from these two vintage Barbie shirt patterns, to create a more basic shirt neckline for this easy-to-make shirt. You may want to look back at last week’s post, so you can see … Continue reading How to alter a turtleneck so it’s a regular style of shirt #MeMadeMonday #SewingHack

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The Simplicity 9097 pattern envelope appears on the right. On the left, there’s a close-up of the doll clothes outfits for the View 3 skirt, top, cape and scarf. The blue “ra-ra” skirt is 1960’s style super-short with two pleats in the front. The white top is sleeveless with side darts. The scarf appears to be a white ribbon with red polka dots, tied around the doll’s neck. The blue cape is waist length and has two white buttons at the top of an asymmetrical closure.
Old Patterns from Chelly's Collection, Sewing and Fashion History, Tips for Beginners, Vintage Barbie

Sewing Ribbon to Fabric: Which ribbon would you pick and why? #SewingLessons #SewVintage

Last week’s Monday blog post was about finding someone else’s unfinished doll clothes project in an envelope for a doll clothes sewing pattern that I bought at a second-hand store. I decided to embrace the unfinished project, which was just a skirt piece for the View 3 dress from the Simplicity 9097 doll clothes pattern that you see pictured above. But there was a problem… … Continue reading Sewing Ribbon to Fabric: Which ribbon would you pick and why? #SewingLessons #SewVintage

Chelly Wood4 Comments
Various sewing and crafting notions like thread, a tape measure, scissors, and a writing utensil swirl around the words "Sewing Vocab" in a thumbnail frame. This is the default thumbnail for the sewing picture dictionary (or sewing glossary with pictures) on ChellyWood.com, a website that offers free printable PDF sewing patterns for making doll clothes to fit dolls of many shapes and all different sizes.
Crafts and Hobbies, Glossary of Sewing Terms with Pictures, Sewing Chat, Tips for Beginners, Tutorials: Sewing Basics

Glossary of Sewing Terms with Pictures: Buttonhole (and how to sew one) #SewingChat #SewingVocabulary

DEFINITION: A narrow zigzag stitch is used to form two side by side columns of stitches with a series of overlapping stitches top and bottom (or on each side); the frame formed by this is cut down the center to make a hole for a button. This is my own definition. Of course you can google this term to find other definitions as well. As … Continue reading Glossary of Sewing Terms with Pictures: Buttonhole (and how to sew one) #SewingChat #SewingVocabulary

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McCall's 6260 vintage Barbie patterns: view A shows a ponytail Barbie wearing a pink gingham dress with lace skirt overlaid and a matching pair of pink gingham panties (shown below the doll on a silver graphic line); View B shows a silver evening gown (strapless) with matching stole and a pink ribbon tied at the waist; View C shows a pink swing coat with very large pockets and lots of buttons; View D shows an orange Kimono style bath robe with white trim and a white belt tied at the waist; View E shows a pair of high-waisted black pants with a little bolero style pink top over the top of them; View F shows a blue bikini with tiny pink polka dots.
Old Patterns from Chelly's Collection, Sewing and Fashion History, Tips for Beginners, Vintage Barbie

Unfinished Sewing Projects #MeMadeMonday #SewVintage

Have you ever discovered someone else’s unfinished craft project or sewing project in an unexpected place? And if so, were you tempted to finish the project they started? Today’s blog post is about one such unfinished sewing project! I bought the envelope you see in the image above, and when I got home and opened it up… there was a UFO inside! (An unfinished object.) … Continue reading Unfinished Sewing Projects #MeMadeMonday #SewVintage

Chelly Wood5 Comments
The image shows a woman who is bent over a cutting mat with large doll clothes patterns laid out on the cutting mat. Above her it says, "how to cut doll clothes sewing patterns". There's also a small pink stamp overlaid on top of the image, which says, "pin and cut" and the texts on either side of the woman say, "special thanks to the mom who reached out to me for help" (left of the image) and "I hope you get to read today's blog post" (to the right of the image).
Crafts and Hobbies, Old Patterns from Chelly's Collection, Tips for Beginners, Tutorials: Sewing Basics, Uncategorized

How to cut out a Barbie doll clothes sewing pattern Part 5 (How do you cut it?) #SewersOfInstagram #MakersGonnaMake

Lately we’ve been learning how to cut out a Barbie doll clothes sewing pattern. I’m continuing that train of thought in today’s blog post, which reviews the cutting steps and adds a few details. When you’re getting ready to cut out your doll clothes patterns, it can be very helpful to see which garment pieces will need two identical pieces cut. For these, you can … Continue reading How to cut out a Barbie doll clothes sewing pattern Part 5 (How do you cut it?) #SewersOfInstagram #MakersGonnaMake

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ON a swatch of wool fabric, we see patterns for a jacket front, a jacket back, a hat top, and a hat crown. All of these are Barbie doll sewing patterns from Simplicity 7601 hat and coat set. Because the swatch of fabric is quite small, we see that the coat front has been aligned with the nap arrow facing East and west, while the coat back has its arrow facing north and south. The hat top arrow faces east-west while the hat crown's nap arrow faces north and south. The fabric is a burgundy color with black chevron-shaped print.
Crafts and Hobbies, Interviews With Crafters, Old Patterns from Chelly's Collection, Tips for Beginners, Tutorials: Crafts, Tutorials: Sewing Basics

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

Since Monday, I’ve been revisiting some older blog posts that teach some basics for cutting out a commercial sewing pattern. Today’s blog post is part of that series. I do have good news, though… My computer is back up and running after being in the fixit shop for most of the month of March. What does this mean? It means I have a LOT of … Continue reading How to cut out a Barbie doll clothes sewing pattern Part 3 (What do the arrows mean?) #Sewcialists #Sewing

Chelly Wood3 Comments