Category: Tips for Beginners

A Judy Littlechap doll models a handmade doll dress while standing beside a vintage Tressy doll clothes sewing pattern (Simplicity 5731 Tressy Wardrobe).
Littlechap Dolls, Old Patterns from Chelly's Collection, Plushies/Stuffed Animals, Tips for Beginners

The Saga of Judy Littlechap’s Wardrobe Continues #DollCollector #DollClothesPatterns

Last Monday, I told you that I had decided to allow myself to be inspired by making my Barbie a vintage dress from Simplicity 5731, a wardrobe pattern for vintage Tressy dolls. My plan was to first make the dress in View 1 (above) for my vintage Barbie. Then, once I was comfortable with the pattern, I’d create a similar one for my Judy Littlechap doll … Continue reading The Saga of Judy Littlechap’s Wardrobe Continues #DollCollector #DollClothesPatterns

Chelly Wood2 Comments
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.
101 Ways to Support this Website, Crafts and Hobbies, Creative Spark Online Learning, Interviews With Crafters, Links, Selling Your Crafts, Tips for Beginners, Tutorials: Crafts

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!

Chelly Wood10 Comments
In this very close shot of Judy Littlechap's face, we see that she has light blue eyes, her eyebrows are in tact, and her lips are a deep grapefruit color. Her nose is sligly dirty, and there's a single spot of dirt on her left cheek, but her cheeks' blush is rosy and natural looking.
Doll Makeovers, Fan Mail, Littlechap Dolls, Selling Your Crafts, Tips for Beginners

Meet Judy Littlechap — a rare find at Goodwill! #DollCollector #DollClothesPatterns

I had never heard of Judy Littlechap, when I stumbled across her at my local Goodwill (a second-hand store). She was nude in a plastic bag, marked $2.99, but the date on her backside said she was from 1963. At first I was hesitant to buy her. We’ve all seen a date on the behind of a doll and went “Ooh la-la, a vintage doll” … Continue reading Meet Judy Littlechap — a rare find at Goodwill! #DollCollector #DollClothesPatterns

Chelly Wood8 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.
Baby Doll Patterns, Old Patterns from Chelly's Collection, Tips for Beginners, Tutorials: Sewing Basics

What is a yoke in sewing terms? #LearningToSew #DollClothesPatterns

Almost exactly one month ago, for Martin Luther King Day, I posted a blog post about this McCall’s 9449 doll clothes sewing pattern. In that blog post, I talked about how rare it is to find vintage patterns with representation of African American dolls on the envelope’s cover art. Well, it’s now February, and here in the US, we celebrate February as our Black History … Continue reading What is a yoke in sewing terms? #LearningToSew #DollClothesPatterns

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A purple and blue quilted frame encompasses the edges of a photo of Butterick's 6664 doll clothes sewing pattern which is standing upright next to a Black Barbie who models one of the dresses shown on the pattern's packaging. This dress is a long 1980's style of caftan. It should be noted that a photograph of celebrity Marie Osmond appears on the envelope of the Butterick 6664 doll clothes pattern. The Chelly Wood dot com logo is also shown at the side of the frame.
Creative Spark Online Learning, Old Patterns from Chelly's Collection, Tips for Beginners, Uncategorized

The Pattern that Taught Me How to Alter Doll Clothes — Butterick’s Marie Osmond 6664 Wardrobe #DonnyAndMarie #MarieOsmond

I learned to sew when I was very young (at age 3 I sewed a simple purse), but I credit the Butterick’s Personality Doll Wardrobe #6664 with teaching me how to alter my doll clothes patterns. I had a Marie Osmond Barbie doll, and I loved to sew for her, but for whatever reason, this particular pattern offered doll clothes that were slightly too big … Continue reading The Pattern that Taught Me How to Alter Doll Clothes — Butterick’s Marie Osmond 6664 Wardrobe #DonnyAndMarie #MarieOsmond

Chelly Wood1 Comment
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, Tips for Beginners, Uncategorized

Doll overalls and/or coveralls — how hard are they to sew? #VintagePatterns #DollClothesPatterns

Are you old enough to remember Kenner’s Dusty and Skye dolls? The Simplicity 7737 doll clothes pattern shown just below 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 awesome! Dusty had a body that looked more like a real teenage girl’s body than Barbie’s body did, and she came … Continue reading Doll overalls and/or coveralls — how hard are they to sew? #VintagePatterns #DollClothesPatterns

Chelly Wood1 Comment
The image shows a close-up of a Barbie doll's tummy with a tie-style belt wrapped around her waist. She's wearing a pink bathrobe under the belt. The text says, "DIY Belt" and the whole image plus text is overlaid on top of a purple cotton background with tiny white polka dots. The Chelly Wood dot com logo appears in one corner.
Barbie Patterns, Crafts and Hobbies, Creative Spark Online Learning, Daily Patterns, Links, Tips for Beginners, Tutorials: Crafts, Tutorials: Sewing Basics, Tutorials: Sewing for Dolls

Instructions for Making a Doll’s Belt from Bias Tape @ ChellyWood.com #DIYprojects #DollClothesPatterns

Today’s video offers simple, easy-to-follow instructions for making a doll’s wrap-around tie-style belt to fit Mattel’s Barbie dolls and similar-sized dolls. It’s a follow-up to the pajamas and bathrobe project that you can find when you click here. Here’s an image of that project: As you can see, the bathrobe has pockets! So be sure to click here, to go back and learn how to … Continue reading Instructions for Making a Doll’s Belt from Bias Tape @ ChellyWood.com #DIYprojects #DollClothesPatterns

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In a quilted purple and blue frame, we see an image of a Barbie wearing a handmade felt hat and coat of matching purple felt. Behind the Barbie is Simplicity doll clothes sewing pattern number 7601 with an enlargement focusing on the hat and coat from the pattern. The ChellyWood dot com logo appears at the side 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?) #SewingForBeginners #DollClothesPatterns #Sewing

Last week, we were 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 … Continue reading How to cut out a Barbie doll clothes sewing pattern Part 5 (How do you cut it?) #SewingForBeginners #DollClothesPatterns #Sewing

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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.
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?) #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

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In this thumbnail image, the Chelly Wood doll (really a Spin Master Liv doll that has been repainted and had its wig hair color altered to look like the real doll clothing designer, Chelly Wood) stands beside and points at the Simplicity 7601 doll clothes (Barbie sized doll clothes) pattern envelope. The words over the envelope say "simplicity 7601" and the Chelly Wood dot com logo appears to the left of the photo. The entire image is framed by a purple and turquoise blue quilt.
Crafts and Hobbies, Fan Mail, Old Patterns from Chelly's Collection, Paper Crafts, Tips for Beginners, Tutorials: Sewing Basics, Uncategorized, Vintage Barbie

How to cut out a Barbie doll clothes sewing pattern PART 1 (How do you read a pattern envelope?) @ ChellyWood.com #SewingTips #DollClothesPatterns #ChristmasCrafts

First, I want to thank a woman who contacted me quite some time ago, asking me “How do you even cut out a Barbie doll dress pattern?” Her daughter wanted to learn how to sew Barbie clothes, but the mother had never learned to sew. I wrote her question in my ever-growing booklet of doll clothes pattern requests, and when the time was right (about … Continue reading How to cut out a Barbie doll clothes sewing pattern PART 1 (How do you read a pattern envelope?) @ ChellyWood.com #SewingTips #DollClothesPatterns #ChristmasCrafts

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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?"
Interviews With Crafters, Old Patterns from Chelly's Collection, Tips for Beginners

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

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This image shows four different fabrics that remind us of knitted sweaters. The top fabric is ivory colored, the next fabric down is a rich burgundy color, the third fabric down is off-white, and the bottom fabric is sort of a peach color. The words above this say, "sweater fabric" and the whole thumbnail image is framed by a turquoise blue linen fabric.
Holiday Crafts, Interviews With Crafters, Tips for Beginners, Tutorials: Sewing Basics

Tips for Sewing Sweater Fabric for #SewingTip Tuesday #DollClothesPatterns

This 28″ doll’s sweater uses “sweater fabric” that I purchased on the sale tables at JoAnn Fabrics and Crafts. As winter approaches here in the northern hemisphere, you may find sweater fabric becomes available at your local fabric stores, so the time to buy it is drawing near. With a little bit of sweater fabric in your stash, you can try making different doll shirt … Continue reading Tips for Sewing Sweater Fabric for #SewingTip Tuesday #DollClothesPatterns

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