Category: Tips for Beginners

The image shows a homeless man smiling while he holds a large quilt in front of a tent. The text reads, "Charity."
Charity Work, Crafts and Hobbies, Holiday Crafts, Interviews With Crafters, Sewing and Fashion History, Tips for Beginners

Do you quilt? My cousin’s story will warm your heart! ❤️ #Charity #Homelessness

When my cousin Anita Queen posted these pictures on Facebook, I called her up and asked if I could interview her about her charitable work as a quilter. Being a family relative and fellow seamstress, she gladly shared her story. Have you ever had a quilt that seems to grow dust? You’ve posted it on Etsy, taken it to craft fairs, and no matter what … Continue reading Do you quilt? My cousin’s story will warm your heart! ❤️ #Charity #Homelessness

Chelly Wood4 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

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A turquoise blue linen fabric frames a photo of different types and colors of elastic. The text reads, "Fantastic Elastic" and this thumbnail leads to a blog post about the variety of different sizes of elastic available and which ones suit your doll clothes for sewing projects.
Crafts and Hobbies, Tips for Beginners, Tutorials: Sewing Basics

How to Sew Elastic Directly Onto Fabric #SewingTips #SewingHacks

  It’s confession time. I have some great video tutorials with brand new patterns waiting in a queue. Why haven’t I posted them? I’ve lost my voice! I’m currently on spring break from my full-time job as a school librarian, which usually gives me a lot of time to create, edit, and record voice-overs for my doll clothes sewing tutorials. Unfortunately, I’ve caught some sort … Continue reading How to Sew Elastic Directly Onto Fabric #SewingTips #SewingHacks

Chelly Wood8 Comments
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

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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
This is a Canva-made purple framed image of basic sewing tools, including scissors, thread, straight pins, safety pins, buttons, and some swatches of felt. The text reads "sewing basics" under the photo, with the Chelly Wood dot com logo below the photo.
Crafts and Hobbies, Fan Mail, Interviews With Crafters, Links, Plushies/Stuffed Animals, Tips for Beginners, Tutorials: Sewing Basics

Tips and Tricks for Beginners, Just Learning to Sew @ ChellyWood.com #LearningToSew #SewingTips

Are you new to sewing? Or are you thinking about teaching a child how to sew? If so, you might want to read my blog post about the top 10 sewing supplies you’ll need in a beginner’s sewing basket. I’ve got a playlist of tutorials for the beginning sewists on my YouTube channel as well. It includes video tutorials like: How to do a basic straight stitch when sewing by hand … Continue reading Tips and Tricks for Beginners, Just Learning to Sew @ ChellyWood.com #LearningToSew #SewingTips

Chelly Wood2 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
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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This is a Canva-made purple framed image of basic sewing tools, including scissors, thread, straight pins, safety pins, buttons, and some swatches of felt. The text reads "sewing basics" under the photo, with the Chelly Wood dot com logo below the photo.
Crafts and Hobbies, For Sale in the Store, Tips for Beginners

New to Sewing — What do I need? Here are the 10 basic sewing supplies for beginners who are just learning to sew…

For those of you who are regular followers, in recent months you’ve seen a number of posts about the top ten items I would put in a sewing kit, if I were a beginner and brand new to sewing. Today’s blog post is a roundup of all ten items. On the other hand, if you just happened to stumble across my website, you may have … Continue reading New to Sewing — What do I need? Here are the 10 basic sewing supplies for beginners who are just learning to sew…

Chelly Wood2 Comments
A turquoise blue linen fabric frames a photo of different types and colors of elastic. The text reads, "Fantastic Elastic" and this thumbnail leads to a blog post about the variety of different sizes of elastic available and which ones suit your doll clothes for sewing projects.
Crafts and Hobbies, For Sale in the Store, Tips for Beginners

What size elastic should I use for my doll’s clothes?

In November, I started a series that listed my top 10 items I’d put in a sewing kit for a beginner. Of course I was working up to Christmas, and trying to make a list of items for a sewing kit you might give someone for Christmas. But then I got caught up in my Elf on the Shelf outfit series, and now I find … Continue reading What size elastic should I use for my doll’s clothes?

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The thumbnail, framed by a turquoise blue and purple quilt, shows the front of the envelope for Simplicity 5861, a vintage doll clothes pattern for Skipper, from 1964. The text in this thumbnail reads, "Vintage Skipper Simplicity 5861" and under this, we see the Chelly Wood dot com logo.
Old Patterns from Chelly's Collection, Tips for Beginners, Vintage Skipper

Learning to sew with Simplicity 5861 vintage Skipper doll clothes patterns #VintageDolls #DollClothesPatterns

To say that I adore the Skipper 5861 Simplicity pattern from 1964 would be an utter and complete understatement. It’s so awesome, I have no words to express the fun I’ve had when making each and every one of the outfits pictured on the front of the envelope! *Please note: As an Amazon affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases. To learn more about how my … Continue reading Learning to sew with Simplicity 5861 vintage Skipper doll clothes patterns #VintageDolls #DollClothesPatterns

Chelly Wood4 Comments
On a purple background, a woman's hand holds up a yellow card with a blue stripe running down the left side. At the top of the bleu stripe, the Dritz logo appears as white logo image and text on top of a black background. The card holds 10 of the 12 sew-on snaps that were originally place on the card. Two of the snap locations are now vacated and holes are punched through the card where the snaps would have been.
Crafts and Hobbies, For Sale in the Store, Tips for Beginners

Snaps for Sewing Projects: a Great Way for Beginners to Close their Doll Clothes! #Sewing #DollClothes

Note: As an Amazon affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Today’s blog post is the ninth post in my series on “What to include in a beginner’s sewing kit.” And we’ll be discussing snaps today. If it’s doll clothes you’re wanting to make, you’ll need some snaps to close the back of the shirts and dresses you’ll be sewing, and as you can see in … Continue reading Snaps for Sewing Projects: a Great Way for Beginners to Close their Doll Clothes! #Sewing #DollClothes

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Here we see a collage of eight different Christmas or holiday fabric patterns. In the first row we see (left to right) a green sweater fabric with tiny reindeer, a white fabric with light blue swirls and holiday images, a green-on-red plaid, and a white sweater fabric with tiny red snowflakes and trees in a row. The bottom row of fabrics can be described as follows (again, left to right): Christmas gnomes, sprigs of evergreen trees with red and white dots scattered about, white fabric with red holiday candy stripes, and green leaves with red berries. In the center of the collage, the white words "holiday fabrics" appears on a green strip.
Crafts and Hobbies, For Sale in the Store, Tips for Beginners

Fabric — a necessity for a beginner’s sewing kit! #LearningToSew #Sewing

Please note: As an Amazon Affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Today’s blog post is part of a series of posts on the top 10 items I would include in a sewing kit for an absolute beginner, who is just learning to sew. Fabric is the #8 item on the list, but by no means less important than the others I’ve blogged about so far. … Continue reading Fabric — a necessity for a beginner’s sewing kit! #LearningToSew #Sewing

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The text in this thumbnail reads "What is a seam ripper used for?" and the purple frame surrounds a red seam ripper tool with a metal pointy end and a red plastic ball on the shorter of the forked ends. The handle of the seam ripper / unpicking tool is made of shiny red plastic.
Crafts and Hobbies, For Sale in the Store, Tips for Beginners

What is a seam ripper used for? How to use an unpicking tool… #ChristmasCrafts #Handmade

Note: As an Amazon affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Here at ChellyWood.com, I’ve been giving you my list of the top 10 items I would put in a beginner’s sewing kit. Coming in at #7 is a seam ripper (AKA an unpicking tool). A beginner may not know how to use one of these handy little items, so I’ll include in today’s blog posts some … Continue reading What is a seam ripper used for? How to use an unpicking tool… #ChristmasCrafts #Handmade

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