Category: Tips for Beginners

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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In this image, a quilted frame surrounds a close-up of the swimsuit image from McCalls Teen doll fashion 3429 doll clothes pattern, but the swimsuit (which normally appears in blue) has been redesigned in a salmon or coral colored-shade of pink. It's very becoming on the strawberry blond haired doll drawn there as the model.
Barbie Patterns, Old Patterns from Chelly's Collection, Tips for Beginners, Vintage Barbie

Vintage McCall’s “Teen Fashion Doll” swimsuit pattern Part Deux #Vintage #DollClothesPatterns

As you may recall from last week’s swimsuit pattern discussion, the Southern Hemisphere of our lovely planet Earth is currently enjoying summer, so in honor of my southern-hemisphere followers and fans, I’m doing some blog posts about the swimsuit/bodysuit pattern shown as View B, on the vintage McCall’s Teen Doll Fashion pattern number 3429, which appears above. Two weeks ago, I showed you my sewing … Continue reading Vintage McCall’s “Teen Fashion Doll” swimsuit pattern Part Deux #Vintage #DollClothesPatterns

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In this image, the Chelly Wood doll (a spin master Liv doll in a grey wig) holds out her hand toward an open cardboard box. The words above the box say Fab Scrap unboxing and Swimsuit Fabric. Inside the box, we can see purple swimsuit fabric spilling over the edge of the box.
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Fabric Scrap Haul from FabScrap, a fabric recycling center in New York #Sustainability #TextileWaste

Please consider sharing this video on social media, to help spread the word about FabScrap, and the good things they’re doing to help our planet. I’m not sure where I first heard about FabScrap. It could have been from my sister, who is super conscientious about being good to our beautiful planet earth. In any case, I wasn’t sure whether or not FabScrap would be … Continue reading Fabric Scrap Haul from FabScrap, a fabric recycling center in New York #Sustainability #TextileWaste

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The image shows the Chelly Wood doll holding out a hand toward a clipart image of a sewing box that stands open, and that contains thread and scissors. The words above the image say "sewing box ASMR."
Crafts and Hobbies, Fan Mail, Interviews With Crafters, Tips for Beginners, Tutorials: Crafts, Uncategorized

Sewing Box ASMR — a special treat from ASMR Tingle and Taps! #ASMR #Sewing

Special thanks to ASMR Tingle and Taps for creating this video especially for me and my followers. The ASMR Tingle and Taps channel on YouTube is owned and hosted by my cousin, who collaborated with me to create this special video for all of you, my followers. If you’re not familiar with the term ASMR, its acronym stands for Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response. According to … Continue reading Sewing Box ASMR — a special treat from ASMR Tingle and Taps! #ASMR #Sewing

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Framed by a turquoise blue and purple quilted frame, we see the shabby envelope for McCall's teen fashion doll pattern number 3429, with a close-up of its view A (a body suit with wrap-around pants) and view B (a swimsuit) doll clothes sketches. The ChellyWood.com logo appears alongside the pattern.
Old Patterns from Chelly's Collection, Tips for Beginners, Vintage Barbie

Read the directions! McCall’s “Teen Fashion Doll” pattern 3429 #SewingFail #DollClothesPatterns

  Today’s blog post is dedicated to all my followers who live south of the equator. Summer is about to start down there, so it’s time to do a blog post on swimsuits! Sorry for the terrible condition of my pattern in today’s blog post. Not only is the envelope in bad physical condition, but when I purchased it, this pattern was also missing quite … Continue reading Read the directions! McCall’s “Teen Fashion Doll” pattern 3429 #SewingFail #DollClothesPatterns

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In a quilted frame, we see the image of a Butterick vintage-style pattern for Barbie and Ken doll clothes which includes three outfits for vintage Ken dolls and three outfits for vintage Barbie dolls. The pattern number is 6668 Butterick. This image accompanies a discussion on ChellyWood.com about how sewing doll clothes is different from sewing clothes for human beings.
Crafts and Hobbies, Creative Spark Online Learning, Old Patterns from Chelly's Collection, Tips for Beginners

What is a pattern alteration? #SewingTips #DollClothesPatterns

The class I’m teaching on Creative Spark is called, “How to Alter Doll Clothes Patterns,” but what does “alter” even mean? Altering a pattern is exactly what it sounds like. You take a pattern and change it up — alter it — to be something different than its original designer intended. This is actually legal, especially when it comes to patterns. The Ohio State University … Continue reading What is a pattern alteration? #SewingTips #DollClothesPatterns

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Here we see the Chelly Wood doll displaying three new computer buttons: a shopping button, a blog button, and a sewing basics button.
Buyer's Guide, Crafts and Hobbies, Daily Patterns, Doll Measurements, Doll Shoes, Fan Mail, Links, Old Patterns from Chelly's Collection, Tape Measure Tuesday, Tips for Beginners, Tutorials: Sewing Basics, Yarn and Embroidery

New additions to ChellyWood.com #Blogging #DollClothesPatterns

  I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but my home page has a few new additions. One day, on my Facebook page, I mentioned that I’d been doing blog posts on “How to Sew Doll Shirt Collars,” and someone said, “Wait, there’s a blog on your website? How do I get to that?” I guess she only accessed my website from her phone, and for … Continue reading New additions to ChellyWood.com #Blogging #DollClothesPatterns

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An apron is a simple Christmas gift to make. You can usually whip one up in a couple of hours. On ChellyWood.com, the doll clothing designer, Chelly Wood, offers advice for making aprons for the whole family for Christmas. This image shows a quilted background with the photo of Simplicity Apron pattern 2691, showing an apron with a pocket and contrasting colors of fabric, along with a quilt-look table runner and a placemat pattern. Visit ChellyWood.com to join the chat.
Crafts and Hobbies, Holiday Crafts, Links, Old Patterns from Chelly's Collection, Tips for Beginners, Tutorials: Sewing Basics

How to Sew Apron Ties — Aprons make great gifts for the whole family! #HolidaySewing #ChristmasGiftIdeas

Maybe you’ve been thinking about sewing an apron for each of your family members as Christmas gifts, or even to use at Thanksgiving, when the whole family is visiting. They don’t take long to make. Simplicity apron pattern number 2691 is a simple pattern to follow. It comes with a table runner and placemats, and although it was published in 2009, it’s a timeless shape … Continue reading How to Sew Apron Ties — Aprons make great gifts for the whole family! #HolidaySewing #ChristmasGiftIdeas

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A purple and turquoise blue frame surrounds the Chelly Wood dot com logo and a close-up of a drawing of a vintage Barbie or Francie doll modeling a lovely rust or wine-colored evening gown dress with gold trim.
Old Patterns from Chelly's Collection, Tips for Beginners, Uncategorized, Vintage Barbie

What to do when you don’t have quite enough scrap fabric… #SewingTips #DollClothesPatterns

After my youngest daughter moved away to college, I boxed up a lot of the things she left behind in what used to be her bedroom, and I found a lovely satin pajama top that dated back to her middle school or early high school days, when she was pretty small. She has more of a woman’s figure now, so I assumed this little pajama … Continue reading What to do when you don’t have quite enough scrap fabric… #SewingTips #DollClothesPatterns

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Within a quilted frame, we see a stitched-style title that says "Doll Clothes Collars" and three different images of dolls wearing doll clothes with collars. On the far left is a baby doll in a plaid suit with his little white shirt having a pressed collar; in the middle is an 18 inch doll wearing a dress with a jacket that has a pretty pink collar, and on the right is a Ken doll wearing a Hawaiian shirt with a collar. In the lower left is the ChellyWood.com logo.
Old Patterns from Chelly's Collection, Tips for Beginners, Tutorials: Sewing Basics

5 tips for making doll clothes collars — all in one place @ ChellyWood.com #SewingTips #DollClothesPatterns

For the whole month of August, we’ve been learning my five tips for making doll clothes collars that really work well. But I thought it would be nice to have a single blog post that I can link to, whenever people need to find these tips all in one place. So here we go again with the tips and tricks about sewing doll clothes collars… … Continue reading 5 tips for making doll clothes collars — all in one place @ ChellyWood.com #SewingTips #DollClothesPatterns

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