Category: Tips for Beginners

The image shows Mattel's Curvy Barbie modeling a hand-made shirt with cloth-covered tiny buttons. Each button is encompassed by a floss loop, all hand-made by the seamstress who blogs here, at ChellyWood.com.
Interviews With Crafters, Old Patterns from Chelly's Collection, Tips for Beginners, Tutorials: Sewing Basics

How to Tell When a Sewing Pattern Is NOT for Beginners (Part 3: Know Your Notions) #SewMuchFun #SewingNotions

  For the past two Mondays, we’ve been looking at Simplicity doll clothes pattern #4654, which is a super fun pattern for those of us who have been sewing for a while. However, in the image below, I’ve underlined some key terms that tell us this isn’t the ideal pattern for the absolute beginner. Today I’m going to talk about why certain sewing notions (those … Continue reading How to Tell When a Sewing Pattern Is NOT for Beginners (Part 3: Know Your Notions) #SewMuchFun #SewingNotions

Chelly WoodLeave a comment
Interviews With Crafters, Old Patterns from Chelly's Collection, Tips for Beginners, Tutorials: Sewing Basics

How to Tell When a Sewing Pattern Is NOT for Beginners (Part 2: Know Your Fabrics) #LearningToSew #Fabrics

  Last week we took a look at this pattern from Simplicity (doll clothes pattern #4654) which is a fantastic pattern for those of us who have been sewing for a while. However, in the image below, I’ve underlined some key terms that tell us this isn’t the ideal pattern for the absolute beginner. I’ve underlined some of the recommended fabrics on the pattern, and … Continue reading How to Tell When a Sewing Pattern Is NOT for Beginners (Part 2: Know Your Fabrics) #LearningToSew #Fabrics

Chelly WoodLeave a comment
Here we see the Chelly Wood doll from the ChellyWood.com website and the ChellyWood1 YouTube channel. She holds up a sewing pattern for 18 inch doll clothes. The pattern's cover image shows Simplicity 18" doll clothes pattern #4654 which includes patterns for making a lined hooded raincoat or coverup, a tank top and skort, a short-sleeved everyday dress, a sunny sleeveless top with capri pants, a T-shirt with cargo pants, and a crop top with skort or shorts. There's also an 18-inch doll pictured on the pattern wearing a denim jumper with overall straps. The doll wears a striped tee shirt under the overall-style jumper. (This is "jumper" in the US sense of the word -- not a "sweater" as we'd say in the US, but more of a dress with the style of overalls). The watermark on this photo reminds us to visit ChellyWood.com for free, printable sewing patterns for making doll clothes to fit dolls of many shapes and all different sizes. This image also has a header that says, "Today's topic of discussion: what makes a pattern difficult for beginners?" And in fact, if you navigate to the link to the article that accompanies this image, doll clothing designer, YouTuber, and writer Chelly Wood discusses all the features that make this particular pattern difficult for a beginner who is just learning to sew. This article is designed to help anyone who teaches sewing classes, is teaching another person how to sew, or people who are, themselves, just learning to sew, what to avoid when purchasing store-bought patterns.
Interviews With Crafters, Old Patterns from Chelly's Collection, Tips for Beginners, Tutorials: Sewing Basics

How to Tell When a Sewing Pattern Is NOT for Beginners (Part 1) #SewingForDolls #Handmade

I started sewing doll clothes when I was very young, back in the early 1970’s, but I didn’t really learn how to read patterns and pattern instructions until I was about 15 or 16. Reading the instructions on the back of a pattern can seem daunting to a child who is learning to sew, and therefore I don’t advise it for kids under age 12. … Continue reading How to Tell When a Sewing Pattern Is NOT for Beginners (Part 1) #SewingForDolls #Handmade

Chelly Wood2 Comments
The image shows the Difficulty Scale for Chelly's flowers. These are purple flowers with turquoise blue center. Lowest on the difficulty scale is a single flower. The most difficult projects have five flowers.
Creative Spark Online Learning, Fan Mail, Interviews With Crafters, Links, Selling Your Crafts, Tips for Beginners, Tutorials: Sewing Basics, Uncategorized

Helpful Tips and FAQ’s

If you click on the question, it will take you to the answer. Do you ever take requests? Why do you give your patterns away for free? It’s really nice of you to give us free patterns. What can I do in return? Do you have any sewing machine advice? Doll clothes are so tiny! Once I’ve made doll clothes using your Creative-Commons-marked patterns, am … Continue reading Helpful Tips and FAQ’s

Chelly Wood15 Comments