Category: Tips for Beginners

On a purple cotton background with a turquoise blue ribbon title that states in white words, "five types of trim to use when sewing doll clothes" we see a photo of a woman's well-manicured hands poised a top pink fabric, as she applies a wavy lace trim with the sewing machine's presser foot's needle in the center of the photograph.
Crafts and Hobbies, Tips for Beginners, Yarn and Embroidery

5 commonly used trims for sewing doll clothes #Sewing #DollClothes

I’ve already posted a whole article on the ten ways you can use ribbon trims. (Click that link to go back and read it.) So today I’m going to skip over ribbon as one of the five commonly used trims for embellishing doll clothes. Ribbon is probably the most common form of trim that doll clothing sewing enthusiasts tend to use. It’s inexpensive, it comes … Continue reading 5 commonly used trims for sewing doll clothes #Sewing #DollClothes

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The image shows a purple, white, and turquoise colored infographic with the title "Buyer's Gide" at the top, and the following elements listed within the text boxes of the infographic: buttons, snaps, ribbon, elastic, labels, zippers. The watermark says "ChellyWood" to remind you that you can get lots of doll clothes sewing advice and free patterns at ChellyWood.com
Buyer's Guide, Crafts and Hobbies, Doll Measurements, Fan Mail, Interviews With Crafters, Links, Tips for Beginners, Tutorials: Sewing Basics

Buyer’s Guide

I often get questions about where to buy tiny buttons, small-print fabrics, snaps, itty-bitty buckles, miniature zippers, and even sewing machines and their parts. So I’ve put together a “Buyer’s Guide” to help you with that. This is primarily an affiliate marketing page. As an Amazon Affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases. However I am an affiliate marketer for other websites too. To learn more … Continue reading Buyer’s Guide

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The image shows a quilted frame around a photo of the cover of the Simplicity 4883 doll clothes pattern envelope. Above the photo, it reads, "Simplicity 4883." Beside the photo is a graphic of a giant yellow and turquoise blue question mark. Below this is the Chelly Wood dot com logo.
Old Patterns from Chelly's Collection, Sindy, Tammy Doll Patterns, Tips for Beginners, Uncategorized, Yarn and Embroidery

Have you ever read a pattern incorrectly? And how did it turn out? #SewingChat #SewingPatterns

Once again, I’ve been working with vintage Simplicity pattern 4883 for Ideal Tammy dolls. This time I was making the little red coat in View 1. As you can see in Figure 2 above, the image on the envelope shows little black stitches at the neckline and waistline of the finished coat. I saw this and thought, “Oh goodie-goodie gumdrops! I can do some embroidery!” … Continue reading Have you ever read a pattern incorrectly? And how did it turn out? #SewingChat #SewingPatterns

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The thumbnail shows a close-up image of a paper sewing pattern on a table or work desk. A graphic of a little blue heart-shaped pincushion appears in the lower right-hand corner. The text reads "A Big Announcement!" and the Chelly Wood dot com logo appears at the bottom of the purple polka dot thumbnail frame.
2 Enchanting 2B True -- Doll Pics, Barbie Patterns, Crafts and Hobbies, Doll Play Videos, For Sale in the Store, Tips for Beginners, Whole Costumes for Dolls

Announcement: a Highly Anticipated Doll Clothes Pattern…

  If you enjoyed this video and you’d like to see more of them, you might want to navigate over to my YouTube channel, ChellyWood1 to look through my playlists. You may be subscribed to my website but not my YouTube channel… Now’s a good time to consider subscribing! Maybe you want to subscribe to my website but you don’t know how that’s done. On … Continue reading Announcement: a Highly Anticipated Doll Clothes Pattern…

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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, Tutorials: Sewing Basics, Tutorials: Sewing for Dolls, Uncategorized, Vintage Skipper

How to sew a hook and eye on doll clothes w/Simplicity 5861 #SewingTips #Crafting

Today I’m going to explain how to sew a hook and eye onto the back of a doll’s garment. Specifically, I’ll be working with the bodice for Dress View 6 in the Simplicity doll clothes wardrobe pattern 5861 for vintage Skipper dolls. Just in case you don’t know the vocabulary, the pink arrow in Figure 1 above points to the “hook” and the green arrow … Continue reading How to sew a hook and eye on doll clothes w/Simplicity 5861 #SewingTips #Crafting

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The image shows a quilted frame around a photo of the cover of the Simplicity 4883 doll clothes pattern envelope. Above the photo, it reads, "Simplicity 4883." Beside the photo is a graphic of a giant yellow and turquoise blue question mark. Below this is the Chelly Wood dot com logo.
Old Patterns from Chelly's Collection, Sindy, Tammy Doll Patterns, Tips for Beginners

Can vintage Pedigree Sindy dolls fit in doll clothes made for vintage Tammy? (Part 2 — View 3 Wrap Skirt) #DollCollector #PedigreeSindy

Last week’s blog post was called, “Can vintage Sindy dolls fit in clothes made for vintage Tammy? (Part 1).” We saw, last week, that Pedigree Sindy dolls are able to fit in Dress View 1 from my Simplicity 4883 sewing pattern, but the bust seemed a little roomy for her. To read that whole blog post, please click here. Today’s blog post revisits the question, … Continue reading Can vintage Pedigree Sindy dolls fit in doll clothes made for vintage Tammy? (Part 2 — View 3 Wrap Skirt) #DollCollector #PedigreeSindy

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The image shows a quilted frame around a photo of the cover of the Simplicity 4883 doll clothes pattern envelope. Above the photo, it reads, "Simplicity 4883." Beside the photo is a graphic of a giant yellow and turquoise blue question mark. Below this is the Chelly Wood dot com logo.
Old Patterns from Chelly's Collection, Sindy, Tammy Doll Patterns, Tips for Beginners

Can vintage Sindy dolls fit in clothes made for vintage Tammy? (Part 1 — View 1 Shift Dress) #Sewing #Patterns

If you’re a Tammy doll collector, you’ll very likely be equally familiar with Sindy, the Pedigree version of Ideal’s Tammy. Sindy, of course, became tremendously popular in the United Kingdom in the 1960’s and 1970’s. Today’s blog post asks the question, “Can vintage Sindy dolls fit in clothes made for vintage Tammy?” And before I go any further, I want to make my affiliate marketing … Continue reading Can vintage Sindy dolls fit in clothes made for vintage Tammy? (Part 1 — View 1 Shift Dress) #Sewing #Patterns

Chelly Wood2 Comments
On a purple background we see a photo of a Barbie from the back, and her purple crop top has a row of cloth-covered buttons running down the length of the back of the shirt. Beside this image, a yellow button has been covered in yellow check gingham fabric and stitched. The text reads, "cloth-covered buttons".
11-inch doll clothes patterns, Crafts and Hobbies, Curvy Barbie, Daily Patterns, Tips for Beginners

How to make doll-sized fabric-covered buttons #CraftyMom #CraftProjects

If you just want the patterns and tutorial videos for making the whole outfit, please scroll down to the second set of bullets. Today’s craft project video shows you how to make cloth-covered buttons for dolls. In my video, you’ll see that I used 6 mm diameter buttons to form the back closure for a crop top that will fit Curvy Barbie, but I recommend … Continue reading How to make doll-sized fabric-covered buttons #CraftyMom #CraftProjects

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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 yesterday’s swimsuit pattern article, 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. On Monday, I showed you my sewing fail, with regard to this swimsuit / bodysuit pattern. Once I’d tossed my salmon-colored first attempt aside, I decided to give it another … Continue reading Vintage McCall’s “Teen Fashion Doll” swimsuit pattern Part Deux #Vintage #DollClothesPatterns

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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

  In the northern hemisphere, summer is just around the corner, 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 a few pieces. But it had the swimsuit/bodysuit pattern (which was what … Continue reading Read the directions! McCall’s “Teen Fashion Doll” pattern 3429 #SewingFail #DollClothesPatterns

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The image shows a doll being fitted for a pair of denim shorts. Beside her lies a pair of sewing scissors, a rotund holder for straight pins, some blue thread, and a pair of jeans with some fabric cut out. The text reads, "Earth Day Challenge!" Click here to learn more about the Earth Day Challenge for sewing doll clothes during the week of April 20th through the 27th in 2024, for Earth Day.
Charity Work, Crafts and Hobbies, Links, Tips for Beginners, Tutorials: Crafts

Challenge! Let’s use recycled fabric to make doll clothes this coming week! #EarthDay #Sustainability #TextileWaste

Please read the article below to learn more about FabScrap, and the good things they’re doing to help our planet, as well as Chelly Wood’s sewing challenge for Earth Day 2024! 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 … Continue reading Challenge! Let’s use recycled fabric to make doll clothes this coming week! #EarthDay #Sustainability #TextileWaste

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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

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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

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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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