The text in this thumbnail reads, "How to improve a doll's bangs (fringes)" and it shows before and after photos of an Anna doll from Disney's Frozen. In the before photo, the bangs or fringes are separated into two wild curls, while in the after photo, the bangs or fringes lay more or less straight against her forehead. In the before photo, tiny braids extend above her head, whereas in the after photo, the braids are gone. The Chelly Wood dot com logo appears in the lower left corner.

How to Improve a Doll’s Bangs (Fringes)

Yesterday we looked at “How to Unbraid a Doll’s Braided Hair” (see link), and today we’re going to learn how to get a doll’s bangs (or as they say in the UK, “fringes”) to lay flat. If you’ll notice in the photos above and below, the Anna doll from Frozen II has been played with a lot! And for whatever reason, her bangs/fringes are split … Continue reading How to Improve a Doll’s Bangs (Fringes)

In this thumbnail, a text at the top reads "How to 'unbraid' tiny doll braids" while a photo below shows a Disney princess Anna toddler doll with a tiny braid sticking up above her head on the left and on the right of her head, a similar braid has been successfully unraveled. The Chelly Wood dot com logo appears in the lower left corner of this thumbnail image.

How to Unbraid a Doll’s Braided Hair

I found this little wild child at my local Goodwill store, and bought her for $2.50 American. As you can see in the images above, she had clearly been played with a lot and generally loved by a child. The biggest challenge with cleaning this doll was her hair. Those tiny braids! But I have found a way to unbraid a doll’s braided hair that … Continue reading How to Unbraid a Doll’s Braided Hair

If you collect Dawn, Pippa, or other 6-inch fashion dolls, your help is requested…

*Please note: when you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include Amazon, JoAnn Fabric, Etsy, and the eBay Partner Network. As an Amazon affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases. To learn more about how my website uses affiliate marketing, please visit the website’s Privacy Policy … Continue reading If you collect Dawn, Pippa, or other 6-inch fashion dolls, your help is requested…

Here we see a close-up of a Mattel Barbie's face. She's wearing a pillbox hat, made of felt, which was sewn using the Simplicity 7601 doll clothes pattern. This lovely Barbie has pale pink lipstick, what might be considered an olive complexion or perhaps a Mediterranean complexion, light brown eyes, and blond, curly hair. The pillbox hat rests gently over her curls, and the felt the hat is made from is a pale purple, almost lilac color. The hat is tipped slightly over her right eye. The coat she wears is barely seen in the image, but it too, is made of the lilac felt. The Chelly Wood dot com logo appears in the lower left corner.

The benefits of sewing with felt when making doll clothes #SewEasy #DollClothesPatterns

As far as fabrics go, felt is relatively cheap, it’s available in most people’s stashes, and it’s easy to sew by hand or on a sewing machine. But is it okay to use for doll clothes? That’s what today’s blog post is going to address. I really love felt for making doll coats and hats, as you can see in previous blog posts I’ve written … Continue reading The benefits of sewing with felt when making doll clothes #SewEasy #DollClothesPatterns

On the left, we see a Barbie doll modeling a scoop-neck blue satin shirt. On the right, we see McCall's Crafts pattern 5462. A pink arrow connects the View B sewing project on the cover of the McCall's sewing pattern to the image of the doll in her blue satin shirt.

How to alter the neckline of a boatneck shirt pattern @ ChellyWood.com #DollClothesPatterns #Sewing

Do you see that blue satin shirt on the left in this photo? It’s the boatneck shirt from my McCall’s Barbie pattern 5462, but I’ve altered the neckline. Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve been showing you different ways to alter a single pattern for making a Barbie doll shirt. Today I’m going to show you how simple it is to change a boatneck … Continue reading How to alter the neckline of a boatneck shirt pattern @ ChellyWood.com #DollClothesPatterns #Sewing

With a tiny quilt framing it, we see an image of the McCall's 5462 doll clothes pattern on the right and an image of a Barbie doll modeling the shirt from view B in the McCall's Barbie clothes pattern on the left. An arrow points from the pattern to the doll's shirt.

How to sew a boatneck top, using McCall’s Barbie pattern 5462 #SewingTips #DollClothesPatterns

If you’ve only recently started to sew doll clothes, you may feel a little challenged by projects that use a boatneck. According to Webster’s online dictionary, a boatneck top has “a wide neckline that extends toward the tips of the shoulders.” Don’t be discouraged when you see this type of neckline because I’m going to give you some tips by sharing one such project, from … Continue reading How to sew a boatneck top, using McCall’s Barbie pattern 5462 #SewingTips #DollClothesPatterns

A quilted frame surrounds the Chelly Wood website logo and Simplicity doll clothes craft pattern number 9144, published in 1989.

How to choose ribbons for doll clothes #OffrayRibbon #DollClothes

Today I’m using a 1989 Simplicity Craft doll clothes pattern (number 9144) to discuss the many uses of ribbons when making doll clothes. If you take a closer look at the outfits offered in Simplicity Craft Pattern 9144, you’ll see that 5 of the 7 outfits suggested on the cover include ribbon, and these patterns are for large baby dolls: I love that the pattern … Continue reading How to choose ribbons for doll clothes #OffrayRibbon #DollClothes

A quilted frame surrounds Simplicity Tressy Doll Clothes Pattern 5731 (Copyright 1964) along with the Chelly Wood dot com logo.

Update on my wardrobe for Judy Littlechap #SewingFail #DollClothesPatterns

A couple of weeks ago, I asked all of you to leave comments that would inspire me to make some new clothes for the Judy Littlechap doll that I recently discovered at a second hand store. Thank you for your helpful ideas! After pondering your comments and ordering the catalog you see at the top of this page, I decided to begin my wardrobe exploration … Continue reading Update on my wardrobe for Judy Littlechap #SewingFail #DollClothesPatterns

A quilted purple and turquoise blue frame surrounds an image of a red headed Breyer Rider doll (veterinarian Laura) standing beside the Barbie doll clothes patterns for Simplicity 8281. The shirt the Breyer Rider doll wears is very similar to a red and white striped shirt in the Simplicity doll clothes pattern set.

Inspiration from Simplicity 8281 Doll Shirt Pattern @ ChellyWood.com #Inspired #DollClothesPatterns

About a month ago, I wrote a blog post with the title, “How do you stop obsessively thinking about your sewing projects?” In this post, I explained that I kept dreaming of red and white striped fabric, and I kept obsessing about sewing the little shirt from View 6 of my Simplicity 8281 Barbie doll clothes pattern. But it’s never enough to just make an … Continue reading Inspiration from Simplicity 8281 Doll Shirt Pattern @ ChellyWood.com #Inspired #DollClothesPatterns

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.

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

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.

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

The image shows a Made-to-Move blond Barbie wearing a felt coat, satin purse, and a felt pillbox hat over the top of pants. She stands in front of the envelope for Simplicity 7601 Barbie doll clothes sewing patterns, where we see a similar coat, hat, and purse set pictured on the envelope in two different color sets. This photo is framed by a purple and turquoise blue quilt and the Chelly Wood dot com logo appears alongside the photo as well.

Sewing a pillbox hat for Barbie, using felt and Simplicity 7601 doll clothes patterns #amSewing #DollClothesPatterns

You may have heard of the pillbox hat, but maybe you weren’t aware of what one is. Well, I believe it’s called a pillbox hat because it’s shaped… (I’m sure you’ve guessed) like a pill box! For my pillbox hat, I used Simplicity 7601 Barbie doll clothes pattern. This is one I often recommend to people when they’re searching for an easy-to-sew coat pattern for … Continue reading Sewing a pillbox hat for Barbie, using felt and Simplicity 7601 doll clothes patterns #amSewing #DollClothesPatterns