This is a close-up of one of the flowers on Anita's baby Dresden quilt. The center of the flower is pink. The fabric on the flower petal at 2 o'clock is a grey and white check. The fabric at three o'clock is a bright blue-purple-yellow-orange feather patterned fabric; the petal at four o'clock is a pink floral fabric; the fabric at five o'clock is a petal made of a leafy green fabric; the petal at seven o'clock is white with very tiny red polka dots; the fabric at eight o'clock is a vintage red with tiny white flowers and leaves; at ten o'clock we see a petal made of purple mottled fabric; and the eleven o'clock or noonish petal is made of a blue and green floral fabric. The whole flower has been appliqued by hand onto a white square, which is surrounded by a barely-visible blue fabric that has an almost not-noticeable blue floral print that barely shows.

Today’s blog post is for those of you who sew for dolls, but you don’t quilt… #DollQuilt #DollCollector

Yes, today’s blog post is for all the followers, friends, and other folks who love to sew for dolls, but perhaps they don’t enjoy quilting. Why? Because I have a quilt for sale in my store today! The quilt you see below was made by my very talented mother-in-law, Anita, who has made almost all of the tiny quilts you’ve seen in my videos and … Continue reading Today’s blog post is for those of you who sew for dolls, but you don’t quilt… #DollQuilt #DollCollector

On a turquoise blue background, we read the words "Skates, boots, and high-tops." Below this and at a slight angle is a photo of the following (left to right): silver cowboy boots, black army boots, and white ice skates.

The Woes of Buying Doll Boots, Skates, and High-tops on eBay #DollCollector #DollClothesPatterns

Doll boots can be a lot of fun to dress your doll in, when you’re making winter raincoats and ponchos for them to wear in your fall dioramas. But if you’ve ever tried to buy vintage Barbie boots, you’ll probably already be familiar with this little problem: Some sellers on eBay are experts at hiding the flaws in their products. Then, when you buy it … Continue reading The Woes of Buying Doll Boots, Skates, and High-tops on eBay #DollCollector #DollClothesPatterns

Text reads "Plushies and fiber fill" and the illustration shows a sewing table with sewing machine and a pillow that's being stuffed with fiber fill. Superimposed upon this image is a plush Valentines Day heart that has been hand stitched and a little rag doll in a green outfit.

Plushies and Fiber Fill — What are they and what can you make with them? #Plushies #ValentinesDay

My grandma always called it “stuffing,” like the breaded food that you fill a turkey with on Thanksgiving, but at my local fabric store, they refer to the fluffy filling we put inside plush toys as “fiber fill.” The stuffing I tend to buy is made of polyester fibers, so I suppose the words “fiber fill” adequately explain both the product and what you do … Continue reading Plushies and Fiber Fill — What are they and what can you make with them? #Plushies #ValentinesDay

The text reads "for sale in the shop" and below this is an image of several items of handmade doll clothes, including a skirt, jacket, shirt, socks, and underpants. The Chelly Wood dot com logo appears in one corner.

New in the store this week: Chelly Wood’s own handmade doll clothes for Stacie #DollClothes #Handmade

I’m not sure everyone caught it, but last week when I posted the tutorial for making a pair of socks for Stacie, I also mentioned that the entire ensemble pictured above was being sold in my online shop. This outfit includes the underpants, socks, and sleeveless top (which are all made of the same yellow jersey fabric) plus the houndstooth cotton pleated skirt and the … Continue reading New in the store this week: Chelly Wood’s own handmade doll clothes for Stacie #DollClothes #Handmade

The words "free pattern" point to a pair of yellow knee-high socks worn under a miniature houndstooth pleated skirt. The doll modeling the socks also wears red mary jane shoes.

Sew a pair of knee-high socks for Stacie with today’s free sock pattern @ ChellyWood.com #EasyDIY #QuickCrafts

Please scroll down to the second set of bullets for the free printable PDF sewing patterns and links to any additional relevant tutorial videos. A while back, I did a blog post in which I mentioned that I was working on a pattern for little tiny doll socks. Well, I got the pattern done, tested it, made a video, and… here you go! The tutorial … Continue reading Sew a pair of knee-high socks for Stacie with today’s free sock pattern @ ChellyWood.com #EasyDIY #QuickCrafts

Text reads "Mirabel Madrigal doll clothes... free sewing patterns!" and a large white arrow points to three different doll clothes outfits modeled by a Mirabel Madrigal fashion doll. Click on this image or the highlighted title text, and this link will take you to the gallery of free printable PDF sewing patterns for making doll clothes to fit your Mirabel Madrigal fashion dolls.

FREE 11 inch Mirabel Madrigal doll clothes sewing patterns (Gallery) — from Disney’s Encanto Movie

Please click on the doll clothes you would like to make. Please note: these patterns will fit an 11 inch Mirabel doll and similar sized dolls. Not what you’re looking for? Behind the scenes, I’m creating a series of classes in doll clothing design techniques, so you can design your own doll clothes for your dolls, using simple techniques, household tools, and your amazing imagination! Click on this link to learn … Continue reading FREE 11 inch Mirabel Madrigal doll clothes sewing patterns (Gallery) — from Disney’s Encanto Movie

This thumbnail image shows the Chelly Wood doll (a Spin Master Liv doll) holding up a spreadsheet of expenses and income for 2023. The text reads, "2023 income full disclosure" and beneath this text is a turquoise blue coin-shaped circle with a dollar symbol inside it.

How much money did ChellyWood LLC make in 2023? Full disclosure… #TaxTime #Charity

Many of you know that in my “day job,” I’m a full-time school librarian. I also teach art and library research classes for the middle school where I work. This has been a good paying job, helping me and my husband (who also works full time) to pay for our children’s college educations, and generally keeping the bills paid in our little manufactured home with … Continue reading How much money did ChellyWood LLC make in 2023? Full disclosure… #TaxTime #Charity

A vintage Skipper wears a handmade yellow shirt and green pleated skirt with matching green knee-high socks and little black ballet flats. The skipper doll is dressed exactly like the image in view 3 on the envelope for Simplicity 5861, a wardrobe designed and published in the 1960's for a vintage Skipper doll. There's also a close-up of her hand-stitched green knee-high socks. This thumbnail's text reads "vintage Simplicity 5861" and it's framed by turquoise blue and purple quilted fabrics.

Nancy Drew, the mystery girl, makes a magical appearance with my Simplicity Skipper pattern 5861 #NancyDrew #SewVintage

Last summer I got my hands on an uncut version of this wonderful Skipper doll clothes pattern, vintage Simplicity 5861, an original pattern from 1964. Holy hand-stitching, Batman! I have REALLY enjoyed sewing this whole ensemble! My goal, last summer, was to make each item in the wardrobe to match the image on the envelope cover exactly. And guess what… I’ve gotten the whole thing … Continue reading Nancy Drew, the mystery girl, makes a magical appearance with my Simplicity Skipper pattern 5861 #NancyDrew #SewVintage

This thumbnail image shows the Chelly Wood doll (a Spin Master Liv doll) sitting at her computer, at her desk, in her office. The screen of her computer says, "YouTube" with the red and black YouTube logo (or something similar to it) on her little doll-sized computer screen. The text over Chelly's head says, "Favorite YouTube Channels! -- Please Share!"

What’s your favorite doll-collecting or sewing-related YouTube channel? Please share! #FridayFollow

  Want to be entertained while you sew? Want to laugh out loud at funny memes, but also “Ooh” and “Ahh” at someone’s vast collection of cool vintage sewing patterns? If so, then Stephanie Canada is a sewist worth following! I’m starting off today’s blog post with one of Stephanie’s latest videos: “I made a Holiday Barbie dress out of TRASH!” The Holiday Barbie video … Continue reading What’s your favorite doll-collecting or sewing-related YouTube channel? Please share! #FridayFollow

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.

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

Use the link provided in the caption to get you to the free patterns and tutorial videos for this embroidery sampler that looks like a windmill.

History Inspires Us — a little story from Chelly’s life experiences #StoryTime #History

Here’s a little-known fact about me: I’m a member of the DAR — the Daughters of the American Revolution. That means I have an ancestor who fought in the American Revolutionary War. And today I’m sharing a little story I wrote for my local DAR chapter’s newsletter. At the very end of this tale, you’ll see how it connects to sewing, so be patient as … Continue reading History Inspires Us — a little story from Chelly’s life experiences #StoryTime #History

Find your free PDF sewing patterns for making a doll's jeans or pants and a T-shirt at ChellyWood.com -- this thumbnail says, "free pattern" which accompanies a photo of a Hairmazing doll in pants and a shirt. The Chelly Wood logo also appears in this purple thumbnail frame.

Make a T-shirt and Jeans for Hairmazing Fashion Forward dolls w/today’s free doll clothes patterns @ ChellyWood.com #Sewing #Crafting

For your free patterns and tutorial videos, please scroll down to the second set of bullets. Today I’m giving you the free printable PDF sewing patterns for making the doll clothes shown at the top of this post: a tee shirt and a pair of jeans — but of course you could make pants/trousers for your doll with the jeans pattern. Hairmazing Fashion Forward dolls … Continue reading Make a T-shirt and Jeans for Hairmazing Fashion Forward dolls w/today’s free doll clothes patterns @ ChellyWood.com #Sewing #Crafting

Surrounded by a quilted purple and blue frame, we see the logo for Chelly Wood dot com beside a close-up photo of a vintage bubble-cut Barbie wearing a white short sleeved blouse and a puffy green skirt with a waistband. The photo is somewhat pixelated, indicating that it's a vintage photo.

I’m making a blouse from the enchanting Sew-Easy Advance Barbie Pattern #2896, with a touch of whimsy… #Vintage #SewVintage

Disclaimer: As an Amazon affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases. A colleague of mine has two little girls who love Barbie, so of course, I’m sewing them a wardrobe of Barbie clothes because, well… that’s what I do. The first project I decided to tackle was the shirt shown in View 3 of the Sew-Easy Advance Barbie Pattern #2896. When I started the project, I … Continue reading I’m making a blouse from the enchanting Sew-Easy Advance Barbie Pattern #2896, with a touch of whimsy… #Vintage #SewVintage

Text reads "elf on the shelf clothes... free sewing patterns!" and a large white arrow points to four different doll clothes outfits modeled by the Elf on the Shelf doll. Click on this image or the highlighted title text, and this link will take you to the gallery of free printable PDF sewing patterns for making doll clothes to fit your Elf on the Shelf dolls.

FREE 13 and 1/2 inch (34 cm) tall Elf on the Shelf doll clothes sewing patterns (Gallery)

Please click on the doll clothes you would like to make. Please note: my 13 and 1/2 inch or 34 cm measurement for the Elf on the Shelf includes the elf’s permanently sewn-on hat. Not what you’re looking for? Behind the scenes, I’m creating a series of classes in doll clothing design techniques, so you can design your own doll clothes for your dolls, using simple techniques, household tools, … Continue reading FREE 13 and 1/2 inch (34 cm) tall Elf on the Shelf doll clothes sewing patterns (Gallery)

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.

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…