The image says, "entrance slips for art class" and shows nine images which can be quickly and easily sketched as students enter the art classroom. You can find my Teachers Pay Teachers store at https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Chelly-Wood

New item for sale in my Teachers Pay Teachers store — entrance slips for art teachers!

  If you’re new to my website, you may not be aware that in my “day job,” I’m a school librarian. One of the elective classes I teach is Introduction to Art. This past year, as my art students entered the classroom, they were immediately given a quick sketch practice, which we called their “entrance slip.” I projected an easy-to-sketch graphic on the whiteboard, and … Continue reading New item for sale in my Teachers Pay Teachers store — entrance slips for art teachers!

Framed by a purple and blue quilt, we see three cabbage patch dolls dressed in handmade doll clothes. This looks like it is a photo from the front of a commercial pattern. There's a "Goodwill" sticker on the front as well, indicating that the pattern was purchased from a second-hand store. The ChellyWood.com logo also appears on the image to the side of the pattern photo.

Learning to sew with Cabbage Patch doll clothes patterns #CabbagePatch #DollClothesPatterns

At the time of this blog post, I only own two Cabbage Patch doll clothes patterns. There’s Butterick 6934, which appears above, and it offers three styles of dresses for Cabbage Patch dolls. And then there’s Butterick 6508, which offers pants, shirts and overalls for Cabbage Patch dolls. These patterns have inspired my own pattern designs, as you’ll see when you read the articles I’ve … Continue reading Learning to sew with Cabbage Patch doll clothes patterns #CabbagePatch #DollClothesPatterns

In a purple frame with tiny white polka dots, we see the words "free pattern" hovering above the Chelly Wood dot com logo. In a frame within this frame is a photo of a doll holding up a little green purse or handbag. The handbag is made of green cotton fabric with white felt for a closure. A tiny green button is sewn to the closure flap. The purse his held aloft by a miniature fashion doll's hand by the 1/8 inch ribbon that's used as a purse strap.

Make a purse or handbag for 6 to 7 inch fashion dolls w/free patterns @ ChellyWood.com

Scroll down to the second set of bullets to download the free printable PDF sewing pattern.* Today’s doll purse will fit a wide variety of tiny dolls. Not all of the dolls that will fit this purse are mentioned in the first bulleted list, so please keep that in mind. Please note: when you click on links to various merchants on this site and make … Continue reading Make a purse or handbag for 6 to 7 inch fashion dolls w/free patterns @ ChellyWood.com

Here we see a doll's matted, snarled hair flying wildly behind her head. The doll's face is obscured. The ChellyWood.com logo appears below the image and to the left.

Doll Hair Repair — Is it ever a hopeless endeavor?

I frequent second-hand stores when I feel like having a “fun day out,” and I like to look for used dolls that can be repaired and given a new wardrobe. But one of the most challenging problems with used dolls is matted up, tangled hair. I’ve had some amazing successes with dolls that had such horrendous hair problems, I honestly didn’t think I could do … Continue reading Doll Hair Repair — Is it ever a hopeless endeavor?

Framed by a blue and purple quilt, the ChellyWood.com logo accompanies a close-up image of Simplicity 4883 Ideal Tammy doll clothes patterns and a pattern for making a shoe box closet that would work for most 11 inch or 12 inch fashion dolls like Ideal Tammy, Mattel's Barbie dolls, Rainbow High dolls, and dozens of other fashion dolls in this size range.

Learning to sew with Simplicity 4883 for Tammy dolls #DollCollector #SewingChat #DollClothesPatterns

Every time I look at Simplicity 4883, I am warmed by happy memories of childhood! This is the pattern that taught me how to sew doll clothes, and I remember being as young as 10 or 11 years old and using this pattern to create outfits for my fashion dolls. I literally sewed every single outfit from this pattern by the time I had turned … Continue reading Learning to sew with Simplicity 4883 for Tammy dolls #DollCollector #SewingChat #DollClothesPatterns

This is the street view of the store, Home Grown Quilts, in Grangeville, Idaho, with its "Viking Husqvarna" sewing machine sign hanging from the rafters outside the store.

Let’s take a tour of Home Grown Quilts in Grangeville, Idaho!

I don’t know what the rest of you did for the 4th of July this year, but I went to visit family in North Idaho, and while I was there, I went to a quilting store called Home Grown Quilts. Breezi, the store manager’s daughter-in-law, who seemed to be in charge of the store around lunchtime that day, wasn’t just standing behind the cut counter … Continue reading Let’s take a tour of Home Grown Quilts in Grangeville, Idaho!

On a purple background, a woman's hand holds up a yellow card with a blue stripe running down the left side. At the top of the bleu stripe, the Dritz logo appears as white logo image and text on top of a black background. The card holds 10 of the 12 sew-on snaps that were originally place on the card. Two of the snap locations are now vacated and holes are punched through the card where the snaps would have been.

What’s new in my store? Snaps! Elastic! And more fabric!

Over the weekend, you may have noticed that Evelyn’s teeny-tiny hats have disappeared from my store. I didn’t sell all 100 or so of the hats. So why aren’t they listed in the store anymore? I ran out of tiny mailers! I ordered 50 more tiny mailers on Amazon, but they won’t arrive until the end of the month. As I’ve said in previous blog … Continue reading What’s new in my store? Snaps! Elastic! And more fabric!

Framed by a purple and turquoise blue quilt, here we see a photo of vintage Ken doll clothes pattern number 2899 from Sew-Easy Patterns by Advance. Over the top of the vintage Ken doll clothes pattern, the words "BTS doll" are followed by a question mark. The ChellyWood.com logo appears beside the photo, to the left of the photo.

Learning to sew with Advance vintage Ken doll clothes sewing pattern 2899 #VintageSewing #DollClothesPatterns

I wish I had time to make every outfit in this set of patterns! Sew Easy by Advance 2899 for vintage Ken dolls has got to be one of the rarest doll clothes patterns in my collection. Check out the cravat in View 1! It has tiny paisleys on it! Ooh, he’s a dapper fellow… Today’s blog post gives you an opportunity to revisit the … Continue reading Learning to sew with Advance vintage Ken doll clothes sewing pattern 2899 #VintageSewing #DollClothesPatterns

The image shows three rolled cylinders of pink satin, each tied with a pink satin ribbon. The text reads "for sale: satin remnants!" The ChellyWood.com logo appears in one corner of the image.

New in my store: pink satin fabric remnants! Make a dress for 13-inch My First Barbie with this lovely fabric!

Yesterday I posted a brand new pattern and tutorial video, showing you how to make a beautiful, 1960’s style, pink satin dress, which will fit Judy Littlechap. But did you happen to see the list of dolls which will fit in this lovely dress? Let’s have a look at that list again: Yesterday’s free dress pattern will fit these dolls: Lammily First Edition dolls (from … Continue reading New in my store: pink satin fabric remnants! Make a dress for 13-inch My First Barbie with this lovely fabric!

A woman sits knitting tiny stocking caps in a plush chair. The text over her head reads "the mini stocking caps, part 2."

The Story of the Miniature Stocking Caps: Part 2 (PLEASE Comment!)

Yesterday, I told you the story of Evelyn, who hand-knitted a multitude of tiny stocking caps before she passed away. I bought them at a church rummage sale, from a woman who seemed very disrespectful toward Evelyn. And now I’m trying to sell these very tiny handmade stocking caps in a way that honors Evelyn’s hard work. When I say “very tiny,” this is what … Continue reading The Story of the Miniature Stocking Caps: Part 2 (PLEASE Comment!)

This thumbnail image shows a plethora of tiny, miniature stocking caps, some of which have pom-poms on top and some do not. The text reads, "the story of the mini stocking caps." The Chelly Wood dot com logo appears in the upper right hand corner.

The Story of the Tiny Stocking Caps and Poor Evelyn Who Made Them…

You might have seen these little stocking caps for sale in my store. Well there’s a story behind these hand-knitted miniature stocking caps. I don’t knit, but I can tell you a little about the woman who did make them. Today I want to share what I can of her sad story. I was driving around Twin Falls, Idaho (a town near where I live) … Continue reading The Story of the Tiny Stocking Caps and Poor Evelyn Who Made Them…

The 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.

Learning to sew with 18 inch doll clothes pattern Simplicity 4654 #Sewing #DollClothesPatterns

When I first uploaded this photo, it was part of a series that answered the question, “How can you tell when a pattern is not for beginners?” People often think that sewing for a bigger doll will be easier than sewing for a smaller doll, but that’s not always true. With Simplicity 4654, you would be sewing for an 18 inch doll — usually a … Continue reading Learning to sew with 18 inch doll clothes pattern Simplicity 4654 #Sewing #DollClothesPatterns

The images show thread spools, a stack of felt, folded fabrics, and a clipboard upon which is a drawing of a dress. Next to the clipboard is a pencil. These are things Chelly Wood has toyed around with doing, as she recovers from West Nile Virus.

Where to Shop for Fabric in Paris

Do you ever wonder what the fashion capital of the world has to offer to a sewist? Well, Paris is not called the “fashion capital of the world” without a good reason. In the summer of 2016, I had the wonderful opportunity to visit Paris with my daughter, and of course, I couldn’t miss the opportunity to shop for fabric while I was there! I’d … Continue reading Where to Shop for Fabric in Paris

On a blue background, we see a pair of yellow ankle pants for a very small doll -- handmade by Chelly Wood -- and the words "Summer projects!" This is a thumbnail for a blog post about summer sewing projects for people who enjoy sewing doll clothes.

What are you sewing this summer? Let’s share for inspiration! #Summer #Sewing

Let’s share! What are you working on this summer? What sewing projects do you have underway? Leave your summer sewing project descriptions in the comments section to give inspiration to everyone who reads this blog post! See the pile of vintage sewing patterns at the top of this post? That’s what I’ve been working on… I found all of these lovely uncut, vintage doll clothes … Continue reading What are you sewing this summer? Let’s share for inspiration! #Summer #Sewing