Tag: fabric

The thumbnail image shows a purple patch sewn onto a turquoise cloth. The words "doll clothes sewing chat" are written in the center of the purple patch. Floating in a circle around the patch are graphics of various sewing notions, from scissors, to a tape measure, to bobbins, to thread, and more. This feature on Chelly Wood dot com, is an open discussion about a sewing concept. The article will begin with a definition of the sewing concept, and then a discussion question will follow. This is a great place for people to ask questions about and/or give advice on sewing concepts related to making doll clothes.
Crafts and Hobbies, Fabric

What are your favorite and least favorite fabrics to work with? #SewingChat #Fabrics

While writing yesterday’s blog post, I realized I had already given away both of the shirts I’d made for my little Disney Animators doll, without ever trying them on other dolls. So I didn’t have a clue which dolls could fit into yesterday’s pattern. And of course, I needed this information, in order to create the bulleted list of dolls that can fit the pattern. … Continue reading What are your favorite and least favorite fabrics to work with? #SewingChat #Fabrics

Chelly Wood8 Comments
Fabric. Click the "Fabric" button to see all the fabrics designed by Chelly Wood. This link will take you to Chelly's Spoonflower store.
Fabric, For Sale in the Store, Selling Your Crafts

Let’s talk fabric! #Fabric #Spoonflower

In 2025, those of us who live in the US lost our beloved JoAnn Fabrics stores, and in the little farm town where I live, that was really my only source for buying fabrics in person. So I got creative! I started to design my own fabrics with Spoonflower. Yes, they are more expensive, but Spoonflower is committed to an eco-friendly manufacturing process. And… If … Continue reading Let’s talk fabric! #Fabric #Spoonflower

Chelly WoodLeave a comment
On a purple background, the text reads "VOTE!" and it shows a person's hand dropping a ballot into a voting box.
Crafts and Hobbies, Fabric

If you want to show your support… please #Vote!

Okay everybody, I’m going to make today’s blog post short and to-the-point. I’ve designed another fabric! What do you think? I painted apple blossoms, peach blossoms, and chrysanthemums in gouache, using a realistic approach. And then for the smaller flowers, I’ve tried to make them look more child-like because this fabric is called “Grandma’s Flower Garden 1975,” as if my grandma and I painted it … Continue reading If you want to show your support… please #Vote!

Chelly WoodLeave a comment
The Chelly Wood doll (AKA Spin Master Liv doll) stands next to the vintage Barbie sewing pattern Advance 2896. This thumbnail image is surrounded by a purple and turquoise blue quilted frame.
Fabric, Old Patterns from Chelly's Collection, Uncategorized, Vintage Barbie

How to use 2 small squares of fabric to make a #Barbie shirt! #SewingFun

What can you do with small squares of leftover fabric? You can make a Barbie shirt, of course! And in today’s blog post, I’m going to show you exactly how I took two squares of leftover fabric and turned them into a simple Barbie shirt with a pocket. *Please note: when you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, … Continue reading How to use 2 small squares of fabric to make a #Barbie shirt! #SewingFun

Chelly WoodLeave a comment
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.
Crafts and Hobbies, Fabric, For Sale in the Store, Littlechap Dolls, Selling Your Crafts

Still for sale in my store: pink satin fabric remnants! Make me an offer… #JoannFabric #FabricForSale

Two years ago I posted a 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: Okay, now you’re going to want to know more about the satin remnants … Continue reading Still for sale in my store: pink satin fabric remnants! Make me an offer… #JoannFabric #FabricForSale

Chelly WoodLeave a comment
The image shows a laundry line of doll clothes that fit 14 inch, 15 inch, 16 inch, or 17 inch dolls like Wellie Wishers, Hearts for Hearts girls, vintage Velvet dolls, or Best Friends Club BFC Ink dolls. There are free printable sewing patterns for making all of these doll clothes at ChellyWood.com
Crafts and Hobbies, Fabric, Fan Mail, Links, Tips for Beginners

How to Care for Your Handmade Doll Clothes #HelpfulTips for #DollCollectors

Today’s blog post on taking care of your handmade doll clothes is actually a re-post of an article I wrote several years ago. However, this topic is one I seem to get questions about from time to time, so maybe, while I’m “out of the office,” it’s a good opportunity to revisit it. Nobody likes to see a naked doll laying around, but did you … Continue reading How to Care for Your Handmade Doll Clothes #HelpfulTips for #DollCollectors

Chelly Wood4 Comments
A simple graphic of a turquoise blue button sits atop a purple gingham fabric background, with the Chelly Wood dot com logo in the lower left corner of this thumbnail image.
Crafts and Hobbies, Fabric, History and Research, Interviews With Crafters, Links, Sewing and Fashion History, Yarn and Embroidery

How are fabrics made? How are buttons made? The answers may surprise you! #Sewing #SewOver50

  First of all, obviously I didn’t make the video I’m showing you, however I’ve watched it and thoroughly enjoyed it! And since I’m busy moving out of the library where I work (I’m retiring from my job as a full-time school librarian), I thought you might like something fun to watch while I’m away from my home office for a bit. If you enjoyed … Continue reading How are fabrics made? How are buttons made? The answers may surprise you! #Sewing #SewOver50

Chelly WoodLeave a comment
A 17-inch Endless Hair Kingdom Barbie models a handmade pink satin dress with an over-sized bow in front. The text reads, "Free sewing pattern!"
17-inch doll clothes patterns, 17-Inch Endless Hair Princess Doll, Daily Patterns, Whole Costumes for Dolls

Sew a fabulous satin vintage-style dress for your 17-inch Barbie with today’s freebie patterns! #HandmadeStyle #iSew

For your free patterns and tutorial videos, please scroll down to the second set of bullets. Today’s dress-making tutorial video and free sewing pattern are for more advanced sewists. You can see that I’ve given the pattern five flowers on my difficulty scale. To learn more about how the difficulty scale works, please click here. Disclaimer: As an Amazon affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases. … Continue reading Sew a fabulous satin vintage-style dress for your 17-inch Barbie with today’s freebie patterns! #HandmadeStyle #iSew

Chelly Wood2 Comments
A vintage Skipper doll models a red bolero jacket over a black and white gingham dress. She stands beside Simplicity vintage Skipper pattern number 5861 for sewing doll clothes. There's a quilted blue and purple frame surrounding the whole image.
Old Patterns from Chelly's Collection, Uncategorized

What is the best fabric for circle skirts? #SewingTips #DIY

On the back of this Simplicity 5861 vintage sewing pattern for Skipper dolls, the View 2 line drawing of the dress shows the ideal drape of a circle skirt, after the doll’s dress has been made. With dolls, though, the circle skirt doesn’t usually drape like that! Scroll down to the next image, and you’ll see that after I made the View 2 dress for … Continue reading What is the best fabric for circle skirts? #SewingTips #DIY

Chelly Wood2 Comments
Today's tutorial video explains how selvage is useful to people who sew doll clothes. This image is just a header indicating that this is a sewing tutorial for beginners.
Tips for Beginners, Tutorials: Sewing Basics

Selvage is your friend! (A tip for fabric buying, when sewing doll clothes) @ ChellyWood.com #SewingLove #SewingTutorial

    The video at the top of this blog post will explain how I sometimes use selvage (that’s “selvedge” if you live in the UK) for my doll clothes projects, and how selvage can truly be “your friend” when buying fabric. If you want a more extensive video about how to buy fabric for doll clothes, please click here. That’s an older video tutorial … Continue reading Selvage is your friend! (A tip for fabric buying, when sewing doll clothes) @ ChellyWood.com #SewingLove #SewingTutorial

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

Ah, the power of tulle! #Sewing #SewingProjects

Today I want to explain the many uses of tulle in my blog post, but before I begin, I need to make my disclaimer statement. First, as an Amazon affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Second, I belong to other affiliate marketing programs as well. Please read more about how affiliate marketing works on my Privacy Policy page. Quite some time ago, I used my … Continue reading Ah, the power of tulle! #Sewing #SewingProjects

Chelly Wood4 Comments
Please visit ChellyWood.com for free printable sewing patterns and tutorial videos for making doll clothes to fit dolls of many shapes and all different sizes. This is a text box with a purple and turquoise quilted look to it. The text states, "Sewing tips for beginners: clothing items to avoid." This is the fourth installment in a four part blog article series which reviews the topics, terms, and items to watch out for on a pattern's instructions if you're just starting to learn sewing. Visit ChellyWood.com for free printable sewing patterns and to read the other blog articles in this series for beginners just learning how to sew.
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 4: Difficult Garments) #SewEasy #SewingFun

This is the last installment of a four-week journey to discover what makes a pattern difficult for beginners who are just starting out with their very first sewing projects. By “beginners,” I’m referring to adults learning to sew as well as children of all ages who are learning to sew. We’ve been studying a single pattern, Simplicity doll clothes pattern #4654, which is a fun … Continue reading How to Tell When a Sewing Pattern Is NOT for Beginners (Part 4: Difficult Garments) #SewEasy #SewingFun

Chelly Wood2 Comments
A kitten is shown playing in a sewing room, in a basket full of sewing notions, like thread, ribbon, and tape measures.
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) #Sewing #FallCrafts

  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 vocabulary that tells us this isn’t the ideal pattern for the absolute beginner. With that said, it’s time for my disclaimer statement: some of … Continue reading How to Tell When a Sewing Pattern Is NOT for Beginners (Part 3: Know Your Notions) #Sewing #FallCrafts

Chelly WoodLeave a comment
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

  At the end of last month, I did a blog post on how to tell when a sewing pattern is not for beginners, subtitled “Part 1” and today I’m continuing that discussion. It’s not just a lecture, mind you, it’s a discussion! So please add your comments at the bottom. Other visitors to this website will see your comments and learn from them too! … Continue reading How to Tell When a Sewing Pattern Is NOT for Beginners (Part 2: Know Your Fabrics) #LearningToSew #Fabrics

Chelly Wood2 Comments
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 10 or 12. 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 10. … Continue reading How to Tell When a Sewing Pattern Is NOT for Beginners (Part 1) #SewingForDolls #Handmade

Chelly WoodLeave a comment