This thumbnail shows an image of a woman with her hair up in a bun, sitting at an antique sewing machine, sewing sheets. the text reads, "Sheets don't sew themselves!" The Chelly Wood dot com logo appears in one corner. This is the thumbnail for a blog post and video about the history of sewing before the industrial age.

How much did women sew in early America? A video from the DAR Museum

  A few of you who are regular website followers may have stumbled across one or two blog posts where I mentioned that I’m a member of the DAR — the Daughters of the American Revolution. As such, I follow the DAR Museum’s YouTube channel, and I love it when they give us insight into the history of sewing! Today’s “guest” video is one such … Continue reading How much did women sew in early America? A video from the DAR Museum

The image shows a dress form with a quilted look all around it. This image was purchased as part of a yearly subscription to iClipart and used with permission.

Let’s sew a gusset! — guest video by Morgan Donner for today’s #FridayFollow Feature

This week’s doll clothes sewing project was a cute little doll coat with a hood. The hood used a gusset, so I thought it would be a good idea to give you a little information about how gussets work. But why re-invent the wheel, when YouTube offers lots of great videos on various sewing techniques? Today’s video not only introduces a gusset, but it shows … Continue reading Let’s sew a gusset! — guest video by Morgan Donner for today’s #FridayFollow Feature

The image is a cover art design for a virtual tour YouTube video. This virtual tour will take the viewer on a tour of the "Historical Fashion Doll" portion of the Museum of America in Polson, Montana. The image shows a black-and-white dollhouse and its heading states, "Doll Museum Tour" offering the website URL ChellyWood.com as a watermark.

Visit #Montana’s Miracle of America #Museum for a Tour of #Fashion #Dolls Through #History

Over the summer, my family made a trip to the Flathead Lake area of Montana. While we were on vacation, we visited the Miracle of America Museum in scenic Polson, Montana. There’s a lot more to the museum than what you see here, but I focused my video on a subject that I thought doll clothing designers and seamstresses/sewists would appreciate… The museum offers a huge … Continue reading Visit #Montana’s Miracle of America #Museum for a Tour of #Fashion #Dolls Through #History

Image of Barbie in a 3 Musketeers Costume

#TwitterStorians Will Love This #Musketeers Hat, as Will #Seamstresses

As my followers know, I’m focusing on hats for most of the month of January. I realize I’ve posted this one before, but my Barbie and the Musketeers hat seems to get lots of hits on YouTube, so its probably worth re-posting. Remember, if you enjoy my free patterns and tutorials, please like them on Facebook, pin them on Pinterest, and tweet about them on … Continue reading #TwitterStorians Will Love This #Musketeers Hat, as Will #Seamstresses