This image is a quilt-like square with the Chelly Wood logo turned on its side. Beside the logo, we see a photo of Simplicity doll clothes pattern 8466 from the late 1960's or early 1970's. The dolls on the cover of this pattern are dressed in various fashions including one long dress pattern that uses an empire waist.

Learning to sew with Simplicity 8466 vintage Barbie doll clothes pattern #VintageBarbie #DollClothesPatterns

I had so so much fun sewing the red satin dress in this Simplicity 8466 doll clothes pattern! I’ll never forget that feeling of satisfaction, when it turned out perfectly! Just have a look: It looks pretty similar, doesn’t it? Wow. I couldn’t have been more pleased… I’ve created blog posts that describe how I made this satin dress, and over the years, I’ve talked … Continue reading Learning to sew with Simplicity 8466 vintage Barbie doll clothes pattern #VintageBarbie #DollClothesPatterns

Learning to sew with a vintage Holly Hobbie plush doll pattern #HollyHobbie #DollClothesPatterns

Have you ever made a plush doll? Well I have. In fact, this Holly Hobbie doll and clothing pattern provided me with the patterns for making my first plush doll, and I have happy memories of working with this pattern. To read what I’ve written about this pattern in past blog posts, just click on a title below that sounds interesting to you: Tips for … Continue reading Learning to sew with a vintage Holly Hobbie plush doll pattern #HollyHobbie #DollClothesPatterns

Image of "Sew-Easy Patterns by Advance" vintage Mattel, Inc. Toymakers Barbie doll clothes sewing pattern #2895 with the ChellyWood logo, surrounded by a variety of quilting fabrics in turquoise blue and purple.

Learning to sew with Sew-Easy by Advance 2895 vintage doll clothes patterns for Barbie #VintageBarbie #DollClothesPatterns

The Sew-Easy by Advance doll clothes patterns in my collection are among some of my all-time favorites because they’re just… well… SO vintage! The projects in this Advance 2895 envelope have inspired me to create new patterns, they have taught me techniques I’d never seen before, and I’ve written articles on this website, sharing the tips and tricks I’ve learned along the way. If you’d … Continue reading Learning to sew with Sew-Easy by Advance 2895 vintage doll clothes patterns for Barbie #VintageBarbie #DollClothesPatterns

The simplicity 4510 Barbie wardrobe includes everything a lady would need for a honeymoon: a bikini, a swimsuit coverup with super short skirt; a dining-out dress with a one-shoulder bodice and pencil skirt topped with a tulle over-skirt; a 3/4 length sleeve jacket with matching A-line skirt underneath; a plaid hostess-style dress with a ribbon for a waistband; a nightgown with lace bodice; and of course the wedding gown, which is very 1960's in its style, with a fitted bodice that has short sleeves and a square neckline, flowing into a full, long skirt that has a very large ribbon tied around the waist (and a veil connected to the head with a tiny ribbon at the top).

Learning to sew with Simplicity’s vintage Barbie bridal honeymoon doll clothes pattern 4510 #vintageBride #DollClothesPatterns

I’m calling today’s vintage Barbie pattern, the “bridal honeymoon set” because Simplicity 4510 has everything a fashionable lady of the 1960’s would need, if she was going to get married and enjoy a vacation honeymoon! There’s a swimsuit, a coverup, a lace-top nightgown, an evening gown for dinner parties, a jacket and skirt for a shopping day, an everyday dress, and of course, a beautiful … Continue reading Learning to sew with Simplicity’s vintage Barbie bridal honeymoon doll clothes pattern 4510 #vintageBride #DollClothesPatterns

In this image, the Chelly Wood doll holds up McCall's "teen doll" pattern #3429 which was published in 1972. In the blog post at ChellyWood.com, where this pattern is discussed, Chelly Wood (a doll clothing pattern designer) asks the question, "Do you prefer to come up with your own fabric concepts, or do you like to choose a fabric that matches the illustration on the front of the doll clothes pattern?" The Chelly Wood doll is actually a Spin Master Liv doll that has been made over to look like the actual doll clothes pattern designer, Chelly Wood.

Learning to sew with McCall’s vintage Barbie doll clothes pattern 3429 #sewvintage #DollClothesPatterns

Today’s retro fashion doll pattern, McCall’s 3429 from the 1970’s has definitely given me some challenges — especially with that swimsuit (aka bodysuit) pattern! But as I worked with the McCall’s 3429 pattern, I learned a lot along the way. Today’s blog post gives you an opportunity to learn from my sewing adventures with McCall’s 3429! Read about the struggles I had with the swimsuit/bodysuit in … Continue reading Learning to sew with McCall’s vintage Barbie doll clothes pattern 3429 #sewvintage #DollClothesPatterns

Here we see the full front display of Vogue Craft Pattern #9964, which offers patterns for making doll clothes that will fit a vintage Tutti, vintage Skipper, Vintage Barbie, Bubble Hair Barbie, and vintage Midge dolls.

Learning to sew with reproduction Barbie doll pattern Vogue 9964 #VintageSewing #DollClothesPatterns

If you’ve followed this blog for a while, you’ve probably noticed that I enjoy sewing commercially-made vintage Barbie patterns. But what about the reproduction patterns that are so popular? One of the first reproduction vintage Barbie patterns I remember buying is Vogue Crafts 9964. But what did I learn from this pattern? In the following blog posts, I share the lessons I’ve learned form Vogue … Continue reading Learning to sew with reproduction Barbie doll pattern Vogue 9964 #VintageSewing #DollClothesPatterns

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

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

In this image, the Chelly Wood doll (a Spin Master Liv doll with a Chelly Wood makeover) holds up the McCalls Crafts pattern number 5462. The image is framed by a blue and purple quilt.

Learning to sew with McCall’s vintage Barbie doll clothes pattern 5462 #sewingalterations #DollClothesPatterns

Back in May, I did a whole series of blog posts on the shirts from McCall’s 5462 Barbie and Ken doll clothes patterns from the 1980’s. Believe it or not, the shirts in views G and B are tremendously easy to sew and to make alterations to. Why? You don’t have to attach a sleeve! But I’ve actually written other blog posts on this versatile … Continue reading Learning to sew with McCall’s vintage Barbie doll clothes pattern 5462 #sewingalterations #DollClothesPatterns

With a quilted frame around it, we see a section of a McCall's vintage fashion doll clothes sewing pattern for making a cape that will fit a fashion doll like Barbie and similar-sized dolls.

Learning to sew with McCall’s vintage Barbie doll clothes pattern 6420 #sewvintage #DollClothesPatterns

Do you know what’s amazing about the McCall’s vintage Barbie doll clothes pattern #6420? It’s double-sided! Yup! There are images of the different doll clothes you can make on both the front AND the back of this pattern envelope. Can you believe it? Check out the other side: As you can see, it’s got a swimsuit pattern, an underpants pattern, and Ken’s felt shoes– whoa! … Continue reading Learning to sew with McCall’s vintage Barbie doll clothes pattern 6420 #sewvintage #DollClothesPatterns

Learning to sew with McCall’s Crafts pattern number 4400 #sewing #DollClothesPatterns

If you’re looking for a wide variety of patterns for Barbie, McCall’s 4400 has some great options. It offers three styles of pants, four evening gown styles, a wedding dress, a cape, business attire with two totally different looks, and a cute shorts-with-top casual summer outfit. Wow! What a selection! Clicking on the links below will help you revisit my blog posts on McCall’s 4400 … Continue reading Learning to sew with McCall’s Crafts pattern number 4400 #sewing #DollClothesPatterns

The photo shows Sew Easy by Advance doll clothes around-the-clock wardrobe (pattern number 2896. Six different costumes are pictured on the envelope. view one is a pair of pajamas; view 2 is a basic dress with short sleeves; view 3 is a white shirt with green skirt; view 4 is a Jackie-Kennedy-esque sleeveless dress with a white collar, view 5 has a sleeveless bodice on a dress with a ruffle trim; view 6 shows ankle pants and a boat-neck shirt.

Learning to sew with Advance sewing pattern 2896 #VintageSewing #DollClothesPatterns

I love, love love this vintage Barbie doll clothes pattern, from Sew-Easy Patterns by Advance, which was published in 1962. It’s called the “Around-the-Clock” wardrobe, and it was designed to fit the original Mattel Barbie dolls. Today’s blog post gives you an opportunity to revisit those older posts right here, so you can learn more about the Sew-Easy Pattern 2896, if you’re working with that … Continue reading Learning to sew with Advance sewing pattern 2896 #VintageSewing #DollClothesPatterns