The image shows the bottom half of a modern Barbie wearing a purple swimsuit. She stands beside McCall's Teen Fashion Doll Pattern number 3429. This photo is surrounded by a purple cotton square frame dotted with tiny white polka dots. Over the photo and slightly to the left of the photo are the words "free pattern" under which is the Chelly Wood dot com logo.

Which “mystery Barbie” fits best in my vintage McCall’s “Teen Fashion Doll” swimsuit pattern? Surprise! #Vintage #DollClothesPatterns

  Yesterday I showed you my sewing fail, with regard to the swimsuit / bodysuit pattern in McCall’s vintage “Teen Doll Fashion” patterns. Once I’d tossed my coral-colored first attempt aside, I decided to give it another shot with the purple fabric, which turned out much better. But the big surprise came when I tried this finished swimsuit on my dolls. I first tried it … Continue reading Which “mystery Barbie” fits best in my vintage McCall’s “Teen Fashion Doll” swimsuit pattern? Surprise! #Vintage #DollClothesPatterns

We see side-by-side images of vintage Simplicity 5861 sewing patterns. One has the original images of a blond vintage Skipper doll wearing each outfit in the ensemble. The other image shows a modern Stacie doll wearing the exact same outfits -- even the fabrics match! -- on the cover of the Simplicity 5861 original pattern envelope. This Stacie doll is Black with an African American natural hair look. She even wears the exact same socks and shoes and headbands/hair ribbons that Skipper wears on the original cover art for this Simplicity Skipper pattern ensemble! At the top of this pair of patterns, it says, "Who knew?"

Who knew modern Stacie dolls and vintage Skipper dolls were an exact match? #SewVintage #Barbie

Check this out! Can you believe it? I made the whole ensemble of doll clothes with my Simplicity 5861 pattern for vintage Skipper, and every single item in the ensemble fits not only vintage Skipper, but also modern Stacie dolls! I loved sewing this set. It was pure joy! Of course there were challenges along the way. I started with the View 2 gingham dress … Continue reading Who knew modern Stacie dolls and vintage Skipper dolls were an exact match? #SewVintage #Barbie

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

A vintage skipper doll models a red cotton bolero over a black and white gingham sleeveless dress with a circle skirt that's knee-height. Beside this doll, a vintage Skipper models a pink felt bolero with green rickrack trim over a similar dress, but this dress is made of green cotton with tiny white and pink roses, and it's a calf-length circle skirt. The text for this thumbnail says "same pattern -- two looks!"

Stitching up a retro-style dress for Skipper that’s versatile enough for two amazing looks! #SewingAlterations #SewingInspiration

*Please note: when you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include Amazon, JoAnn Fabric, Etsy, and the eBay Partner Network. As an Amazon affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases. To learn more about how my website uses affiliate marketing, please visit the website’s Privacy Policy … Continue reading Stitching up a retro-style dress for Skipper that’s versatile enough for two amazing looks! #SewingAlterations #SewingInspiration

The image shows a quilted frame surrounding a photo of the McCall's doll clothes pattern number 5462 for Barbie and other 11 inch fashion dolls. An arrow points from the view G pattern for a T-shirt to a modern Barbie wearing a cropped-front tee shirt with side slits. The text above these images says, "T-shirt alteration." The Chelly Wood dot com logo appears in the lower right corner of the image.

How to Alter a T-shirt Pattern, to Make a Crop Top w/McCall’s Crafts 5462 Doll Clothes Patterns #DollClothes #SewingPatterns

Before I begin today’s blog post, let me say that I’m definitely feeling better. I’ve been sick with West Nile Virus, which is why my blog posts for my website had been put on “back burner” for a while. But I want to reach out to all of you who have kept me in your prayers… Thank you so much! Your comments on my website … Continue reading How to Alter a T-shirt Pattern, to Make a Crop Top w/McCall’s Crafts 5462 Doll Clothes Patterns #DollClothes #SewingPatterns

The image shows a close up of the McCall's 9449 small baby and toddler doll pattern published in 1968. This image was part of a vintage pattern discussion on the ChellyWood.com website on Martin Luther King Day, in January of 2023. The patterns were shown to fit modern-day baby alive dolls.

What is a yoke in sewing terms? #LearningToSew #DollClothesPatterns

Almost exactly one month ago, for Martin Luther King Day, I posted a blog post about this McCall’s 9449 doll clothes sewing pattern. In that blog post, I talked about how rare it is to find vintage patterns with representation of African American dolls on the envelope’s cover art. Well, it’s now February, and here in the US, we celebrate February as our Black History … Continue reading What is a yoke in sewing terms? #LearningToSew #DollClothesPatterns

In this image, a quilted frame surrounds a close-up of the swimsuit image from McCalls Teen doll fashion 3429 doll clothes pattern, but the swimsuit (which normally appears in blue) has been redesigned in a salmon or coral colored-shade of pink. It's very becoming on the strawberry blond haired doll drawn there as the model.

Vintage McCall’s “Teen Fashion Doll” swimsuit pattern Part Deux #Vintage #DollClothesPatterns

As you may recall from last week’s swimsuit pattern discussion, the Southern Hemisphere of our lovely planet Earth is currently enjoying summer, so in honor of my southern-hemisphere followers and fans, I’m doing some blog posts about the swimsuit/bodysuit pattern shown as View B, on the vintage McCall’s Teen Doll Fashion pattern number 3429, which appears above. Two weeks ago, I showed you my sewing … Continue reading Vintage McCall’s “Teen Fashion Doll” swimsuit pattern Part Deux #Vintage #DollClothesPatterns

The image shows the bottom half of a modern Barbie wearing a purple swimsuit. She stands beside McCall's Teen Fashion Doll Pattern number 3429. This photo is surrounded by a purple cotton square frame dotted with tiny white polka dots. Over the photo and slightly to the left of the photo are the words "free pattern" under which is the Chelly Wood dot com logo.

Which “mystery Barbie” fits best in my vintage McCall’s “Teen Fashion Doll” swimsuit pattern? Surprise! #Vintage #DollClothesPatterns

Today’s blog post is dedicated to all my followers who live south of the equator. Summer is underway down there, so it’s time to do a blog post on swimsuits! Last week I showed you my sewing fail, with regard to the swimsuit / bodysuit pattern in McCall’s vintage “Teen Doll Fashion” patterns. Once I’d tossed my coral-colored first attempt aside, I decided to give … Continue reading Which “mystery Barbie” fits best in my vintage McCall’s “Teen Fashion Doll” swimsuit pattern? Surprise! #Vintage #DollClothesPatterns

With a purple and turquoise fabric quilt frame, we see see two doll clothes patterns for Mattel Skipper dolls inside the frame with a woman's torso over the top. The woman, who wears a yellow blouse, has her hands up and her shoulders shrugging, with a curious look on her face. There are question marks dancing around her. The ChellyWood.com logo appears to the side of these images.

Not all Skipper patterns are alike! #BuyerBeware #DollClothesPatterns

As the heading for today’s blog post states, “Not all Skipper patterns are alike!” You see, Skipper has undergone quite a few changes over time. The earliest rendition of Skipper was a nine-inch doll with no bust and a fairly inflexible body. Here’s my vintage Skipper, modeling a poodle skirt:   In the 1980’s, she became taller but still didn’t have much of a bust.  During … Continue reading Not all Skipper patterns are alike! #BuyerBeware #DollClothesPatterns