I finished a new doll today during nap time.
Last week I received a bundle of vintage fabric scraps from an ebay auction and they were so inspiring (nothing is better than someone else’s scraps!). A lot of the pieces are fairly small – perfect paired with linen for some pincushions. And some of the pieces are tiny florals that would be great for doll dresses. This doll’s dress and bloomers are made from fabric from that package.
Here are the steps that went into making this doll.
It started with a sketch
And then I drew pattern pieces onto freezer paper. I chose the dress fabric and used it as the anchor for picking colors for her hair, bloomers and boots and for the vintage button in her hair. Then I ironed the freezer paper to the fabric, cut and sewed the pieces. Here she is sewn, but unstuffed
and here she is all stuffed and still in her underwear and without a face.
Then I inserted elastic into her dress and clothed her, embroidered her facial features and sewed the button in her hair.
Here she is sitting up proudly.
I really enjoyed making this doll. I am realizing that I have only made animals for a long while now so dolls feel fresh to me again.
Oh totally brilliant!
love that doll! she’s like a little flapper.
i can’t believe you could do that from scratch! she turned out great!
too cute! I love her fabric hair. I love boxes of scraps! They really are a lot of fun and inspiration.
I mentioned your blog on my blog today, I hope that is ok (sounds like an updated “have your people call my people, doesn’t it?). You made the same deer…and warned me to enlarge the pattern!!
oh…she’s so sweet…
This doll is precious! If you don’t mind me asking, why did you use freezer paper? do you leave it there? I’m just curious I had never heard about using it for making a stuffie and it’s hard for me to figure out the use of it 😉
super cute!
beautiful! I want one like it…I’ll just have to make me one! Yah, the freezer paper is a grand idea. do you peel it off after the fabric has been cut?
beautiful! I want one like it…I’ll just have to make me one! Yah, the freezer paper is a grand idea. do you peel it off after the fabric has been cut? oh, what kind of stuffing do you use for your dolls? what brand?
de-lurking to say that I LOVE LOVE LOVE this doll, she is so deceptivly simple in design, yet I don’t think many would even think to make a cloth doll with open fingers, but you did and it completely makes the personality of the whole doll. Those fingers! I am inspired!
so cute
and thanks for including
the how-you-do-it
i found that really interesting.
and i LOVE the hands
on this doll…
those little fingers
🙂
Just perfect! You did an awesome job.
she’s very very super cute. looks like a 1940’s swimmer girl.
~ could you give us a tutorial on how you stuff your stuff so well without lumps? I’ve been making sock monkies but they are lumpy.
Those little fingers are so sweet! I just wanna reach out and touch them. Just beautiful, really.
Those little fingers are so sweet! I just wanna reach out and touch them. Just beautiful, really.
Lovely doll!! Those fingers are fantastic and ma into fabric hair too at the moment.
She is adorable! Thank you for sharing the process.
I love the little hands…they are fantastic! I love the cube animals, too! You have really inspired me!
I love her little fingers! Great job abby!
Beautiful! I should send you some of my scraps sometime ~ I do use most of them in patchwork, but there are some oddballs from a long time ago that will never match.
I saw this entry on craftgrrl and thought you might be interested in some of the books ~
http://community.livejournal.com/craftgrrl/8771845.html
oh, she is really too sweet, it’s amazing how you arrived to make her little fingers….