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Cloth dolls....learn to love them and make them |
My love affair with cloth dolls
began way back in 1994 when I made three dolls for my sons, aged 8,11, and 12
respectively. As
soon as I embroidered on their faces and dressed them in old sweaters, the dolls
came to life
and
what fun the boys had with them !!!
When the boys got older I started making dolls for myself and used them to decorate the house for the holidays. The first source of patterns were magazines like Better Home and Gardens and Family Circle which would have a miniscule pattern drawn to scale on graph paper. One had to first enlarge the pattern and then begin sewing the doll. Now-a-days I use ready made patterns.
Progress through the years
At first I was interested in making dolls for the Christmas holidays which has always been a magical time for me. I searched for different patterns for Santa Clauses, Angels and Snow men. After filling up every niche in the house, I decided to branch out and create dolls which could be displayed at other times of the year. Easter bunnies and dolls carrying baskets of dried flowers were created for Spring. Dolls with fourth of July motifs and Frogs that go fishing were produced for Summer and Scarecrows and Pumpkin Head dolls were sewn for Autumn.
Now
after 7 years, I am very selective in what I make. I want each new doll to test my sewing and
crafting skills. My latest creation was a Pumpkin Head doll which
entailed making a the head out of sections of fabric and painting it to resemble a pumpkin. I had it displayed
sitting on a real pumpkin holding a welcome sign to greet my guests for Thanksgiving. All
the visitors thought that the head was made out of a real pumpkin!.
Here you can take a
look at my rendition of the doll.
This pattern comes from The Attic Trunk.
In the following pages I will show you some of my other accomplishments, link you with the various sources and hope that you will begin your own love affair with cloth dolls. But remember satisfaction comes from the act of creating. Once the doll is completed, it just goes on a shelf and this will force you to search for the next project. Happy doll making!
My next project turned
out to be a terrific
black cat complete with his own fiddle and bow. This pattern comes from Cat
and the Fiddle Designs. Instead of applying papier maché to the
head, two coats of Gesso were applied, the head was then
painted and finally finished off with two coats of glossy varnish. If
anything, the result was even more to my liking.
Click on Husband and wife to view and interesting couple or on Springtime Dolls to see some of my other finished projects.
View some Xmas projects
Click on the word Links to find sources for ideas and patterns.
wallpaper is from Art for the web -http://www.webpagedesign.com.au/
