I finished my first head (haven't done the arms yet - only have enough wool for the head). But even after I tie it onto the dowel, its still wiggles a bit. Is that okay? Or should I try to really secure it? Dannielle, your instructions are amazingly clear, easy to follow. Thank you so much!
One side question... I remember reading some waldorf article saying you shouldn't let young children see half done dolls. Is this right? (I have a 3 year old) I'll mostly be working at night while she's sleeping, so I can put everything away.
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Mama to dd#1 (9/00) and dd#2 (3/04)
it's ok if it can move a little...just so long as it can't come off. If it doesn't feel tight enough you can always go back and forth through the hole a few time taking stitches on either side. I like for there to be a little play...enough that you can move the finished doll's head a little to pose it. The point of stitching through the dowel is to make sure the head doesn't pop off the dowel...I know I tend to pick them up by their heads.
I'm glad to hear they were easy to follow. I was worried about that...my pics weren't as clear as I would have liked.
I have heard that about dolls but I think that is more for dolls that are meant to be a child's special companion...I don't know if that theory applies to nature table dolls. But then in other books I've read that it's so special for a child to see their doll *become*.
I go with the 2nd one because there's no getting around the kids seeing half finished dolls in this house! LOL! I tend to make groups of things at once...sort of a production line. So I have a basket of heads, a basket of body parts...dolls in all stages of construction. And I often work on things that need to be hand-sewn while we're homeschooling since dd likes to have me sit with her.
The kids sat with me while I made our nativity folks tonight. We had a schoolhouse rock marathon while I worked on them. My son will be 3 in January...he's never seemed the least bit bothered by half finished dolls. I don't think seeing the process has made his babies any less real to him. My 8 yr old dd loves watching me make dolls...but she can be bossy and she likes to add her 2 cents.
Now for the hands. Take a piece of interlock skin fabric and draw long "U"s on it (pencil added to pic to show scale). The lines on the fabric will run parallel with the long sides of the "U". Using a smaller than normal stitch length sew the "U"s...remember to backstitch at the beginning and end.
Last edited by Dannielle : 11-16-2003 at 03:59 PM.
I use all 6 strands in the embroidery floss. I move my needle to the center to the strand of floss so I can embroider with a double thickness. That way I only need to make one stitch for the eyes and mouth.
Embroider the eyes first on the eyeline and equal distance from the nose.
Then embroider the mouth at the point that makes a perfect triangle with the eyes.
Tie off at the back of the head. I dab the knots with white glue to secure.
Fold fabric in half one way and then in half the other way. Fold pattern in half and place it in the corner of the fabric...the center front of the pattern will be on a fold and the top of the arms will also be on a fold. Cut out.
Sew side seams. If you have a serger you can finish off bottom hem edge.
Turn right side out. Fold in half arm to arm and cut out neck hole.
Slip onto doll. Starting at center back sew a running stitch 1/8-1/4" from raw edge of neck hole. Gather tightly while tucking in the raw edges. Tie tightly. Then take a small horizontal stitch in the doll's neck, then a small horizontal stitch in the clothing, the another in the neck...continue all the way around. YOu'll be using a blind stitch or ladder stitch.
Do the same for the sleeves. Fold raw edges in, gather, tie, stitch, tie.
I plan to sew my hems by hand using a blanket stitch. You can use a machine but it's harder. You really can't hem until you have the clothing stitched to the doll if you want to be sure the stand is covered completely.
ok, so now you have a baldy headed person in a robe. Time for the finishing touches.
Beard: sew the center of a tuft of wool to the chin. If using really curly wool (I know I sent everyone some really curly stuff) you would stitch closer to the bottom end.
Last edited by Dannielle : 11-17-2003 at 09:55 AM.
Lay a piece of wool on the head. Poke your felting needle through the wool and into the head (you're essentially felting this hair wool to the wool stuffing inside the head) from the neckline area to where the hair's part with be on top. Poke firmly yet carefully...felting needles have a delicate tip and you don't want to break the point off inside the head...make sure you use a straight up and down motion.
fold tuft of wool down. poke your felting needle at the fold many times to really secure the part. Lightly poke the folded down piece to connect it with the part of the hair that's really felted down well. You don't want to flatten it too much but you also don't want it to be too pouffy.
do the same thing to the other side. Be careful not to poke your felting needle in where the knots are in the back of the head...also make sure your knots don't show through.
then I made his cape thingie. For this guy I used the end of a sleeve from a wool sweater I felted in the washer. I cut a square and rounded the corners that will be the bottom of his coat/cape/whatever. I sewed a blanket stitch along the 2 sides and bottom (the top edge is the finished edge of the sleeve, the ribbing). Then I draped it around his shoulders, turning back the top edge to make a collar. I stitched the top corner to the center front/side. Just enough to make it hold...makes a sort of sleeve.
Then his hat... Can't really say exactly what I did. I cut a sort of a dome shape from the ribbing of another felted sweater sleeve. I stitched over the top curve. It was sort of an experiment but I decided I like it on him. I need to tack it down to his head though so it sits down on his head a bit more.
Ta-da!
He still needs some sheep and a stick for a staff. I'll also "rosy" his cheeks by rubbing some beeswax crayon onto a scrap of fabric. Then I'll gently rub the fabric on his cheeks.
Last edited by Dannielle : 11-17-2003 at 10:20 AM.
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