Soft doll making

[kuja.girl]

So after I suggested softies/plushies/soft toys as a contest I decided I wanted to make one... then I realized that I didn't bring my books with me when I moved ... talk about a fail.
Luckily there are plenty of free patterns on the web and I found one that I like very fast via Google magic:
Felt Fairy Doll

This is not a beginner pattern. It doesn't come with any instructions and has a lot of darts (right term?) to make the shape of the torso and head. The feet are also a bit tricky - but not too bad. If anyone wants to try one I'll try to help fill in the gaps.

I made a felt version of this doll and I don't like it (see photo) It's probably because I have to use synthetic felt (being allergic to wool sucks) or maybe it's just because I want a more "refined" look so I'm going to try a cotton version next. For now this is my "dummy" version.

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[Digitlanalog]

I actually would. I've wanted to try making some custom dolls but I'm always overwhelmed as where to start, this pattern looks pretty simple and your dummy looks great! (and I would also call those darts )

[starrley]

I think your doll looks great! When I first saw the picture I thought it was the one from the pattern.

[kuja.girl]

Thanks guys. I've made a lot of progress on the cotton version. I've painted her face and sewn all of the pieces, now I just have to put her together. Since cotton frays very easily I decided to seal all of the edges of the pieces with a layer of Modge Podge which worked really well. I plan to seal the entire doll this way since I'm using water colors to paint her.

A few issues popped up with the cotton version:
- head seems too big. we'll see if I still feel this way after it's attached and has hair.
- the ankles are REALLY narrow and pulling the foot through them was not easy. This wasn't an issue with the felt because it stretched.
- hands. right now I have two pieces of cotton modpodged together. I'm not sure if I like how 2D they are. I may end up replacing them with something else.

I also need to find some cheap yarn for her hair... The rummage shop was closed today so it will have to wait until next week :(

painted lady

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all sewn up!

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