This little cutie went home last week. And as I was making another one this week I hought I'd share a couple of tips about doll making.
If you've ever thought about creating one yourself, Nicole Owen's free pattern can be found {here}.
I have tweaked it some by adding the skirt, bodice bib, pocket and different hand shape. But the process is the same and the basic pattern is brilliant.
One of the hardest parts is sewing the arms and legs into the seems. The kind of hard that can leave you scratching your head wondering why you ever thought you could make a doll in the first place. But really it's only that way if you stuff the legs and arms as full as I do. I like a more plump doll. And for my own girls I didn't stuff them very much and I have regretted it to the point of redoing them.
So, if you are in to stuffing, I suggest you stuff the arms and legs to the top and then use your finger to push it way down so you have about an inch open at the top. Then pin it there so the stuffing stays down. This will make the portion that lays inside the seem lay as flat as it can. I also like to stitch those seems with my zipper foot so I can have less of my foot in the way. When the side of your foot butts up to the stuffed apendage you will be tearing your hair out and then tearing the seem out. Trust me.
{Psst...I've been drolling over this ^ sweet stack of fabrics lately. I think it wants to be a chevron striped quilt top with alternating white stripes, don't you?}
The last tip that I only just realized a couple of months ago is to attach the arms first and then the legs. I can't beleive I had been doing that backwards all these years. It seriously helps to not have the legs in the way when you are lining up the arms perfectly. Duh!
The next tweak I may give the pattern is to make the body itself 1/2-1" wider than I have been. It gets really tight around the base of my machine once the skirt has been added and I'm sewing ribbon to her waist.
Anywho...just thought you'd like to know. :)
I'll have another little lady to share with you tomorrow.
{SHOP NOTE} If you'd rather have me make your wee one a doll, I'll be taking more orders in 2 weeks. Allison is having her tonsils and adnoids removed next Tuesday so I'll be helping her recover first. Thankfully it's spring break next week, but she'll have to miss school for another week after that. She's nervouse as you can imagine so prayers would be much appreciated. After that, I'll have about 6 weeks left before school is out (yikes!) which will put a stop to any new orders for quite a while with the exception of an occasional ready-to-ship item as I have time.
Thanks for your support of TaDa! these past two months. I hadn't really intended to open up again, but because of you and some ebay sales I did, we were able to replace our stove and save for Allison's surgery. The glass top cracked recently so we were eating a lot of waffles and crock pot meals. Now my counters are clear of alternate cooking devices. Yay! ;)
