Fanciful Cloth Dolls: From Tip of the Nose to Curly Toes: Step-by-Step Visual Guide

Preface

Do you have a treasured item that belonged to your grandmother? Perhaps your grandmother gave you something that she treasured because it belonged to her mother. From a tiny trinket to a beautiful quilt that adorns your bed, if the treasured item was actually made by the person it came from, then the sentimental value increases tremendously. The object may have no real monetary value, but it could be priceless to you. We consider these precious gifts to be irreplaceable.

There is a sad-looking angel that decorates my Christmas tree each year. When I say sad, what I really mean is ugly. The fact is that no matter what she looks like, she is very special to me. She has been on the Christmas tree every year since my first Christmas and I wouldn’t dream of leaving her off. No one in my family made this angel. She was probably bought at a five-and-ten-cent store. But although she is not much to look at, her beauty is in her sentimental value. She holds many memories for me, so I treat her like a priceless artifact. Between Christmases, she’s wrapped in tissue paper and stored in a box where no harm will come to her.

What will you pass on to or leave for your children? Will future generations of your family have something from you to hold dear to their hearts? Why not make something with the deliberate intention of creating a family heirloom? Make something worthy of becoming a prized possession to hold special memories for someone you love.

Many of our family traditions revolve around the holidays we celebrate. The customs we practice as a family remain with us our whole life. Children grow up and continue these traditions with their own families, or at least keep them as fond childhood memories. Sharing these things brings us closer together as a family.

If you’re a crafter, then it’s part of your nature to seek out new projects that include fun techniques. It is my intention to appeal to the crafter, sewer, and quilter in you with the projects in this book. You don’t have to be a doll maker to create these projects. If you’ve never done anything like this before, all you need is a willingness to learn. I’ll teach you the techniques and show you all the details. In this book you’ll find projects that are appropriate for the beginner, the advanced crafter, and everyone in between.

I am granting you an artistic license! With this license you have complete artistic freedom to give each project special touches to make it your own. If you have skills that you enjoy—embroidery, beading, quilting—you can use them to embellish the project with a flair and style that is personally yours.

Doll-Making Basics

The most important tool for making dolls is your imagination, so pull it out and let it run wild. The second most important tool is your sewing machine. Proper routine maintenance may include cleaning, oiling, and lubricating—check the instruction booklet for your machine. Some machines are designed to be oil free, so follow the directions for your specific machine. Many problems can be avoided with routine cleaning to remove the lint, dust, and thread that can get into the working parts of a machine. If you’ve lost your owner’s manual or bought a used machine that didn’t come with one, identify the model, serial number, and age of the machine. Most manufacturers make replacement manuals available on the customer support pages of their websites.

You don’t need a fancy sewing machine to create spectacular projects. If you do happen to have a fancy machine, use some of its features wherever you can. Decorative stitching on skirts, sleeves, and pants will add detail that shows you put time and thought into a project.

I get many emails asking, Can I substitute materials? Not only is my answer Yes, but I encourage you to make substitutions. While some types of projects don’t allow you to make changes to the original pattern, doll making offers many opportunities to add your personal stamp. If you feel a project pulling you in a different direction, go with it and see where you end up. You can make the same project several times and have unique results each time. The endless possibilities just add to the fun of creating.

I am also asked where I get my inspiration for projects. It’s funny, but my ideas often come from what may seem like odd places. A piece of fabric, a color palette, or a prop might define the theme for me, but more often inspiration comes from a strange object that isn’t even something I’ll use in the project itself. I see something that triggers a memory and gets me thinking. Often these memories are from childhood. I work out all the details in my head before I begin every project. When I can see the finished project clearly in my head, I’m ready to bring my idea to life. Once in a while things get changed along the way, but only because the project is leading me in that direction. When I’m asked which doll is my favorite, my answer is always the same: It’s the one I’m working on right now.

I find props around the house, down the street, and across the country. I love to travel, because it broadens my world and my opportunity to go on treasure hunts. My props can be purchased items, but most often they are found objects. My friends often save things they think I might use to make something. Sometimes I find an item that’s perfect as is, and other times I find things that I will make into something. I put all these little treasures into a box where they wait to become part of my next project. The patterns in this book are not intended for young children. All the details that make the dolls so special are not safe for children to play with.

General Sewing Equipment

Sewing machine

Open-toe or clear presser foot for sewing on traced lines

Straight pins

Sharp scissors (If you’re a quilter, you may find your rotary cutter and acrylic rulers also come in handy.)

Tape measure

All-purpose sewing thread

Quilting thread for attaching body parts and sculpting doll faces

Seam ripper

Needles for hand sewing, including curved needles and 5″ and 7″ doll-making needles

Iron for pressing doll clothes

General Doll-Making Equipment

Mechanical pencil for tracing templates onto fabric

Fabric marker with disappearing ink

Reverse-action tweezers or hemostat clamp for turning body parts and making fingers (You can find these online, or look for the tweezers in the scrapbooking department of a craft store. While I prefer using the tiny turning tubes for most tasks, including turning the bigger body parts, a pair of reverse-action tweezers will come in handy for guiding a pipe cleaner into a finger. This is a matter of personal preference, so try using whatever you have on hand before buying new tools.)

Tiny turning tubes for turning fingers, body parts, and clothing (see Resources, page 95)

Stuffing tool, such as an unsharpened pencil, a chopstick, or a dowel

Wire cutter for cutting pipe cleaners for fingers

Pliers for bending pipe cleaner ends

White craft glue for assembling props

Embroidery thread for creating doll faces and gathering sleeves and pantaloons

Artist-quality watercolor pencils, available in the art section of a craft store in boxed sets or individually

Paintbrushes with stiff, blunt bristles—a larger one for wetting fabric and blending cheek color, a smaller one to blend eye and lip colors

Basic Sewing Tips

There are a few instructions that won’t be repeated for each pattern but are important to note. I do the following things for all of my projects:

•  Always backstitch at the beginning and end of a seam to lock the stitches and prevent them from unraveling.

•  Sew with a ¼″ seam allowance unless the project directions indicate that a smaller seam allowance is required.

•  Have the iron handy while you are sewing. Press open the seam allowances in clothing for a finished look. Don’t press open the seams on body parts.

•  Clip seam allowance curves so the seam can spread and lie flat once the piece is turned right side out. If the seam allowance is trimmed to ″, there’s no need to clip. For example, if you are working with a fabric that frays easily, use the clip method instead of trimming the seam allowance.

•  Take the time to change thread while sewing. Try to match the thread color to the fabric. White thread is great, but not for everything. If you choose a dark color for the body fabric, white thread