If you follow me on Instagram, you saw some peeks this weekend of my progress in designing new felt doll patterns. It has been TOO much fun. I can't even put it into words. There's something about diving into a totally new craft that is exciting - dollmaking, like any craft, is in a world of it's own. It's been a learning process as well. Realizing the doll's character changes when you stuff it, and making tweaks and changes to the design to compensate for that. This doll is a prototype, and I'll be tweaking the design slightly to get it "perfect". But I'm definitely smitten with this little redhead.
She's just shy of 10" tall. One of the funnest parts of designing this first pattern was sourcing all of these cute materials to embellish her with. I have much more than pictured and I can't wait to use it all. It was quite the treasure hunt finding supplies that are perfectly doll-sized. I will be including my sources for all of these supplies in the final pattern PDF, so no fear!
She was inspired by my favorite decade (of course), the 60s, and Japanese pose dolls that I love. I will be designing patterns for more girls, with different hair and dress styles - so you'll be able to make a gaggle of friends! There will also be BOY PATTERNS! Yes! I will not forget the boys. They always get left out. So the girls will have boyfriends, too. Or, you know, friends that are boys. ; )
My plan is to create VERY thorough instructions on putting together these dolls, so that no one will be intimidated by creating one. They are really very simple. You use a lot of the same stitches over and over and she is completely handmade. No sewing machine skills required. I will share lots of tricks that I've learned. I love the idea that she's 100% handmade.
These dolls are also poseable, so they aren't floppy. As you can see here, she sits up on her own. I will share in detail my construction method in the pattern.
And I have to say a quick thank-you to my friend Karli, who gave me those awesome doll-sized magazines. They have come in handy for doll photos for years now! And speaking of that Jane Fonda cover, remember this post I did about Barbarella a couple years ago? I FINALLY watched it. OMG. So good. SO SO GOOD! And so so funny. I really didn't have high expectations. I knew it was supposed to be very campy, but I absolutely LOVED the styling (the opening credits are just too amazing with the text juxtaposed on top of an anti-gravity Jane!), the costumes and was wonderfully surprised by just how funny it was. I can't wait to watch it again.
And can I just say what a babe Jane Fonda was? Wowzers. Total babe. The only Jane I ever remember is the exercise junky from the 80's. I'd never seen 60's Jane. I was impressed.
Stay tuned for more Dolly Pattern updates!
