After making 15 of these, one after another, I was getting a little bit tired of it...I just had to find myself a diversion. With heaps of fabric scraps left and some polyester fill from some old pillows set aside, I thought of trying this out...Cotton fabric scraps for the body
Felt face, cheeks and hair/embroidered eyes and lips
This softie was made using Jhoanna's free downloadable Ruby doll pattern. I initially thought the doll was too small to work on, so I had the pattern photocopied to an A3 sized paper. My finished doll ended up being 15" long (the original, I believe, is 12").
Being my first time at making a soft doll, it was a little bit frustrating. It actually wasn't totally difficult...in fact, everything was going on rather smoothly until I got to the assembly part. Having already stuffed the arms and legs, it was quite hard to sew the body piece together. The bulk of the stuffed parts made it awkward to stitch around. I don't know if you can picture it...you probably can if you had already made this or any other softie before. Faced with this major issue, I nearly gave up but my daughter encouraged and supported me. She said, "Mum, last year you couldn't even sew a bag." She kept on telling me that the doll was lovely and that even though it wasn't perfect, I had to remember it was my first time. I left out most of the suggested embellishments but she, nevertheless, absolutely loved her Ruby Doll....and she's already 11.
Speaking of Jhoanna, you should visit (if you haven't done so already) her website, One Red Robin. Even if you're not a softie-kind of person, I assure you, you'll get hooked on her amazing creations. She is one totally talented lady!
Well, I am not making this first experience at doll-making discourage me. I, in fact, went to the library today to find some books that will help me learn more about this craft. I must say that, although I am not a naturally creative person, I do learn really fast...
Enjoy your weekend!
Thanks so much for the kind words! I really appreciate them :-) I think your Ruby Doll is adorable and I'm so glad that your daughter encouraged you to keep going and loves your creation.
ReplyDeleteIt is tricky to assemble the doll the way that I have written it - another way is to leave a small gap on the side of each limb/leg and don't stuff them. Assemble the doll as normal and then turn right-side out and then stuff body, head and also limbs and legs. Then sew up all the gaps in the limbs, legs and body.
Happy softie-making!
Hi Jhoanna, Thank you so much for taking time to give me some tips. I will keep these in mind next time I make a softie. Good luck with your coming solo show!
ReplyDeleteDear Corinne, your doll is so beautiful, congratulations!!!
ReplyDeleteI posted a link to it on my blog Feltro-Aholic: http://feltroaholic.blogspot.com/2010/09/molde-da-boneca-ruby.html
Thank You very much!!!!
Best Regards,
Carine Calé