Therapy dolls!

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Hello old blog! It’s been so long I’ve almost forgotten about you but I wanted to do a post about my most recent foray into doll making- the pediatric physical therapy doll!

This was a custom order from a friend of a friend, someone looking for a doll she could use in her work as a pediatric physical therapist as a tool for teaching proper stretching techniques and other strengthening exercises. She gave me the necessary dimensions and asked if I could come up with a pattern to suit. I gave it my best shot and was pretty pleased with the results. She promptly ordered two (a boy and a girl) and asked for some business cards to hand out to friends. I’m hoping for more orders in this genre because they were so much fun!

The major differences between these dolls and others I have done are basically the size (these are much larger than anything I have ever attempted- 25 inches!) and the face that they have sewn in joints for movement and flexibility.

Did to their size, these dolls required a lot of stuffing and have a satisfying sturdy weight to them. They are very sturdy dolls which I imagine will be necessary for the work they are going on to perform.

Here’s a picture with my daughter to show just how large they are.

It’s exciting to have a purpose for a doll, other than simply a plaything. I’m happy to think of the use these dollies will get and hope they are truly helpful. Please check out my shop link in the side bar if you are interested in one of these unique dolls and message me for details! I’m happy to do custom work!

Just in time for Halloween

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I’m not really a big fan of Halloween. I mean, I enjoy dressing up in costumes on occasion and I won’t say no to the occasional Twix or snickers, but usually, in my mind, Halloween is the holiday we have to get over before we can get to Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Be that as it may, I have a bit of a Halloween themed doll to introduce you to. Of course, Harry Potter is not only about pumpkins and spooky things but it certainly came to mind with this doll.

I didn’t set out to make a Hermione Granger doll, but as I was pinning her bushy brown hair in place, the boys were listening to a Harry Potter audio book in the background and the idea came to me. Hermione is definitely my favorite character in the books. I always identified with her a bit- not because I’m really brainy or particularly bold (I’m 99% certain I’m a Hufflepuff) but I was always kind of a teachers pet and enjoyed raising my hand in class almost as much as Hermione. (With not nearly as many right answers, mind you.)

Laying that aside, we all know that Harry wouldn’t have gotten very far without Hermione. So I decided to base a doll off of her, figuring that there might be a few other Hermione fans out there.

Her Hogwarts uniform is pretty self explanatory. A pleated, gray, wool skirt, crisp collared white blouse, a soft knit vest and knee high socks with sweet, buckled Mary Janes.

Then, of course, she proudly wears her Gryffindor colors in a tie around her neck, as well as lining her soft black cloak. And let’s not forget her wand. She has a tiny loop in her hand to enable her to hold it, as well as in her cloak- for safe storage when she’s not out saving the wizarding world.

So there she is! Yes I’m aware that this reveals a nerdier side of myself, but I don’t really care. I hope you like her as much as I do. She’s on my shop tonight!

Now please excuse me- I’m off to carve some pumpkins. Happy Halloween!

Things are a little topsy turvy around here

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Oh hello dear blog that I once upon a time kept up with. I’m afraid that your faster and more convenient social media competitors have relegated you to a back shelf. But I thought I would like to do a post on these most recent dolls of mine.

Having spent most of the summer delving into the world of needle felting and waldorf dolls, I took a little rabbit trail into waldorfs that weren’t needle felted. Easier, less time consuming and more cost effective for my shop, I thought a simpler, more small-child friendly doll would be a good addition.

So I started these. The first one I posted sold in hours, the next two had interested buyers before they were finished. Then I had a few custom requests. The interest was not just in their simplicity and lower price- but in the fact that you get two for the price of one. They are topsy turvy dolls- a pretty vintage idea (and a pretty strange one, I’ll admit) where the doll is in fact, legless and two headed. These strange deformities are, however, well covered by a generous skirt, so that, with a simple flip of the dress, you get two dolls in two costumes.

To make things even more fun, I’ve taken some inspiration from Disney and produced a set of fairy tale topsy-turveys. Cinderella was an obvious first choice- servant on one side, princess on the other.

But what about Sleeping Beauty? Disguised peasant girl wandering the forest discovers that she is really a princess- then ends up being cursed anyways, but gets a lovely crown and princess gown (not to mention a prince) to compensate for her losses. (And yes, I know her dress is blue and gets changed to pink later, but I already had a lot of blue dresses!)

It was easy to jump off from there. Next I tackled a struggling waitress from New Orleans who finds herself in love…wait for it….with a frog-

And then a long-haired, purple-clad, tower dweller who sacrifices her golden locks when need demands, replacing them with a cute brunette bob.

And of course the mermaid who wanted to be where the people are. I had a really hard time figuring out a way to make her fins look convincing. These dolls take a fair amount of creativity. We’re going with these for now with possible improvements in future.

And last but not least, a poor and obscure village beauty who longs for adventure and finds it (and a famous golden dress) right in her own back yard!

You guys- these were so fun to make. And my brain is swimming with other ideas and is more than open to custom suggestions. They are soft and cuddly and very sturdily made and even some of my boys love playing with them (on the sly, of course). I don’t need to tell you that my daughter has claimed every single one as soon as it is done. 😂

They’re all on my shop tonight! Let me know what you think and if you’re interested!

Brown eyed girl

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Hello friends. I’ve been a little busy of late with summer VBS, several family birthdays and a triple order for some customized dolls but I wanted to take a quick minute tonight to introduce someone else to you.

This is Hazel. She’s my fourth attempt at a Waldorf inspired, natural fiber art doll and I’m finding each one to be a little easier. I’m never quite sure which direction that little starting sphere of wool will take me. It’s part of the fun of needle felting. After a few hours of sculpting, it appeared that Hazel was going to end up with some lovely, round cheeks. So in keeping with that look, I decided to add a few dimples and sculpt more of a smile into her slightly wider mouth. She ended up looking so cheerful and rosy and brown! So I figured brown with a hint of blush would be her theme in the clothing department as well. Her skirt is as full as I could make it and her rosy pink bolero and green belt accentuate the floral motif of this particular calico quite well.

Her hair, in my humble opinion, is the best I’ve done yet. It’s taken me a while to figure out the best way to do these cotton jersey wigs, but I think I’ve finally figured out a better method. Not the easiest of course, but it just hangs more naturally on the head and is easier to style.

Here are a few shots, in no particular order. She stands a little taller than her sisters- about 15 inches.

She’s on my shop tonight! Let me know what you think! Thanks!

A Penny for your Thoughts?

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I’m finding, now that school and work are done for the year, that I have a lot more time for sewing. That being the case, I thought about hitting the ground running this summer and really filling up my shop. It’s already too hot outside to do much else. But then, seeing all the things that need to be caught up on around this house after such a crazy year, I figured I would rather keep taking the sewing easy- stitching a bit of clothing here, felting a bit of wool there and generally not stressing about it.

Waldorf dolls, even more than my regular dolls are all about the process. Each detail takes time and consideration and shouldn’t be rushed. And why would I rush? Simply to say I have made such and such number of dolls this summer? My demand is really not that high right now. And so, I’m not setting myself any sewing goals, other than to continue learning and improving this delightful new doll making method.

And now for the title of this post. I’d like to introduce you to Penny! So called because of her coppery blonde locks. And because she’s so bright and cheerful looking.

She turned out a little more petite than my other attempts. There’s no saying just how big their heads will be when you start out with just a little ball of wool. You just keep adding a bit here and a bit there, trying to make sure the cheeks are an even size and the chin isn’t too big and the forehead isn’t too tall or too short. Then you have to cut out the body to fit the head. So Penny ended up a couple inches shorter than my other two dolls- a little over a foot tall.

I felt she needed a hat, because it was just really cute when I put it on.

Even without her hat, her hair makes a lovely, coppery golden crown. I really do love this jersey hair. It’s so much fun to play around with.

And this skirt. It’s pretty great. I made a several layered lace petticoat underneath to make sure it stood out nice and full and then did a full- gathered, floral, circle skirt over the top so it could be as fluffy as possible. She also has a simple, embroidered, white peasant blouse for a top that gathers at the top with a draw string ribbon and ties in two sweet little shoulder bows.

She’s on my shop tonight! Let me know what you think and feel free to pass this on!

Marta!

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It’s so fun, naming dolls. I haven’t really done it in the past, figuring that most people like to name their own dolls. But there’s something about these sculpted waldorf dolls. Something about all the labor that goes into them- the starting with a simple wool sphere and somehow sculpting a face out of it with no pattern. It makes the creative process seem, well, more creative! Each face slowly emerges under your fingertips and is so individual, you just have to name it!

I chose the name Marta because it reminds me of things soft and sweet and loveable and this girl is just that- all pinks and pastels and it brown eyes and soft, fluffy clothing. I’m just gonna leave a photo dump here and you can let me know what you think!

She’s on my shop now!

A first

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Last week, I took the plunge and started on a dollmaking method I’ve been curious about and admired from a distance for a while. Waldorf dolls have been around for a long time and the idea behind them is to keep things simple- facial features minimalistic so as to promote imagination and make sure all materials are from natural sources. I have made a few basic waldorf dolls but what I’ve really been itching to try are their more labor intensive relatives- natural fiber art dolls.

These dolls are daunting to attempt. They involve a curious method of sculpting a three dimensional face using nothing but a pile of soft wool and a special needle. This method ends up looking something like this.

Yes, this took a while. But it was so much fun. And I was a little amazed that I was able to make a recognizable face out of it on my first try!

Then this sculpted face is covered with a ‘skin’ of soft, stretchy fabric. In this case, I used my favorite unbleached organic cotton jersey. Then a couple simple eyes are stitched and the fun nose and 3D mouth emerge.

I didn’t have a pattern for her- I was just waiting to see how big her head turned out before I added limbs. And those were sketched out and went on pretty easily. The really nice art dolls use fine quality mohair for the doll hair. This stuff costs a fortune and adds quite a bit of value to these dolls. I wasn’t ready to fork over that kind of money until I knew I could actually make one of these. So I stuck to my good old cotton jersey yarn, which I really like. And it makes these less of a collectors item and keeps them suitable for children to play with, which is what I want for my dolls.

Then, of course, there was the clothing. I had a lot of fun designing this ensemble. The blue, linen fabric for the dress came from my stash of remnants, leftover from one my old dresses. The darling (if I say so myself) eyelet coat came from a skirt my sister donated. The shoes I made from velvet with ribbons, because when you’re a doll, you can get away with stuff like that.

Oh. And I gave her ears. That’s a first, but probably not a last.

So here she is. I’m calling her Natalie because she might represent the birth of something new. We’ll see. I love my other dollies too. But who says I can’t do both?

She’s on my shop tonight!

Always on the lookout for inspiration

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I’ve thought about digging through literature for some doll inspiration for a while now. Last year, I made my daughter a Ladybug Girl doll for her birthday but due to copyright restrictions, I couldn’t sell them. But there are lots of books out there in the public domain with little girls for heroines and the first one that came to mind was Anne of Green Gables. Of course, trying to imagine a favorite character as a doll is somewhat difficult- everyone has their own idea of what she really looked like. But I figured the red hair- the gray/ green eyes- the puffed sleeves- I should be able to at least come up with an approximation.

So here’s what I came up with. And I photographed her outside amidst the flowers, since that seemed suitable for someone like Anne.

I tried to give her a nice, dreamy, imaginative expression but there’s only so much you can do with a needle and thread.

Her clothing was a lot of fun- plenty of pinafores and pleats and of course, puffed sleeves!

But as I was sewing her, I couldn’t help thinking she needed her bosom friend by her side, so I went ahead and tried to imagine out Diana Barry with the black hair, rosy cheeks and enviable dimples. Here’s what emerged.

I just loved this tiny, flowered, pink calico. And since Anne was always forbidden to wear pink, I thought I would let Diana wear it. With a lacy, linen pinafore to cover it and keep it clean, of course.

I am selling these dolls individually on my shop or as a set. I thought it would be fun to do some doll duos (or quartets? Little Women anyone?) Here’s a few pics of them together, being kindred spirits.

Check them out here!

Just a lovely girl

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I don’t have a lot to say about this little dolly. There are some dolls that seem to fight me during their creation. They insist that I redo their eyes several times. Their mouth seems to be off center or their eyebrows simply refuse to line up. But this girl came into being without much fuss, – just quietly, without much ado. Her eyes didn’t cross, she had a good hair day from the first and her sweet, lacy clothing fit to a tee.

All she seemed to ask of me is to acknowledge how pretty she was and to please find her a home here. ☺️

Increasing my stock

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Doll making is slow this time of year. But then, demand is low as well (most people buy dolls at Christmas) so I feel like I can take my time, sewing when I can and posting whenever I am ready. The last thing I want with this little side business of mine is to feel stressed. ☺️

The next two or three dolls I have been working on are more ethnic in nature. I can tell you, working with the same ‘cream’ tone of Kona cotton ( my favorite fabric for doll skin) can get really old after a while. Thankfully, they sell many different shades that work well for dollies. (I’ve been working with some ‘latte’ and ‘mocha’ this week. Makes me wanna sew in a coffee shop.)

I’ve sold a fair number of Asian dolls in the past so I wanted to get one up on my shop again.

I’m particularly pleased with this girl’s ensemble. I opted against a frilly dress this time and went for some super girly floral trousers with button fastenings, a loose, summery blouse and a sweet, blanket stitched, suede jacket to cover all.

I’ve been enjoying doing more tiny details on these dolls as well, such as the little, hand-embroidered floral motif on her blouse. 😍

So there she is! She’s on the shop. Also posted is this girl, who is fast becoming a favorite. She’s just so colorful and pretty with her contrasting darker skin and bright eyes.

Floral skirt with tulle are just about my favorite, especially when accompanied by pleated, bell-sleeved, floral-embroidered blouses.

And her hair. Well, I never get tired of playing with their hair.

I had hoped to get my other dolly included in this photo shoot but my light ran out, so she’ll just have to have her own blog post. Check out my shop for more information! Thanks!