3D doll hairdo

Posting again took longer than I expected, but since I did have one request I will show the progress pics of the hairdo for the Gail Wilson 3D doll.

First of all, please don't be afraid to start your kit! The best tip is to just start with the first step rather than overwhelming yourself trying to figure out the whole thing. And once it's done, go on to the next one. There are so many details in the instructions you will have lots of help.

Take your time, I did make mistakes myself and slowing down allowed me to fix them before it was too late. For example, I traced the body pattern pieces onto the fabric then realized when I got to the last pattern piece that I didn't have enough room. You really need to snug the pieces up to the edges of the piece of fabric (assuming you bought the kit with provided fabric) to fit them all in. The solution? I just turned over the folded piece of fabric and retraced them onto that side. No harm done.

So here's how I did the hair. I pinned the wool wig (wool has been machine sewn onto a bit of fabric at this stage) on her head to check the placement before gluing. Gail recommends a cool melt glue gun but I didn't have any trouble with my regular glue gun. If you're worried about burning your fingers my big tip is to just put a bandaid on the finger you use to press the hair into place.

Glue just a little bit at a time and make sure it's going where you want it to. The exact position of the hair kind of changes the shape of her face. If you glue it a bit high she will have a high forehead, etc.

To "comb" the hair I used a tiny knitting needle I had on hand - size 0000. I didn't want to buy a hair pick, and the needle worked just fine. You need to start combing low down or you will have big snags - if you've ever had long thick hair you know this!

Here's a view of the back. You want to make sure your wig is low enough at the back so she doesn't have a big bare area on her head. Another tip, I saved the fibre that was pulled out and combed it and made a wig for my tiny dollhouse doll.

Lastly to make the braided hairdo, I braided two braids. Then pulled them up to the top of her head and used the felting needle to tuck and felt the tips of the braids in place. I used the needle here and there to tidy up wisps and make the hairdo secure.

I think this is a pretty style, but you won't be able to rearrange it once you've used the felting needles. Alternatively, you can use dark brown thread and hold the braids in place with a few stitches. That way you could remove them later if you want a change.

Good luck!

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Gail Wilson doll

Well it was just a matter of time before I tried a pattern by Gail Wilson whose designs I've been admiring for some time. Bradley bought me my first kit as a birthday present. It's the 3D 12" historical doll.

As I expected I learned a lot from this kit, there were lots of good techniques that are covered in detail. These kits involve a fair amount of work but the results are something really special.

I made a few little changes, the sleeves of the dress are shorter and left flared rather than gathered in. And I mixed up my own skin tone as the one included with the kit wasn't what I wanted. And I painted the details of the face differently.

Also, I decided to do painted shoes and stockings rather than the removable boots and stockings.

The kit includes patterns for the dress, petticoat and pantalettes and a nightgown. I haven't made the nightgown but I added an apron and a cape. If anyone is interested, leave a comment and I will explain how to make a nice simple little apron with a handkerchief! Also, I did the hairstyle differently and I could show that too. The lined cape was an enlarged pattern from a book about dressing old-fashioned dollhouse dolls.

 And now, of course, I am onto a new project...

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Millie - Mimi's Purl Soho doll pattern

So this is another doll pattern that's been in my to-do archives for ages. It's a free pattern that the amazingly talented Mimi Kirchner created for Purl Soho. As you probably know, Mimi works with wool felt and embellishes her dolls with applique and embroidery to make them extra special.

This pattern is perfect the way it is, but I ended up making a few changes for mine. Bradley had bought me a beautiful felted wool fabric pack for my birthday which I was dying to use. But this felt wasn't the dense commercial kind that won't unravel. So I added a seam allowance when cutting out the pattern pieces.

I also decided to make the doll a wee bit smaller to fit in with the size of dolls I've been making lately. So I printed out the pattern at 80%. And as usual I did the face and hair a little bit in my own way. This was my first time stitching a raised nose, it's so simple and effective.

Then lastly I didn't have a big enough piece to do the dress as is, so I used the light blue felt for the body and arms so it looks like a sweater, then made a dark blue skirt in the style of the pattern. Mimi does this with some of her girl dolls and it's so charming.

Lastly I added extra pieces, a little coat and bag, also inspired by Mimi's creations. I love the sweet little feet for this pattern, I embellished the boots with embroidered laces. A big thank you to Mimi for sharing this lovely pattern.

You can make this doll yourself, just nip over to The Purl bee for the pattern. And while you're at it, be sure to visit Mimi's blog for an endless array of beautiful and inspiring work.

If you get the chance, you're invited to the Spring Trunk Sale at the Workroom. One day only, 12-5pm on Sunday, May 15th. I have a table there, and will be bringing everything in my shop plus a few extras I have tucked away and even some sewing themed rummage!

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Mary Poppins doll at last!

So Mary Poppins put on her white gloves and tucked her umbrella under her arm–not because it was raining but because it had such a beautiful handle that she couldn't possibly leave it at home. How could you leave your umbrella behind if it had a parrot's head for a handle? Besides, Mary Poppins was very vain and like to look her best. Indeed, she was quite sure that she never looked anything else.   --Mary Poppins by P. L. Travers

I've finally finished the Mary Poppins doll. Well except for the umbrella... I'm still thinking about that. Don't worry, I do know it's important.

Of course I made a few changes, so I will show you the details. From the top, I absolutely love how her hat turned out. The pattern has a hat sewn from felt but I had the notion that I would like to make a straw hat for her.

Then one afternoon I just happened to be in a dollhouse shop in Cambridge (as part of a birthday treat day trip that included my favourite flea markets). And I found a tiny packet that had very dark navy blue miniature hat straw braid. There was only one colour, only one size and it was absolutely perfect.

So I looked it up online and sewing up a straw hat is pretty simple in the end. You can look it up yourself and find a tutorial that suits you, but the main tip, the thing I didn't know before, is that straw hat braid has a thread inside it that you can pull so that it curves.

The hat band is a tiny brown scalloped trim that was described in the dollhouse shop as "fairy lace". Now how on earth could I resist that?? Then I added some tiny white flowers I had already which I trimmed to look more like daisies.

The scarf was crocheted from pearl cotton with a tiny crochet hook. I matched the colours to the movie scarf rather than the pattern suggestions. That was a very finicky job that took a long time but as I often do I just worked on it while watching movies in the evening.

The boots are meant to be made from felt but they just turned out too bulky. So I copied the foot pattern and sewed it from black cotton fabric, hemmed the top, then embroidered the scallop edge and added the tiny black beads for buttons. The foot for this pattern has a funny shape but it's kind of charming in a way so I kept it that way.

Another little change was stitching lines to make fingers on her hands. And I decided not to bother with the mittens or stockings.

Lastly the carpet bag is meant to be made from blue fabric and embroidered. But I found the perfect little floral print at The Workroom that looks more like the carpet bag from the movie, and sewed it up from that instead.

There's a bit of wire sewn in at the top which you bend down to give it that doctor's bag shape. So charming!

So there she is.

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Sneak peek WIP

I added MOP buttons to the blouse after finding some truly tiny ones

While I'm also working on larger things - right now it's a wool jacket adapted from a coat pattern - I also keep getting drawn back to the small. In this case, a lovely doll pattern that I've had for years. It was tucked away and I just never seemed to find the right moment to start it.

You know who she is, right?

This pattern fascinates me because there are so many details. There is the doll, of course, with an elaborate hairdo and embroidered face. There are darts in the back of her head that make her head nice and full when stuffed. Then there are the clothes, which include a lace trimmed pettiblouse, lined skirt with tucks and piping detail, stockings, boots, a bowtie, coat, hat, mittens, scarf and last but not least, a carpet bag (that last one surely gives her identity away).

pettiblouse still needs more snaps at the back and lace at the bottom

I managed to complicate things by deciding to make the coat from fabric (with seams and a lining) rather than plain felt (with no seam allowance). And the yarn hair turned out a bit longer than the instructions required so I added the braids to her bun. Also, I wanted a smaller doll so I reduced the pattern to 70%.

But even without that this pattern is a lot of work. I love to think of some parent slaving away at this in the evenings in order to create what I would consider the best present EVER.

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Belinda and Lucinda

As I mentioned in my last post, I've been looking forward to making this sweet pair of Edith Flack Ackley dolls ever since I saw the picture advertising the pattern. This vintage pattern makes a surprisingly small pair of dolls. Well, I was surprised, but also delighted by how nice they are. Also the clothes are removable which I always prefer.

This picture with a teacup gives you an idea of their size.

Like my previous EFA doll, these have a dress, petticoat and pantalettes. The pattern also suggests a necklace and I thought it would nice for them to have matching glass bead necklaces.

If you're thinking of making this pattern yourself I did make some small changes. First of all the pantalettes seem very wide so you would probably want to reduce those - just shave off from the side of the pattern (thanks to Margaret for that tip!). Also the petticoat is not as wide as the skirt so you could make it wider if you want it to be fuller. On the other hand as the doll is so small this can make it bulkier around the waist. For the dress I found the front bodice to be a little wide so I tweaked that too.

Don't be discouraged part way through once you've turned the doll right side out and it seems pathetic and too narrow. Once you firmly stuff and stitch at the joints the doll has a very nice shape. Also I recommend FrayBlock at the areas where you need to trim the seams very closely such as under the arms.

I made a few little changes just to suit me. For example the pattern suggests drawing the shoes on with ink, but I ended up sewing fabric directly on the foot to make the shoes. I thought the wool felt I had on hand would have been too thick. I also stitched a little seam on the arms, just once, so that they bend at the elbow. Just little changes like that.

I love how they turned out and must thank Margaret once again for kindly sharing her pattern.

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First Edith Flack Ackley doll

To Greet a Little Girl - my 1st EFA doll

Another long time to-do item for me was to make a doll from Edith Flack Ackley's wonderful 1938 book, Dolls to Make for Fun and Profit. This book has a lovely collection of cloth dolls to sew charmingly illustrated throughout by Edith's sister Telka Ackley. I've had this book for a long time but didn't get around to making any of the dolls until now.

detail of her embroidered features

One thing that's refreshing about the book is that Edith encourages her readers to make the dolls to sell themselves. It's something I'm considering but I've found after making this first one that they're quite time consuming to make if you're fussy like me, and want the clothes to be removable and the hems finished by hand etc. This particular one has six garments, an undervest, pantalettes, petticoat, dress, pinafore and shoes.

back view

I joined the Yahoo group (edithflackackleydolls), which I recommend if you're interested in these dolls as you can see all the great photos of other dolls made by people in the group. That's also where I found the pattern for this doll, called "To Greet a Little Girl". The book has patterns as well but this one was nice and complete with more specific instructions. I always appreciate it so much when people take the time to share things like this!

the dress without the pinafore

I was inspired by Margaret McInnes' beautiful "Belinda and Lucinda" dolls made from a EFA pattern from 1934. Margaret was kind enough to share her copy of this pattern which you can find on her blog: A Doll Shop of my Own.

Undergarments: undervest, pantelettes and petticoat

So Belinda and Lucinda are the next Edith Flack Ackely dolls I'll be working on. It's hard to explain why a particular thing will captivate you, but this sweet pattern has, and I can't wait to make them.

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Needle Book blog - Spring Giveaway

Call it wishful thinking, but I've decided to have a little Spring Giveaway. It's actually in honour of my 400th post! I can't believe I've written that many, what on earth have I been nattering on about?

Anyway, just in case you think I don't appreciate my readers, here's the giveaway. It includes a set of my bird sketch notecards, a wee pincushion made with the sweetest Japanese deer print:

 and a one-of-a-kind peg doll:

She has a little feedsack skirt with lace trim, a brown knitted sweater, and a purple wool felt kerchief with tiny pink button.

All this cheerful Spring goodness for free, just leave a comment and I will pick a winner on March 15th. Please include your email address in your comment so I can reach you if you win.

p.s. I haven't put any of these pincushions in the shop as they are too fat to send letter mail, so they cost $6 to ship. Which is silly because they are only $5 to start with. So if you'd like to add one to any Needle Book Shop purchase just send me an email or etsy convo.

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City of Craft - final sneak peek and coupon!

sleepy side detail

This is my last post before City of Craft tomorrow, and my last attempt to lure you out to my table. This first item looks like two items, but it's actually a doll ornament with two sides, one is a sleepy face, and the other is wide awake.

It's what I'm going to refer to as an heirloom ornament, because it took a looong time to make, and so it's more expensive than most of my things. All that detail! Sometimes I try out a new design like this and realize it isn't going to work out when it ends up taking days to complete. So this is the only one.

wide awake side

sleepy side

wide awake side detail

This is a little crochet jewellery box, for those favourite earrings you wear all the time and would like to keep handy beside your bed.

Inside of the jewellery box

There's a cardboard tube on the inside, lined with fabric, so it holds its shape nicely.

Last but not least, I made a few of these Love shoppers from a blue floral vintage sheet. They have an appliqued heart on the front in white. These are $10 each or free with any purchase over $50 (while supplies last). Sometimes you just feel like you need to buy a little special something to make you smile, and the Love shopper wants to carry it home for you.

And finally here's the coupon (I didn't manage to get it ready in time for the swag bags):
Reasonable facsimiles accepted (and will entertain Bradley no end). Hope to see you there!

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