A fairy doll

Way back in January, I began working on designing a cloth doll. I didn't want just any cloth doll. I wanted a fairy doll. One that would be in the same world as my critters. Not only that, I wanted a fairy doll to be an actual fairy with wings quite firmly attached. None of this wings attached to the clothing or wings like a Halloween costume.

I began with a basic Waldorf type doll based on a book I'd purchased. I liked the concept of cotton skin and wool stuffing. I have kept that part in my doll making. I found that making the head wasn't easy. I have an easier solution which I will share in another blog post. When I was done with the doll, I realized that it was not what I wanted. Little tiny dots for eyes spread too far apart and another little bit for a mouth. I understand the philosophy and reasoning behind this. But, it didn't ring true for me. I also wasn't happy with the mitten hands and club feet.

I began to think of what I would want in a doll. I started by experimenting with the facial features. I added a bump for a button nose, pulled the eyes closer together and made them bigger, and made a longer mouth. My embroidery skills are great, but I could not embroider bigger eyes on the knit fabric. I've got many, many eyes on heads sitting in a box, along with other body parts. :) I decided to go with something I had tried years ago when I couldn't afford to buy plastic safety eyes for a stuffed bunny I was making. I created eyes out of felt and embroidered them in place. It gave the doll that innocent wide eyed look I wanted. Then I added the delicate pointed ears. That made me happy.

Addressing the arm attachment and lack of fingers was the next step. I made several attempts and have arms sitting in that box along with the heads. It isn't perfect. I wish the hands and fingers were just exactly as I envisioned them. Alas, the fabric will only allow so much because it's a stretchy knit. But, the doll has fingers. That makes me happy too.

The leg and especially the foot came to be even more challenging than the fingers. More body parts got added to the box as I worked out just how the leg and foot should be made. As I worked through each step in the process, I became certain I was done, only to find out that there was another issue to be addressed to see my vision into reality.

There was the slight curvature to the back and darts at the hips to make a nice curved bottom. The hair was yet another issue. Some of the more complete dolls in the box of parts have interesting heads of hair. And I'm still not entirely pleased with how the hair has come out. I will continue to work on that.

I thought that the last issue would be designing and attaching the wings. I was wrong. The wings were a challenge, but not the last one. Actually, designing the wing itself was fairly straightforward. It was attaching them to the doll that was the challenge. And they are not exactly what I had in mind because the wings can be removed from the doll. However, sewing the wings directly to the doll, they did not lay correctly across the back. The snaps work well and keep the wings attached to the doll.

The final issue, which I didn't think would be hard at all, was clothing the doll. The upper part of the clothing has to be able to fit around the wings. I thought that would be easy. It's just doll clothes with an opening in the back to accommodate the wings. HA! It also took time to figure out.

At last, months later, it has all come together. While there are dolls that came before her, she is the culmination of all those months of work. I give you Nerine, the fairy doll in pink.

She is available in my Etsy store now and waiting to find a new home that needs a bit of fairy magic. There will be other fairy dolls in the near future.

Fiber Art Legacy

This is my grandmother on her 100th birthday. She lived to be 104 years old. But she, like my other grandmother and my mom, knew how to use fabric and yarn to make things. She sewed and crocheted. Her favorite was to crochet baby sweaters, hats and booties.

I was thinking about my sewing legacy. My mom sews and quilts. She dabbles in crochet and knitting. She taught me to sew when I was very young. I learned to thread a needle and make stitches at about 6 years old. They weren't the best stitching, but it was a start. I began to learn to use a sewing machine about 7 or 8 years old.

My other grandmother didn't live as long, but she too, knew how to sew. She also knew how to quilt, crochet and tat. Looking back I wish I had asked her to teach me how to tat. My mom shared with me that grandma could figure out how to sew garments without using a commercial pattern.

I'm certain my great grandmothers, through necessity, knew how to at least do some basic sewing. Tho' I suspect they knew more. I am the product of all these women. I was amazed as I stepped into the adult world years and years ago, that my ability to sew and mend (which I took for granted) was not shared by my peers. If I showed up to work in a new blouse, the question of, "Where did you get it?" was answered with, "I made it." and the conversation died. I suppose sewing and other fiber arts are fading away. There was no curiosity. It was chalked up to me being a little weird or maybe they didn't believe me.

When my son was young, I made most of his Halloween costumes. I'd even make him the occasional piece of clothing. I remember one such incident when fleece jackets were in style. I couldn't afford to spend the money on one of these specialty items. I took him to the fabric store where the fleece was on sale. He picked the fabric and the style of jacket. I was able to purchase it for 1/4 the price of the finished goods available in the stores. Once made, he wore it to school. He was asked where he'd gotten it and proudly claimed that I had made it for him. He was accused of lying even tho' one bold youngster pulled the back of the jacket to check for a label and discovered there wasn't one. I was saddened that the kids couldn't even comprehend that someone knew how to sew.

I have always taken this skill for granted. It is so much a part of me that I give it no thought. It's something I know how to do. Missing a button, let me look in the buttons I have and replace it. Zipper's broken, I can get a new one and sew it in. A rip, tear, or hole in the pants, a little stitching and it's mended. If a skirt or pants are too long, I can hem them shorter. I just do these things without thinking about how I came to have the skills. The skills have expanded beyond clothing. I have made costumes, bags, toys, pillows, and curtains. I have gotten to the point of designing the patterns I follow rather than buying one, especially for the stuffed toys.

Sewing is my inheritance from the women in my family. I want to thank each of them for their part. And, even tho' I threw temper tantrums at the sewing machine while learning, I am honored to be part of that tradition.

The Care and Feeding of Dragons

If you are one of the people in the world who has purchased a dragon from my Etsy store, or in person at a market, thank you. I thought you might like to know how to clean the little critter if it gets dirty. The wool felt is somewhat soil resistant, so cleaning it is not done very often.

 

 

Your dragon is a special creature from the magical realm on the Mountain. He or she is used to gentle play. The head, neck, legs and tail do not move on your dragon and should not be forced. To move these parts will hurt the dragon and may lead to injury. While the wings do have some movement ability, it should be done in a gentle manner.

If your dragon gets dirty, please do not give it a full bath without attempting one of these methods first.

1. Create some soap foam using a gentle dish soap. Carefully use the bubbles on a soft cloth to rub gently on the area of dirt. Then take a clean damp cloth to rub away the soap residue.
2. If that fails to clean your dragon, next try to use the cool, soapy (again gentle dish soap) water with a cotton bud (Q-tip) to rub the area of dirt. Again use a clean damp cloth to rub away the soap residue.

If your dragon is so dirty that these methods fail, you can dip the dragon in a cool water and gentle soap solution gently scrubbing at the worst dirt. Rinse in clean cool water. Blot as much water as you can with a clean towel. Set the dragon on a clean paper towel or cloth. At this point the dragon needs some alone time to air dry for two to three days.

Note that rubbing the felt may cause some of the fibers to roll up so do the least amount of rubbing to avoid a rough patch.

Finally, please do not feed your dragon. It is already stuffed. :)