Saturday, April 16, 2011

Creating the perfect dolls...

It has been a while since i have posted any updates on my dolls, so i thought i'd post another. i still don't have any for sale, but i will very soon.

If you remember my last doll post this girl had started off looking very plain. It wasn't until i pulled her hair up and changed her clothing that she suddenly seemed to 'come alive' with personality.


i took these photos while playing around with different yarns and colors. This is all the same doll, i just placed different skeens of yarn on to top of her head trying to figure what would work best for her. i'm amazed at how the hair color/style can completely change the look of a doll. Through this process, i figured out she was definitely meant to be a red head.


i ended up using a combination of wool, mohair and cotton to give her a this fun and spunky hair. So the next part of the process is the clothing. i could just pick out a fabric, make a plain dress and post her for sale. i already have a handful of dresses made, and i could easily just pick one and be done. That's not what i want to do though.





Here is a few more photos of the same doll, modeling different outfits. i made 4 outfits for her, and still haven't decided which to use. i'm leaning towards the earthy color set that matches her hair so perfectly. i've already made a sweater and shoes to match.


Here's another girl that is almost finished. i knew exactly how i wanted her to look, and was super pleased with the way she turned out.

i went fabric shopping looking for something to match her lovely hair, and was thrilled when i found the rainbow heart print. The pants in the photo are a bit small, so they will have to be remade. She will probably have a sweater and shoes as well.


This is lastest doll i've been working on. She is a smaller size, only 12". i need to play with pattern a bit, as she came out a bit more narrow than i had intended. i originally wanted her to be thick and bit chubby like the cabbage patch babies. She is much more petite and pixy like. Her lovely hair was hand spun by my mother in law.

If you can believe it, before i had hair on her i was really disappointed with how she looked. Her head seemed too small, her body was too thin, her waist is a bit long. i was actually thinking my daughter would be getting a new doll...as she gets all of the 'practice dolls'. It wasn't until the hair was finished that i was able to picture exactly how i wanted her to be. i was thrilled to find the purple skirt fabric in my scrap bin. It is purple with teal flowers, and green leaves. Almost perfectly matching her her hair and eyes. The purple petal apron ties over the dress. She also has fairy wings that tie on. i may add a simple applique to the dress, or a bit more color to the wings...i haven't decided yet. She will be getting a wand.

It's really a neat process watching these dolls come together. A lot tougher than i thought, and i don't mean in the actual construction of the doll. They are definitely taking a lot longer than i thought they would, but i am not in a hurry to finish them. i'm not making them just to make money. i have no desire to crank them out quickly. i am making them because i want to make them. i think that love i am putting into them shows.

7 comments:

  1. you are very talented. your dolls stand out and will be very loved i am sure! love,angelina

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  2. Love , Love, Love your dolls!!!!

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  3. Love all of them!! I really like how the last one turned out!

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  4. Tree, I love the blue batik on the little red headed doll. And I am totally in love with the doll with the fairy wings. They are all beautiful.

    Kathi

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  5. Omg I love the one with her hair up, she looks like my bestfriend!!!!

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  6. You know how much I love them. Do you think you might do any extra outfits for them? Are they dress and un-dress-able?
    I don't know how you do them for the price.
    The love does show!

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