My latest creation is named "Rag-bot", for Robot Rag Doll, and I think it is just adorable if I do say so myself. I started this doll making process differently than I have in other projects. I wanted to be a bit more practical with the planning, and so I drew up an image of the doll I wanted to create. I chose to go with four fabric choices, all in shades of purple, black, and white. After I had a basic image for the doll, as you can see on the paper above, I wanted to be smart with my fabric selections, so I numbered my fabrics 1-4, and then decided which I would use for the front/back of each body part. For example, you can see that the leg is 2/3. That means for me that I am placing fabric 2 on the front and 3 on the back of the legs.
Next I got a spare piece of cardboard from the recycle pile and drew up a template for the doll. I wanted the head to be a bit larger than the body, so I found objects about the size I wanted to use and traced them out. I don't have a straight edge ruler, just measuring tapes, so I was working without exact measurements. For me that was fine, none of my other dolls have had any measurements at all. I planned a size for the face shape, then made a second templete for that, since I like to do my faces on stiffened white flannel so I can stitch and paint on details, and sew buttons on to a more secure background.
Even though I had originally planned on making a spiral form 'antennae' for Rag-bot, I opted for a Y-shaped style instead, since I wanted to play with angles and I also love the retro "rabbit ears" look. I chose different colours and sizes of buttons for the eyes, since I wanted it to look more like it had gears for eyes, and after drawing on the mouth, I went over it with black embroidery floss. The cheeks are actually painted on in acrylic paints, just small circles in a matching lavender shade.
This image shows the fabric choices for the back, I really love using the zebra-print chintz here, it is so darn cute. This one is likely heading out in the mail to my eldest niece. What is nice about this particular doll is that both boys and girls, and adults of all ages, will like it. Any alterations I make would have to do with maybe adding a weighted 'bean' section to the bottom so it can shelf-sit nicely. This doll can be endlessly customized in colours and patterns, using from 1 to 12 pieces of fabric, and makes great use of small scraps and left over remnants. The ribbon bow gives it just a little more polish, so I need to find more ribbon for future projects. I have already been asked to make more of these, so maybe this is one for the Etsy Shop when I open it.
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