Bunny Boo Who?

 My latest Stuffie is a sort of bunny creature, I wanted to try to make a pattern for myself again, and had actually planned on making a pair of these, but so far have only managed "Peachie" Bunny Boo. Here is the process thus far.

 I started by adding Stiffy, yes that is what it is called, to cut-out fabric circles. These are my basic faces, the style I like to use, but I stiffen the fabric to make it easier to work with. It makes embroidery easier, although it makes turning out the completed doll structure difficult.

 I chose a selection of matching fabrics, all with peach and orange, touches of blue and brown as well. I really like to make dolls that aren't too obviously intended for girls or boys, at least when it comes to Stuffies. I want the owner to be able to decide on their own name and gender of the doll, and I want them to appeal to all children, since they are meant for gentle play.

 I cut out my fabrics, I have alternating prints on the arms, legs, and ears, so that they are one print facing front, and an alternate on the back. It means watching carefully so that when I switch the pattern pieces to make the matching arms and legs, that I cut them the right way. I used my new sewing machine to sew this project, my first time using the machine almost exclusively, it was really challenging to work on the small curves, I need to learn what plate to use under the fabric, I think the fabric would be easier to manipulate on the darning plate as opposed to one with feet that grab it. It does save time though, which is wonderful.

 After hand drawing the face onto the bunny [for some reason I omitted the classic buck-teeth, oh well] I used embroidery thread to stitch it into place. With curved faces, I always opt for a plain stitch, since it looks neater. My recent acquisition of pinking shears [yay!], means that I can really make the edges of the circle faces look sweet.

 I hand embroidered the face in place fully, and choose two beautiful mismatched light blue buttons to give it a lot of character.I think this face is absolutely adorable, one of the best I have done yet.  I then made my Bunny Boo's tail, this was a technique I have been dying to try. I made a fabric Yo-yo out of a peachy fabric, then added a tiny bit of PolyFil stuffing to the cavity inside to make a bit of a puffy tail. I think it turned out nicely for my first Yo-yo.

 I stuffed all my limbs and ears next, then I then got ready to sew all the elements in place. I started by re-tracing my template in disappearing fabric pen on the wrong side of my body pieces.  I sewed the tail in place on the back, the put right side together and pinned in all my limbs and the ears.  I ran the whole thing through the sewing machine, trying to ensure that all the parts were well sewn into the body. I was mostly successful, although one ear wasn't fully secured so it required some hand-finishing.

 I like the bent Bunny Boo ear, it gives it a little more Wonky character, which is my thing, and it looks funny.  I left enough room on the right side of the doll, from under the ear to above the arm to turn the whole doll out.  All those stuffed pieces and the firm face fabric make for a difficult turn out. I was mostly pleased with how the doll looked pre-stuffing.

In these pictures, you can see how the alternating prints went down on the arms and legs, and you can also see the puffy tail that I secured into place by hand. I think the patterns work nicely together.

 The final steps are of course stuffing up the body cavity. It took a lot of PolyFil to fill this fellow, it is a much bigger body then I have done before. I need to be conscious of this fact when designing patterns, because I really need to make sure I have enough supplies on hand to complete the projects I start.

 My completed "Peachie" Bunny Boo, sitting atop my current storage system, several reusable shopping totes and random cardboard boxes. At some point I will have to organize my crafting space to better store my materials, not only because I want it to look neater, but I want to be able to find what I need when I need it. Hopefully my niece, my brother's daughter, will like her bunny, as she is the intended owner of this sweet Stuffie.  Onward and upward.

It's Time To See Polle

When my nephew saw my original Rag-Bot design, he told me that he wanted one too. How can I resist a request from my "schmoopie". Of course, being the one kiddo that has learned how adaptable 'art' can be, he ordered up a few modifications to the original design.

I started with my base template, and this time I was really interested to see how different the process would be using a sewing machine. I was able to get a good deal on a basic Singer machine, so I decided to go for it even though I hadn't used a sewing machine since I was 12 years old. Let's just say that the learning curve is pretty darn steep.

My nephew chose all his fabrics and how he wanted me to use them, as in front and back, of the limbs, and the body. He wanted a fairly large printed 'Aliens' poly-cotton blend print for the body, so I tried to get a good piece of the fabric so that you could see some of the design on the back at least. Arms and legs were to be two-patterned, with opposites on the arms vs. the legs.  The antennae was to be in a black 'Space' print that seemed to match well.

I created the basic white face panel as I always do on a piece of white flannel, and I stiffened it with the liquid product and let it dry. I drew the face on in pencil first, marking eye placement, and then drawing the smile in a permanent black marker.

An addition to the design that was a 'must', according to my nephew, was adding 'ears' to my pattern. I created them by sewing a half moon shape on a red print, then by turning the half-circle right sides out and  basically just rough stitching them into a folded ear shape.

After managing to sort out some problems with a jammed needle and thread breaking on my machine, I was able to stitch up all the pieces, including the altered antennae, which has a 'round' shape as opposed to the 'Y' shape of the original version.  It looks mostly octagonal, since it was my first time trying to sew a round seam on the machine, but I think it still works just fine. I turned the pieces so out so that the right sides were out, and I stuffed them all, with the exception of the ears, which I wanted to leave "floppy". I pinned the pieces where they were to be sewn into the main body.  [Yes, my tape measure has a little pig on it, I am a sucker for cute]

After figuring out how to adjust the stitch size and tension to account for a thicker fabric, I was able to sew the face patch onto the head of the doll.  I used white poly-cotton blend thread, so the stitches disappear. I also secured the  buttons for the eyes in place with the same thread, making sure they were well anchored.

 Next I used a black embroidery floss to stitch over the drawn on mouth, to give it a 3D effect, and add a more hand finished look. I also opted for a basic stitch and framed the panel in, since I used a pinking shear to finish the edges.  Normally I use an 'X' stitch, but with the jagged edge, the detail would have gotten lost.  I went on to reinforce the eyes with the black embroidery floss as well.

After pinning all the limbs, etc. into place with like sides together, and all the 'parts' on the inside, I used the machine to stitch around the edge of the doll.  I left a bottom corner open, and carefully pulled out one limb at a time, and then turned the entire doll right side out.

As you can see, all the limbs and the ears, antennae, etc. are sewn in place. The machine really did a nice job reinforcing all the limbs. I opted to secure only the antennae and ears with extra stitching in black embroidery floss to reinforce the shape of the ear and give added support to the heavy antennae. The stuffing opening is on the bottom right side. I had my nephew help stuff this fellow up, giving him the opportunity to choose how 'firm' or 'soft' he liked it. 

The finished doll, named "Polle" by my nephew. I asked him how to spell it, and he said P-O-L-L-E, which rhymes with Roley Poly of course.  I love letting him name his own dolls, it's really fun to give him as much ownership as possible in the process.

Here is Polle and his new owner, my 6 year old nephew, who was at this point of the evening was very tired and not too thrilled with posing for the camera.  This was the only 'natural' face I could get from him, the rest of the pictures made him look like Pee-Wee-Herman on a sugar high.

Polle appears to like hanging out in the rungs of the stairs, he is a good playable size, big enough to be cuddled, but small enough for travel. My next few Stuffies will likely be up for sale in my Etsy shop, so I better get sewing.

Just A Little Rag-bot of Love

 

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.

Those Tricky Consignments

Wanzie the Alien Stuffie, Custom Consignment.

Wanzie, my first Custom Consignment job came by way of my 6 year old nephew who adores anything creative and hand-made. When he learned I was making dolls, he asked if we could make one together.  I, of course, was happy to encourage him and on my way over to visit with him I asked him to draw a picture of the "Stuffie" that he wanted me to make.  As you can see, he choose a sort of Alien Monster, it is the cut-out drawing on red scrap paper.  

 I was presented with this drawing upon my arrival at the "client's" home, and sat down with him over Timbits and Hot Cocoa to discuss the design in more detail. You can see the 'order sheet' below. We got into specifics very quickly, I handed him my scrap fabric bundle and he chose his favorites.  I also let him choose the buttons for his single eye. It is this single eye that had his mother, my twin sister, suggesting the name one-zie, which I took some artistic liscence and converted to Wanzie.

His Order - Very Specific. One Eye (He choose the buttons), Two Arms (3 fingers on each hand), Two Antennae (One curly, one straight), 3 Legs, and a smile like so. [I wrote it down to be sure I had it correct, I am very professional this way]

Fabric - The client choose all his fabrics for each body part, I drew a pattern out by hand and began working.

Check - Two arms, three fingers on each hand... two antennae as specified. Face drawn and blush the color the client ordered.

Legs - 3. The final appendages built and stuffed, now on to the body.

This time, I decided not to cut out a window for the face, and instead used it like an applique to the front panel. I stitched the face in place with white thread.

I then followed my order form and added "those x things" around the face and stitched on the double button eye.

You can see that my stitches are all done by hand, of course, but they are becoming far more even and neat. After pinning the outward facing side together, I started full construction of the body. This was particularly challenging as I had to sew all the appendages in place "inside" the body as I went. I was wondering if they would make it once I turned the doll out.

We have the body! All limbs secured and stitched into place, an opening left for the stuffing. I have to say, Wanzie is a pretty cute little fella.

hose three little legs make me giggle. They look like little grey sausages. At least with the single fabric and pattern on both sides I was able to make use of the folded edge to form the bottom of the foot.

Wanzie stuffed and sealed and ready for the final touches. It is difficult to know how much stuffing is 'enough'.  This doll is going to see some handling, unlike an art doll, so I used a Poly-fil throughout. I wanted to double secure the limbs in place, so I decided to do the "X" stitch along all the joints in cotton embroidery floss.

"X" Stitches added to double secure all the limbs to the body. We now compare the finished 'Stuffie' to the original picture.

One eye... Check! The arms look like "asparagus" according to my sister. I tend to agree but my nephew thinks they are just perfect.

Done! To Be Delivered to the customer ASAP. He is currently at home with a tummy bug and fever. I think Wanzie will make him feel better. This was a really fun project and he is so much cuter in person. The camera on my BlackBerry doesn't do it justice, but you get the general idea. I am already hard at work on my next dolls. I have two in the works, very different designs, but I will share those soon.

Meet Beeple

After gathering a few scraps of fabric and some imperfect buttons, I decided to try to make my own "Alien" doll before trying to make one with my little nephew. For the most part, I just wanted to get a few of the dozens of mistakes I will be making out of the way before trying to look like I know what I am doing in front of a 6 year-old. Here is the progression of my little doll, made with no pattern, no instructions, no sewing machine, and a lot of lessons learned. Apologies for the poor photos, I am using my phone to take them.

I started out with a small scrap of  flannel, and  drew a little crooked smile. Pencils marked where the eyes would eventually go. I also used a blue Sharpie and colored the end of a Q-tip blue, then smudged on some blue 'rosy' cheeks. I have some liquid fabric stiffener, so I applied that over the face area with another cotton swab and let that dry. I traced a free-form alien blob on two different scraps of poly-cotton chintz fabric.  I forgot the like sides together rule, and cut around the shape, leaving a small seam allowance, then had to re-work things a bit so that it worked when I realized my 1st mistake.

My drawing only had one arm, not on purpose, I just was thinking of it as a drawing, and would have drawn another in front of the body. I added a second arm drawn on scraps and did the cut out, hand stitch, turn inside-out deal.  I did it with a pencil, forgetting I had a set of chopsticks in the kitchen. No cotton batting or Polyfil sent me off to the powder room to get a bag of 100% cotton swabs, which I pulled apart to make stuffing.

Next brilliant move, I cut a circle out of the front panel of the body and pinned the face piece behind it. I may do it differently next time. I hand stitched, in tiny stitches, all  around the face edge, you can almost see the row of white thread stitches below. I then went back with some matching embroidery floss and tried to do an "X" stitch pattern around both pieces, making it more secure and fray resistant.

Next step, I added two matching irregular buttons to the face where I had marked their placement.  I used the same embroidery floss, which made the eyes really pop.  You can see the face coming together nicely. 

Time for the big "sew". I placed printed sides together again, pinned, and then began the hand stitching around the line of the design. This took hours, particularly as I have some very bad Carpal Tunnel pain in both my hands. I took breaks and wore my wrist braces, but it was a challenge.

 I left a small, actually too small, hole on one side, and then turned the whole doll inside-out. Actually it was right sides out, but that is just going to confuse the matter. I used my chopstick to work on the "horn" and limbs, making sure they were fully turned out. They actually ended up so much smaller than I had anticipated. Lesson learned there.

It was now "stuffing" time. More time spent shredding cotton balls and then working the fluff into all the smallest parts.  This took quite a while, but I could finally see the doll coming into itself.

After fully stuffing the little critter, I started attaching the missing arm into place. I secured  it with tiny hand stitches in white thread first, then added more "X" embroidered stitches for fun.  I really like that the arm worked out to be the opposite pattern front to back. Closing up the last remaining edge and I was almost done.

Meet "Beeple 3", no idea where the heck the name came from, just popped into my head. Fully stuffed the horn curves over the forehead nicely all on it's own. The expression on his little face makes me smile too. This is my first complete "Art Doll" from start to finish with no pattern, plan, or guidance. I just dove in and went for it. I am likely influenced by the many amazing dolls I have come across in Etsy the last few weeks while writing my other blog Foraging For Fab.

When I was all finished, I noticed a tiny fraying hole in the back of Beeple. I decided to stitch, well 'darn' actually, it closed, and it made a great spot to place Beeple's ID tag. I made the tag from more stiffened flannel scrap, and then just wrote on it, punched a hole, and secured it to the back of the doll. I added an embroidery floss "bow" just to make it a little more polished.

I really like how my very first complete doll came out considering the fact that I faced quite a few challenges and forgotten rules. Not sure what I will do with him now, but he is going to go meet my nephew later today.  He measures 7" tall, so he is actually quite small, but since I had stitched the entire project, I think it was the right size to go with. Now I just need to make him some friends.