These are the first 3 dolls I have made. I've put a hat on one of the dolls, but haven't on the other 2 because I haven't decided what I want to do yet.
This doll is actually going to my co-worker whose birthday is coming up in June. I wanted to get started on it right away since I'll be going on vacation next month and I still need to embellish it and ...more to come on this doll. I think she will really like the fabrics and colors. I think as I make more of these dolls I'm going to do something a little different with their legs to make them look more feminine.
Okay, so here is the process: for the small dolls I wrote out a fabric cutting guide which makes the process go faster. I cut out all of the pieces ahead of time. Sorry it's a little hard to read. You start with a 4" square and a 4" x 1" strip for the dress fabric. That's all you cut from the dress fabric.
Next cut 2 pieces of background fabric: (2) of 2 1/2" x 4 1/2 " then place right sides facing each other place the background fabric on top of the dress fabric at a slight angle (depending on how small or wide you want the dress to become) and sew a 1/4" seam allowance. Like the picture below.
Then trim across the bottom so you have a straight line.
Next cut pieces for the arms and hands: (arms) use the strip you cut from the dress fabric (4 x 1" strip) and (hands) cut (2) 1 x 1 1/2" of cream or skin colored fabric. Then sew the cream colored fabric onto the ends of the dress colored fabric.
This is what it will look like.
Next cut pieces for the head. Using cream colored fabric cut (1) 1 1/2" square.
Then cut (2) pieces from background fabric 1" x 1 1/2" strip
Sew to make this strip
See, now you've made the head
For the legs
cut (2) pieces of brown fabric 1" x 1 1/2"
and from the background fabric cut (2) 2 " x 1 1/2" and (1) 1 1/2" square
Sew 1/4" seam allowance to make a strip like below
They will be attached in this way.
Before joining the pieces, you should think about how you want to embellish the dress. If you plan to use ric rac you will want to add it now so you can sew the edges into the seam allowance. I plan to embellish with buttons, so i can go ahead and sew the strips together using 1/4" seam allowance. You may want to fold the head in half and finger press the center of the head piece so you center it on top of the arms and the same for the legs. That way your pieces will be centered.
Below is from the book as to how to layout the pieces.
A picture from the book, of the quilt "The Burbs"
This was a very easy doll to put together, once you cut out all the little pieces, they go together very quickly. I had a lot of fun making the dolls and plan to continue making more, then on to the houses. I also plan to make some of the larger dolls too. More to come on my quilt.
