Myrtle and a pile of coat parts awaiting assembly. Myrtle is wearing a prototype of a new hat style.
Christmas arrives next week with festive parties and vacation time spent with family. I'll be taking a little time off from making dolls to enjoy the holidays. Before I'm ready to do that I want to complete a couple of dolls for a gallery show coming in January. I've been asked to show them at Art Parts gallery here in Boulder, CO as part of an art doll exhibit. My Garden Party Girls and accessories will be shown along with two other doll artists, one that makes Steampunk dolls and another that makes fantasy/fairy type dolls.
The show is called "Posers" and the open house will be on January 8th, 2016 from 5:30 to 8:30 pm. The dolls will be on display and available for purchase from the gallery during January. Do come and see the show if you live locally!
Since I need to make a couple of dolls for this show, I thought you might like to see how I assemble a doll from start to finish. I had to split this post into two parts because I ran out of natural light before I could finish stuffing this doll. These short winter days are challenging for photography. The finished doll will appear here on Monday.
The first step is to decide on colors for the doll's clothing and hair. I found a wonderful sea green vintage rug yarn at a thrift store. Aunt Lydia's rug yarn is one of my favorite yarns for doll hair because its colorful, resilient and won't get fuzzy if you switch doll hats frequently. It is no longer manufactured but its easy to find on Ebay and Etsy. If you're lucky it may even show up in your thrift store.
The yarn color inspired the colors of the ribbon and the fabric dress belt. They are closer in color than it appears in the photo. I like to repeat a standout color like this in several places on the doll so her hair color doesn't look random.
In the double photo above you see the cut out fabric parts on the left. The lavender gingham will become the doll's knickers. In the right photo I've started my doll by embroidering her face on the muslin and adding her knickers to her long body. The next step is to sew together the pieces of the dress and then sew the dress to her body.
The photos above show the doll assembly and stuffing. (1) I like to sew and turn out the legs and arms first. (2) The arms are stuffed and basted into place on the doll so the body can be sewn together (3). The body is turned right side out and checked all over for holes. I often have to turn the doll inside out and back again several times to make sure all the layers are sewn tightly together. Double stitching around the head and arms adds strength. I always clip the curves before turning the doll right side out. (4) Now the doll is ready to stuff.
At this point I usually take a tea or lunch break and check to see if the kitties need to be played with. Max and Ellie can often be found curled around each other as they are in this photo. Sometimes its hard to tell where one cat ends and the other begins.
In the top photo you can see that I have stuffed the doll's legs and started stuffing her head. The second photo is a shot from the movie "Its Complicated" with Meryl Streep and Steve Martin. Stuffing takes time but not a lot of brain power, so I like to watch movies while I stuff the dolls :)
My doll's personality is beginning to show but I won't know her name and story until her hair is added. At that point she really comes to life for me and and its easier to imagine a hat and accessories for her.
Tune in Monday for her finishing touches and the full reveal!
