and there he is. officially complete. sewn, stuffed, dressed and ready for play. for the longest time, i've wanted to try and make a doll like this for margaret... for some reason or another — perhaps not having the time, maybe not quite knowing where to begin — i just wasn't getting around to it. well, ok, unless you count marley. the simple little doll i made three years ago for her out of an old baby onesie and some floral remnant i had in my fabric box. (the pattern was from an issue of martha stewart kids - something i saw and dropped everything to whip up. that type of project.)
yes, marley works as a doll, he/she gets his/her share of tea party invitations, blanket swaddles and carriage rides around the house... but i knew there was a lot more to the whole dollmaking experience and i still really wanted to give it a try. so this summer i picked up a kit for a handsewn doll with a pattern for the head, body, limbs and clothes, fabrics and a hair wig, figuring that might be a good starting point.
so for a handful of summer days and nights my attention went to creating this new little friend. sewing and forming even arms and legs. shaping and stuffing the head. attaching the head to the body. un-attaching the head from the body and reattahing it (this time facing forwards. yes, of course, facing forward would be much sweeter). making thread allude to eyes and finally turning some bamboo fabric into a wee bunting (i strayed from the pattern for the clothes and did a little improv as best i could on a bunting instead of the shirt and pants the kit provides). before i knew it he was done ready to join margaret's world of fun and activity... actually she had him off my craft table and into her world of play before he was technically completed – which is really the best part of this dollmaking experience. simple and sweet.