New Sewing and ITH Doll and Toy Patterns

I'm often asked about Fabric Stretch .. do I line my dolls or softies - answer - nope - even with super stretchy fleece - Nope -  however I'm always aware of fabric stretch ... are you?

Amazing the different look you'll get if you cut your pattern out with the Max Stretch one way rather than the other - is one right or wrong?! Which do you prefer - Owl A .. or Owl B?

Here's a quick Fabric...

My Top 10 Sewing Doll Making Tutorials 

My Top 2 ITH Doll Making Tutorials

Fabrics I LOVE for my ITH Softies

Body
I love Rose (or sometimes it's called Swirl) Minky! Super soft and snugly!
... you can also use low pile fleece, terry cloth and cotton.
If your machine is good with multi layers of thickness you can also use a low pile faux fur.

Inner ears
Always use cotton unless you know your machine does well with multi layers of fabric.

Limbs
Cotton or fleece

Face
Wool Felt...

 

I love knowing a dolly is in the hands of a child in need, a little one who needs an extra hug, a best friend, someone to tell their secrets too.  My Doll Making Journey all began with my charity blog called: Dolly Donations!  The Earthquake in Haiti had just hit (2010) and I had just had my daughter.  I wanted to help in some small way so I created a free doll pattern and popped it online.

Hemostats look like big tweezers with the handle ends of scissors attached to them.  They are not sharp .. or used for cutting, they are used for gripping .. and they even have a lock on the handle so you can wiggle and pull without worrying that you'll let go of your fabric.  



I love them for doll making.

1) They are brilliant for turning little limbs - well they are brilliant and fast for turning...

I've had many questions (and discussion with felt gurus) about how to create a cork screw curl for felt doll hair!  I did have a lot of fun creating curls with fleece on my FeeFee Dolly but alas nothing as of yet with felt. With all of my testing of different methods over the past 2 years I have not found one that is reproducible and thus have not included this hair style in my felt/cotton doll...

Simply sketch out your face design out with a disappearing quilters pen then if you make a mistake you can always re-draw :)  Either using your pattern as a guide - see tutorial included in your pattern - or why not try a new face from your imagination!


I use this pen and have never had a problem with the ink -...

I had a ton of fun with my daughter making this super cute Pirate for my son using Crayola Fabric Markers. As you know I made an art dolly for my daughter using them not too long ago and I couldn't help but make a First Mate for my little man!

These fabric markers are the best for relaxing in front of the TV after the kiddies have gone down ... or having them help you color in simple shapes and...

I adore my New Wrist and Ring dolly daydream pin cushions and use them every day! These two kawaii cute girls not only helped me use up some of my favorite scrap material … but I got to recycle plastic bottle caps as well!

This month marks the SECOND ANNIVERSARY of my Dolls and Daydreams one-of-a-kind doll and softie sewing patterns. Hooray! So what better way for you to join in the celebrations...

My Pocket Princess Sewing Pattern has a Cotton Hair Applique Tutorial included in it!

Fray Check or Fray Stopper is heaven in a little bottle! Such a simple idea but with amazing potential to us dolly makers.

Brilliant for small doll pattern pieces. Seriously saves on time .. no more fiddly pattern pieces to serge (over-lock) .. and you don’t run the risk of fraying your cotton (especially vintage...

All the photos I comment on are of Sarah’s fabulous stall from Cotton Kiwi (NZ). She’s a pro when it comes to setting up her table … plus she runs Devonport Craft...

Want to create a different look for your Dolls and Softies? Why not try cotton appliqués instead of felt ones.

“But Sarah, cotton frays!!!” I hear you cry … this is true, but there are a number of ways around this.

Here are my Top 3 Methods. Best of all, they are fast and really easy!

My Pocket Princess Sewing Pattern has a Cotton Hair Applique Tutorial included in it!

1) Add a Seam Allowance.

Take...

The whip stitch is ever so easy and fast. Some people close there softie with a whip stitch but I don’t recommend it for that as it makes the softie look unfinished and a tad ugly if I say so myself … I always choose the invisible Ladder Stitch to close.



However, the whip stitch is lovely and secure (so good when making toys for kiddies under 3), and is great for closing fabrics with multiple...

As you all know I allow for everyone that purchases my sewing patterns to sell items made from them in limited quantities and I’m often asked what price someone should be selling them at. How is it that one person sells a doll at $30 and another at $40 when they are using the same pattern?

Well here’s how I price my finished dolls:




I take into account my Material Cost.

How much was my cotton, felt,...

I’ve had the pleasure of peeking through the ever so talented Chantal’s, from Chantal Vincents Art (Au) online blog portfolio for some time now. I adore her hand carved stamps and all the creative ways in which she uses them!

Flying Fish hand carved stamp in her Etsy Shop

So when...

I love hand embroidery! It's ever so relaxing and the results are fab!  Don't be intimidated, it doesn't have to be perfect, that is the beauty of handmade, each doll is unique!  In this tutorial I'll be showing you Step by Step how to Hand Embroider my Top 6 Favorite Embroidery Stitches for Doll and Soft Toy Plushie Faces. 

I stumbled across this brilliant felt tutorial by Kimara from WeeFolkArt and thought I’d give it a go.

Since writing my Tutorial on Cutting Out Felt Shapes Using Freezer PaperI’ve heard from a lot of my lovely Daydream blog friends that Freezer Paper is either super expensive in your neck of the woods, or pretty much non-existent. And as I have no idea what the equivalent product would be called in...

I wanted to share with you some very simple tricks to customize your handmade dolls and softies. By altering just a few details to one pattern you can make lots of variations of that doll or softie.

All of my patterns come with very easy embroidery, painting and felt applique face templates for you to follow but you can easily customize your doll and softies faces.

Here's a little summery of my Doll & Softie Toy making Tips, Tricks, Techniques & Troubleshooting that I've complied and I thought I'd share with you all. I'll be adding to the list as I think of more to include!  Enjoy!  All tool links are to items I use.






Get to know your own machine, play around with it and have fun.

Change your needles regularly and always have the same thread on...

You can always pick up a small pack like this, Reynolds Freezer Paper or buy it in pre cut sheets to print on, Quilter's Freezer Paper Sheets 8-1/2x11 Inch (A4)o...

Don’t you just hate it when you wash your fabric before a big project and the edges fray so much they get tangled up in your machine?  Or around themselves for that matter!!  Well I do! One thing I learnt quickly when it comes to pre washing my fabric was to use my pinking shears.


Trim down both raw edge sides before you pop it into the washing machine. Add detergent (without fabric softener)and...

So you only paint by numbers, or at least, you did back in high school! Well don’t worry, I have broken down how to paint a Dolly Face in to 3 easy steps. … but there are 4 videos you cry ….. yes, that’s because my naughty little doggies decided to start barking very loudly right in the middle of the last tutorial video!!!



Simply trace your face on to your fabric and paint it in before you sew, or...

In this video tutorial I will be teaching you how to close your cloth dolls and plush toy Sewing and ITH Patterns the correct way using the Ladder Stitch.

This tutorial is not only for fabric labels but for printing on fabric for any project from your home printer and all from things that you probably already have in your pantry!!

I’ve wanted to get some fabric labels made for a while now … but of course I’ve run out of time. So I did a bit of experimenting today and whipped some up and you can too.

• Computer/inkjet printer
• Freezer...