I decided near the beginning of this year that I wanted to make my daughter a doll. I thought it would be a fun gift to give to her when her baby brother is born– both so that she is receiving something special as a gift, and also so that she has a little “someone” to take care of herself as she watches me take care of the new baby. She already is interested in some dolls that were mine when I was little, and goes through phases where she is fascinated with pretending to change their diapers (which they actually don’t have– just little bloomers).
Long ago, I came across the cute “Kit, Chloe, and Louise” doll pattern by Wee Wonderfuls. When the doll idea began to formulate in my busy brain, I came back to this pattern. I especially loved the idea that the doll would be soft and cuddle-able– not a plastic head on a soft body (which I found disconcerting as a child). And there are several sets of clothes! I asked V’s grandmas to get in on the gift. They would each make an outfit or two for the doll, so that between the three of us, the doll would have a tiny wardrobe of fun clothes to wear.
I finished the doll in March, though I didn’t get up the courage to embroider her eyes until the end of April!
This post is going to have a lot of photos! I am super-proud of this doll. She is certainly the most complicated softie I’ve ever made!
I pretty much followed the pattern instructions to the letter– except for the eyes. Instead of appliqueing felt circles to the doll’s face, I decided to embroider the eyes using a satin stitch. Oooh!! I just realized, I never gave her eyebrows! Oh well 😉
The hair was such an interesting process! The instructions were great, and even though it took a lot of hand-work, it was very straightforward to make the “wig” and attach it to her head.
In a later post, I will show off the “diapers” and two dresses that I’ve made (so far) for the doll, but in this post, I’ll just write about the little “undersuit,” which was the first piece of clothing I made. I edged the neckline, arm-, and leg-holes with some trim I had on hand (thanks, Grandma!), and added a couple tiny buttons to the front for decoration.
I’m in love with this project! It reminds me of a similar doll I made in high school, though the pattern was a bit simpler. I never did have the courage to put a face on her because I thought I would mess it up. Making clothes was the best part. At the time my mom was still storing my old prom dresses. Since they were out of style and couldn’t be donated by the time I thought of getting rid of them, I took scraps and made dresses for the doll.
That is awesome! I have loved making the clothes, too– I wish I had time to make more!
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