last night, i spent about three hours hand sewing little doll clothes. (no pattern, old clothes of mine, pinning, sewing, cutting- one dress, one pair of leggings, and one t-shirt top for the doll)
and once i finished and dressed claire’s new baby- she wanted ‘SEE!!’
so see, she did.
she grabbed her new babe up so quickly, cuddled her.. gave her a hug, kiss, and then put her to her chest to nurse.
she then walked around the room, showing her stuff, talking to her- before climbing up on the couch and tucking themselves both in under a blanket to talk some more.
i think it’s safe to say that she’s smitten with her mama made doll.
i was intending to put it away until her birthday in less than two weeks- but there’s no way i can take this baby away from her now
i didn’t get a chance to capture their first meeting, so settled with a few from today.
i’m never any good with finishing a project, and this… this one- i’m incredibly proud of. all hand sewn.. every bit of it. all created with materials found around the house- er.. well some contributed by my mama’s treasures in her house (llama wool to make the head).. some fabric dye to dye the t-shirt a flesh tone.. and the rest… the rest just on hand- and each bit you could pick up for cheap in a craft shop or charity store. i completely understand why these dolls are sold for 100+ dollars, there is so much that goes into it.. and after this labour of love on my first doll, oh. i could never sell her. ever. but i’m already dreaming about a new doll.. better doll. learning from this.
and yet, i bring myself back to remember. i always always wanted my moms firsts.. the ones with mistakes.. the ones made from the heart, with intention. the ones that followed were made from experience, the brain, learning, re-doing, fixing, altering, making sure it’s right this time. but the first.. there’s always so much more put into the first.
i hope that claire loves this baby for a good long while, that it lasts.. that i can keep stitching her back together and she can keep her well throughout her childhood..
i’d encourage you to make a doll for your little ones, it’s not only an incredible gift to them- but an incredible gift to self.. to create, and finish something so fabulously tangible.
the first tutorial that i enjoyed and was inspired by was this one
the local mama shop, under rainbows ran a sweet teeny tiny little online tutorial class- i was in the states at the time so didn’t keep up. but she was brilliant for helping encourage and inspire us. plus it was wonderful to see all the other little frankenstein creations we were all making.
and then i used this hair tutorial to create her thick head of hair without using tons of yarn.
the materials i used were-
wool, a knee high stocking, an old sweater, a used t-shirt, fabric dye, embroidery thread, button thread, yarn, and love.