Whether you make art dolls, softies or primitives, I hope my Top Ten Tips for doll making will help.
1. Learn How to Ladder Stitch
I was reading a book the other day that I'm really enjoying, but in looking at a close-up picture of one of the projects I thought, 'Holy Visible Stitching Batman!'. A ladder stitch would have made that project look so much neater. If you don’t know how to do the ladder stitch, have a look at the diagram below. I’ve used red thread so you can see the stitch better. The blue lines indicate where the thread is travelling through the fabric. When you pull the thread taut the two bits of fabric butt together. You should pull the thread taut as you go, but I have left it loose at the end here so you can see the stitch better.
2. Use the Largest Pieces of Stuffing Possible
Using tiny bits of stuffing to stuff dolls results in big lumps in the finished figure. You'll be surprised just how much stuffing fits in a small body. For mores stuffing tips look at what Barbara Willis has to say here.
3. How to Get Stuffing into Small Features
I learned this next technique from a class with Ute Vasina to pull a touch more stuffing in the nose, chin or lips. Once the head is stuffed, use the tip of a John James Long Darner #7 needle to scoop stuffing into the nose, lip and chin areas. Just stick the tip of the needle into the fabric near the tip of the feature and dig gently into the stuffing to pull it into the area. Warning: be gentle or you could create a hole. If you get any wrinkling in the forehead (the doll's forehead, not yours), use the same technique to create a smooth curve.
4. Scrub Your Seams to Solve Minor Bunching (I wish that worked with Knickers)
Here's a tip I learned only recently from Judi Ward, if you turn a doll's body part and find it bunches slightly, try placing your fingers either side of the bunched bit of the seam and gently make a scrubbing motion. That is often enough to make the seam lie flat. However, if you've got major bunching you may not have clipped enough and you'll have to turn it, clip it, and turn it right side out again.
5. Tweak the Doll's Finger Wires for Greater Realism
Make your doll's fingers look more life-like by wiring them with pipe-cleaners, but don't stop there! I often see dolls made with wired fingers but left unshaped. Pose your own hand how you'd like your doll's hand posed. Notice where the knuckles are bent (remember our fingers have three knuckles) and use a pair of haemostats to bend the finger wire at each knuckle using your own hand as your model. Also remember that usually, each finger on the hand will not be bent the same way (unless it is in a fist), so bend them at different degrees.
6. Invest in the Right Tools
There are a few tools which I think are worthwhile buying if you plan on making cloth dolls.
A stuffing fork - it makes stuffing tiny parts like fingers a breeze. My stuffing fork is one of Barbara Willis' here.
A pair of haemostats - also great for stuffing and bending fingers and all sorts of things.
An open toe sewing machine foot - makes seeing tiny, curving seams so much easier.
A pair of finger turners, like Patti Culea's Itsy Bitsy Turning Tubes. When I think of what it was like before I got these babies I cringe.
7. Buy Quality Material
Don't waste your time and talent on cheap materials that will let you down. Over time, cheap materials, thread, stuffing, whatever will show their worth and it certainly won't measure up to your worth. You deserve better.
8. The Power of the Humble Toothpick
Some might think that toothpicks are well, for picking your teeth. Not true. Toothpicks are great for applying glue to tiny surfaces, like itty bitty shoes. And they are also great for applying tiny dots of white acrylic paint on doll's eyes to create the highlight. Some people use white gel pens to dot in the highlight of the eye on doll's, but I find that a dot of white paint is much brighter and livelier. bring on the toothpicks!
9. Spray Finished Faces with a Fixative (Number Nine is sponsored by the letter F)
Spray your doll's faces with a spray fixative such as Krylon or Winsor and Newton(which I use as it is British dahlings). These sprays are intended for charcoal, chalk or pencil drawings. They keep your doll faces from smudging and fading. It is important that you spray these products outside as you don't want to breathe the fumes. Hold the can the recommended distance away from the face and let the mist fall on the faces. A direct stream of spray could make pens (even pigment ink pens) run. I spray my doll's faces lightly 3-5 times letting the spray dry between coats. Spray the head before adding costumes or hair so that the spray doesn't damage the hair fibres or materials. I usually stick the head on the end of a stick or a a pair of haemostats while I spray. And if you really want to impress the neighbours go out and spray your tiny head on a stick while wearing obnoxious pajama bottoms, a ripped sweatshirt and Elmo slippers. Then wave gaily. Always a fun way of confusing innocent bystanders.
10. Clean your Collection with the Aide of Pantyhose and a Vacuum
Or as we would say in Britain - Clean your Collection with the Aide of Tights and a Hoover. Once you've got a collection of gorgeous handmade dolls to admire you will notice they have an annoying habit - they collect dust. Clean them by putting a pair of pantyhose over a vacuum hose and run it gently it over your dolls. The dust will stick to the pantyhose, so don't plan on wearing those.
And of course, the number one tip is to have fun. We are grown-ups playing with dolls. How fun is that?
