Let me introduce the newest pattern from Jeanine of StitchART. This is the "Little Long Stocking Dolly."
This sweet PDF pattern comes with not only the doll pattern included, but three fun felt hats & her skirt!
Dolly from head to toe is approximately 42cm (16.5 inches) tall.
If you have never tried FMA - Free Motion Applique - I highly recommend it! I personally love the freedom, the rustic-ness & creativity it brings. You can NOT go wrong! Messy, neat, up, down, left, right! Once you try it, you'll be planning your next FMA project!!
Dolly is the perfect project to use up scraps & would make a perfect mum & me project if you have a budding sewest.
My daughter loved "Fairy" and was delighted that she could change her hats & jump up and down with her and watch limbs go a-flying!
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| Nothing beats a cuddle! |
Embarrassed Fairy posing for your viewing! Even without the skirt, she is delightful!
To sew FMA, you will need a FMA sewing machine foot attachment - my Singer machine's foot looks like this.
It is this foot that gives you the freedom to create easy curves, go back, forth, left, right, zig-zag or which ever way you please with ease.
So since my little Miss had already named her dolly "Fairy", an idea came to me...... "YES! She would indeed make a WONDERFUL fairy!!" So I made her a pair of wings!! I created a template from images of butterfly wings, used a ridged iron-on interfacing & some iron on wadding to create this look. You must be careful to warm up this interfacing once again after sewing your wings before turning them the right way. Once the interfacing cools, it goes rather solid & is tricky to pull the right way around!
The wings make a perfect opportunity to go crazy with those FMA ideas!! Draw a pattern on or free-style it! I also believe Jeanine is intending to release an add-on pack for her dolly pattern, which will include wings, but also some other exciting options!! Stay tuned!
This is the sister to Fairy & she has rainbow spandex wings!! (Be careful ironing on interfacing to this tricky fabric!!)
I went spiral over-load on these wings! But FMA really enables you to grab your artistic freedom and run with it!
Both my dolly's have black button eyes - but you could use fabric paint or FMA her eyes on.
Now.... let me say this before you proceed with making your very own Long Stocking Dolly, take special note of the recommendation to use a pencil with an eraser on the end! These thin limbs need to be stuffed little by little and only an eraser tipped pencil will do to help fill these limbs!!! (I did discover this the hard way!! Don't endure my frustration! Get that eraser tipped pencil!)
Another little hack that I like to do with my softies, is to weight them. You can buy special made toy beads. I don't recommend using rice/wheat/dried legumes etc with toys that may be played with & need washing, as your poor softie will not last! HOWEVER, if your on a budget, you can use aquarium pebbles! They are small, a nice weight & will cope with being washed!
I like to make a tiny pillow and pop some pebbles in, sew up the end, then make sure my toy filling surrounds the "pebble pillow." It gives the softie a nice "real" feel to it. As a dear friend demonstrated when I first showed her Fairy, she picked her up, cuddled her to her chest and then stated that she liked the weight. As if she isn't weighted she could just "fly away" - demonstrated by nearly flinging her over her shoulder! LOL! But, as amusing as this is, it is actually in actions, exactly the way I feel too! hehe!
I love sewing the odd softie, they are really a very cathartic sew for me. The Little Long Stocking Dolly is also a really delightful little dolly! If you would like to read more about her, please visit Jeanine's blog The Crafting Fiend or purchase the pattern direct from her Etsy store HERE
BUT!! Wait there!!....... this is the best bit.... I'm giving AWAY this little rainbow dolly! She will be heading to one of my fans! All you need to do is comment on this blog post & you will be in the running to win her!!
I will draw a winner randomly on Friday 4th November 2016 - Western Australian time. This draw is open to international readers, however only enter if your willing to cover international postage - cost would be confirmed. (Postage to the US approx. $16, postage to the UK approx. $20.)
So don't forget to check back on Friday 4th! You could have this little fairy heading your way!!
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