Doll

When I post photos of a doll that I really like, it is hard to do the next post and push it down towards the bottom of the page!

Some notes on stuffing. I am very particular about the stuffing I use. I am brand loyal for the most part. I want to know what I am dealing with when I open a new bag. One of my craft mantras is “limit your variables”. In other words, get to know your materials and happily experiment, but don’t be adding so many new things all the time that if something goes wrong, you won’t be able to identify what is the problem.

The first thing I learned about stuffing is that there are 2 varieties of polyester type stuffing. One type feels bouncy, slippery or oily- those are different ways I’ve heard it described. No matter how much you stuff a piece, it will still be squeezable. I think this is probably good for kids toys and pillows. It is what is most available at the big craft supply stores. I use a different kind. It feels “dry” to me, not slippery. You can stuff a piece rock hard with it. You can make a creature stand on it’s legs using this type of stuffing. When I was making dolls with painted body parts, I could stuff them hard enough that I never worried about paint cracking. If you are in a store and the bags of stuffing have finger holes poked into them, you can be sure that someone was trying to figure out which kind of stuffing was in the bag.

I use Super Fluff, by Buffalo Batt. It comes in a loose roll and the fibers are combed in one direction so I can pull long tufts of it off the roll when I am stuffing a doll.

I’ve been stuffing more of my dolls with wool batt from West Earl Woolen Mills. I found the wool batting handled very much like the Super Fluff. I was happy. The top wool fluff is from my order of last September.

The lower wool is from the more recent batch I got.

Okay, so here is my current aggravation.  I have bought new supplies of both types of stuffing in recent months- 20 pounds of wool, 40 pounds of Super Fluff. I have started using them and imagine my surprise- both types of stuffing have changed… humph. You’d think that a highly manufactured item like polyester stuffing would be consistent over the years. The new batch is not as soft and somehow seems less refined. Is anybody else using Super Fluff? Have you noticed it? I am sure I will get used to it, but it was an unexpected surprise.

The wool is very different. In a natural product so it is not so unexpected. The 5 pounds I bought in September must have been some of the last of the domestic wool. The new order is from the Australian wool. The new wool is much softer, whiter and the fibers are longer… all sounds good, right? Well, it is very different to work with. The old wool stuffed like the polyester and the new wool just doesn’t. So, there will be a readjustment and a learning curve.

And here is another kind of stuffing I’ve tried- Back in September I asked if anyone knew about reclaimed wool stuffing. It seemed like an obvious product to me. Thank you to Lisa who left a comment on the post and directed me to a source.

Here is a photo of the recycled wool fiber-

I was able to use it for some of the cushion/pillow type dolls- like the tikis. It wouldn’t be good for small detail stuffing but worked fine for bigger things. There are 2 reasons that I won’t be ordering more. The main reason is that shipping it from Portland (area) Oregon to Boston (area) Massachusetts adds so much to the cost that it is prohibitive. The other (lesser) reason is that it is messy. The tiny wool bits got on everything. Actually the new wool is pretty messy too- I am working on that. Get out the sticky paper fuzz picker-upper.

The last kind of stuffing I use is a homemade kind- my wool scraps from projects-

I don’t use them in all the dolls, but when I do, it adds a nice firmness and weight- good in the swaddled babies, for instance. I just put a handful in the core and surround it by softer stuffing.

I am hoping to have 6 done by Monday and then post them all on Etsy.  Here they are, in progress, this morning.

I got one finished today-

I thought I’d ruined him with the acrylic wash, but I love how he turned out.

Vintage bias tape, rick rack and snap belt-

Back view-

I finished him at about 5:30 pm and then took him outside to photograph.  The light was just right and I got lots of photos that I really liked- not the usual situation- hurray!

Who needs fireworks!  This is a beautiful asiatic lily, amazingly not devoured by red lily beetles.

And this is my new tool/toy-  a needle threader from Clover.  I am loving it.  And yes, I can usually make it work with one or two strands of cotton embroidery floss.  Wool crewel, no.

It looks like I will be in Ithaca, New York in 2 weeks.  Anybody out there?  Any recommendations?

Things seem to be moving slowly around here. It was incredibly hot for a few days, better today. Also, Eleanor is home from Cape Town- horray! I am working on this female version of a robot, a fembot I guess. A number of people suggested that my dalek inspired robot was female- I thought I would try to do it on purpose. She is coming along slowly. She is of the Rosie school of robot.

Some random robot parts on my desk-

and a tool I already had but just discovered works really well with the wool and felt-

It is a hole punch. I bought it to use when putting in eyelets. You hit it with a hammer. Perfect little holes!

I got a few more of these sizzix punches on Mothers Day. I made the flower with a heart and little circle punch. I backed it with a cut-out called “Sun”- a notched circle. I was having all sorts of trouble with the sun punch and then I realized it was defective- the cutting blade was upside-down. Now I have to go return/exchange it, which sort of takes the fun out of getting new toys- humph!

Sometimes I just have to give it a break…

I’ve been struggling with this Robot 2 to try to get “arms” that I like. My desk is piled up with rejected parts. Time to do something else.

Some of the tools I use for cutting circles out of felt and wool-

A while back I bought a sizzix’s cutter to try, not realizing I needed a kit to use it properly. I was a little reluctant to spend more then $20 on something that might not even work. I cut my risk by buying it on ebay for a lot less. Anyway, it turns out it is great! It cut the felt very cleanly. You can place the cutter anywhere on the fabric and then you hammer it to cut through and get the shapes. It is easy to cut 2 at a time. I haven’t tried more layers then that. I wonder how long the individual cutters will stay sharp.

Here are some of the other less successful tools I use-

I have bought several of this type of punch, but the small, inexpensive ones don’t work at all. This one is pretty good. The problem with it is that you have to squeeze the felt into a slot to punch- this often causes a misshapen circle. Also, it limits the felt to the thinner pieces. It does not cut completely cleanly, but that is easy to fix by going over the circle with scissors.

This paper punch is one of many that I use. As you can see, it also doesn’t cut a nice clean circle out of the felt. I have to trim them out and I’m not very good at it when I am doing the smaller sizes (1/4″). I know the sizzix comes in a 1/4 inch circle so I will probably buy one of those.

I like using repeating shapes to decorate the dolls. If you know of some other good shape and/or die cutters that work well, I’d love to hear about them.

these are probably my most important tools-

my sewing machine- Bernina 930, bought used a few years ago-

I also have a Bernina Nova that I use when I am doing a lot of sewing- I thread it up with black and just use it for that.

My scissors and forceps (hemostats).

I get at least one pair of my scissors sharpened once a year- that way I can usually find at least one sharp pair! The little scissors are so sharp right now that I have to be careful not to cut myself. Sharp scissors make any project easier. I use my forceps all the time- I use them for stuffing, for clamping, for turning fabrics, for pulling out tiny threads that I can’t pinch with my fingers and so much more. They are easy to get on ebay if you want to get a cheap pair.

I’ve been getting the supplies together for my gourd head doll class. That means I’ve been shopping for art materials. That means I’ve been tempted, and have succumbed, to new toys ahh… I mean tools!

I am always a sucker for buttons. My latest search has been for tools that will cut out a nice circle from felt. When I combine my circles with one of my favorite toys, my scallop edged pinking shears, I can get all kinds of fun shapes.

And, I couldn’t resist when I saw that floss was on sale…

I’ve been thinking for a long time that I want to put up a free pattern on my blog. Then, I get overwhelmed at the idea. So, I’ve decided to try doing it in baby steps. First I will post about the tools I use. Let’s see how far I get with this- ha!

The first tool is my camera- I just got a new one, a Canon A610. So far I am very happy with it. I had a Nikon 5400 before and was never able to get it to take photos the way I wanted- I thought I was inept until I read all the reviews on Amazon and realized a lot of other people had the same focus issues that I did- phew. This new camera makes this project seem a lot more doable.

This is my light box- my newest favorite tool-

it is one of the many things I picked up from my parents house in the big clear out. It is an old x-ray viewing unit. I use it to make patterns which always seem to involve a lot of tracing. And here is what I am often tracing onto- freezer paper-

This is an old roll that I also got from the parents house, but it is available in supermarkets in the US. I have heard it is called deli paper in other parts of the world. It is paper on one side and plastic on the other.

What I love about freezer paper-
-It sticks to your fabric by ironing it on- Any fabric from bulky felted sweaters to slippery light silky stuff.
-You don’t have to worry about seam allowances.
-You can reuse the same piece several times- I usually ruin the paper before it gets to the point where it won’t stick to the fabric anymore.
-It is cheap so it’s not precious.

Freezer paper saves a lot of frustration from patterns slipping around. I always use it for my wool dolls. The photo of the hands show another tool I use a lot- the darning foot for my sewing machine. When I make the hands for my wool dolls, I do a free-motion embroidered outline on the machine. Then cut close to the stitching, around the edge.

That’s all for today- any questions?

Favorite tool of the day-

I’ve never used these before- they’re great for sanding little doll parts!

and, I have a very good friend who knows how to make me so happy on my birthday!

I take all the fabric out of the closet and the kitty decides the bolt of beautiful black wool is the perfect bed for his orangey self.

Yesterday I was working on shoes-

Today I went to Radio Shack and bought myself some new clamps- doll size. Smooth alligator clips are a great tool- I can’t believe I didn’t discover them sooner!