I am working away on my dolls for WOW. The directions called for a “medium heavy cotton fabric in a natural color, with a little texture. Cotton duck, drill cloth or canvas”
I am making 4 dolls with 4 different fabrics, all different from what I am used to working with. ( I usually use “Southern Comfort” by Springs, which is a very high thread count cotton, very dense and I gesso it to get no texture showing.) I am using a (1)cotton duck (a twill and marked canvas in the photo) from JoAnn’s that looks a lot like artist’s canvas, some (2)cotton twill fabric from an old pair of my husband’s chinos, some (3)vintage muslin- heavier then what I buy now and some (4)vintage white twill that I got with some antique baby clothes- probably from 1920’s or so. It is about the same weight and feel as the muslin.
It is interesting to use different fabrics for the same pattern- they are all quite different. The “canvas” or duck(1), is the hardest to work with. The body has come out the smallest- I guess that means it has the least stretch. The hands and feet were difficult to turn and it was very hard to stuff them without getting lumpy seams… I did not completely succeed in the boot style foot.
The old chinos (2) seem to have their own ideas about where they want to go. Maybe a memory of being pants! I had to unstuff and resew the body/ head after my first try. I just could not get the head to come out round and symetrical. I did not get it perfect, but it is acceptable. I had no similar problems with the other 3 bodies. The fabric is softer then the duck, so the seams are not stiff or lumpy. I had no trouble turning the parts. The real problem was with stuffing- not being able to control the shape, and I am sure this is because of being well used fabric in a previous life. There is a memory and also probably weak spots that are not visible to me.
The vintage Muslin (3) and Twill (4) were very nice to work with, and actually pretty similar so far. (we will see when it comes to painting). They are flexible enough to turn well, have enough “body” to hold their shape and have a high enough thread count that I can do some details on the hands, like thumbs and implied fingers. I don’t think they are fine enough for me to succeed in making individual fingers, but I’m not very good at that anyway.
I’m almost finished with the parts. Should I gesso first or sew them together first?
Mimi, you are so hardworking! You amaze me. Thanks you for sharing your experience with these various fabric choices. I find it very interesting and worthwhile to read your records (and outcomes!) on projects like these.
Have you tried a linen and silk combination, or raw silk? Though not smooth and “silky”, it makes for a pleasant, natural texture, and paints very nicely with an airbrush and water-based media. Stuffing the parts with wool roving, or cotton makes it even more beautiful. Certainly not practical for all dolls, but for those special pieces, it’s magical.
Almost forgot to answer your query: Sew them together first! (LOL)