First special tools you will be needing to make your job easier,
a light iron on fusible web for lining the body parts.
It helps to keep the parts from looking lumpy after you stuff it.
Its also handy for drawing out the pattern pieces on It also helps to keep your stitching hold firm.
A pair of hemostats for turning the arms and legs I can't stress this enough, You need a pair!
The turning tool is nice but I only use it for the bigger body part.
First thing you are going to do is draw and cut out the body parts from fusible webbing, I like to have 2 coordination fabrics for the body and sleeves and one for the "pants" then there is the "skin" fabric.
leaving a 1/4" seam allowance so there is a line to follow when sewing.
you will need 4 arms, 4 legs and 2 bodies. The pattern comes from Tilda's seasonal by
Tone Finnanger.
Since the legs are bigger at one end then taper to a thin point, I like to cut out a piece of fabric for the pants and one of "skin"for the bottom then sew them together at the knees,
iron on the webbing on the wrong side of the fabric (ask me how I know!) do this for 4 legs pin them all right sides together and follow your seem line.
repeat this for the arms, giving yourself "sleeves"of the body fabric
Try turning the legs first as they are a little bigger and will give you some practice before trying the smaller arms.
put the hemostats into the leg all the way to the toe, you will be crinkling up the fabric quite a bit here. dont worry it will all come out in the stuffing.
now with one finger in between the points of the hemostats push the fabric into the jaws as far as you can and clamp them closed tight.
now give the end a bit of a sideways twist and pull towards yourself pushing up on the outside as you go.
this part is difficult to get going so you may have to restart it a few times.
once the tip is turned the rest of comes out pretty quickly. Do this to all 4 limbs and the body.
I stuff the arms first, mostly to get them over with, I wrap some thin strips of leftover batting around the end of the hemostats and shove them all the way down to the tips. Then just keep stuffing until it's full.
Repeat for the other arm.
The legs you only stuff to the knees where you will stop and sew a line 2-3 times across so they bend.
continue stuffing until they are mostly full, do this for the body also. You want to leave a little room at the end of each leg and the body for sewing it all together.
I will pin the legs onto one side of the body, sew them down. Then flip the body over and pin the other side down, folding over the seam allowance, prior to making a straight seam to attach the legs.
Now You will need a long needle, I have used a basting needle, to attach the arms.
I will position the arm till it looks right then pin ti on in 2-3 places and sew around it until it's on good and tight.
don't worry if you leave big gaps I go around 2-4 times until I get them all and the arm is on and not wobbly.
Now on to the hair! This is the fun part.
I use Home spun by Lion brand,
for my dolls hair because it is versatility. if I want it to look like straight hair or curly hair this stuff works great.
you will need about 12-16 strands of however long you want it, make it a little longer as you will be trimming it later.
I give you a few
links1,
Link2,
Link3, for sewing on hair as frankly, they do a better job than I could
I hope this was helpful.
Let me know if I need to clarify anything.
