Home made dolls and pirates

We've had so much fun making these little characters. It's been interesting watching the two girls creating their own dolls, each completely different to the other's. I helped out, especially with drawing outlines but I really tried to wait for their prompting (instead of making 'suggestions'). I wanted these dolls to be their genuine creations, reflecting their personalities.

Check out their masterpieces!

GB5 takes great pride in her work. Lines must be straight. Colouring always within the borders. Shades matching perfectly. She wanted her doll to be as close to reality as possible. What a gorgeous little girly she has created!
GB4 took an adlib approach. She likes colouring things in 'colourful' shade. Her doll has splodges of colour here and there, a green face and crazy pink hair. Don't think for a minute that any of it was unplanned though - she knew exactly how she wanted her doll to look, where the splodges would go and what colour they'd be. And don't you just love the result!

Back shot: GB4's doll (left) had two faces :o)
If you're after a bit of fun, why not make one with your child this week. Don't forget to show us your creation!


Home made dolls and pirates

You'll need...

White fabric
Textas/fabric pens
Template (hand drawn)
Pins
Needle
Thread
Scissors
Filling (eg rice, stuffing, beans)
Colourful wool (optional)

Here's how...

1. Fold the fabric in half, lay and pin the template over it and cut it all out - you should now have two pieces.

2. Now the fun begins! Give the kids free reign with the textas. They can draw on a face, clothes, hair, masks, whatever takes their fancy. The more colourful and creative the better! They can choose to make a doll, pirate, snow man, cat, cow... just modify the template to suit their imagination.

3. Now pin the fabric cut-outs together inside out (you'll probably need to do this step for them) and sew around the edge. I used the zig-zag stitch on my sewing machine which did the job quickly and neatly. Make sure you leave the top of the head un-sewed - or else you'll have a very skinny, stuck inside out doll on your hands...

4. Now turn your little person inside out, fill him and hand or machine stitch the remaining opening.

5. If you like, you can add hair, using colourful wool and a large eyed-needle. The kids will love choosing the hair colour and hair style. Plaits? Anyone?

TIP: If you're using regular textas, make sure the dolls don't get wet, hence the bleeding on our dolls' eyes. Oops!

These fun little dolls come from Jane Bull's book Crafty things to make and do.

Update: Some of you may remember GB5's plan to make a Trauma Teddy for sick children. Well, we're progressing, albeit slowly. After a few weeks of practise, we began knitting a teddy this morning, but have chosen a much more simple design. Perhaps when she's a little older we'll try for the Trauma Teddy again... stay tuned for photos of the new member of our family - and simple instructions so you can make one too!