The Road Home

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Friday, December 26, 2014

Making a Baby Doll for Christmas

I couldn't find a gift I cared to buy for a little girl in our family. After I thought about it for awhile, I remembered I have a pattern for a very simple doll. So, I made one. I only remember making one other stuffed doll-like moose couple, representing Frank and I, of course. Silly, huh? With my limited experience, this doll turned out to be a little more of a project than I envisioned, but it turned out fairly well. The nice thing about it is a two year old doesn't do much of a critique on a home made item. The adults around her might, but she didn't. She just took it to her miniature recliner with her sippy cup and they both watched cartoons together.


I found this pattern at lds.org, here. It has recommendations for fabric and such, but I have always liked to try to make things from what I have on hand. I had some old fabric that has a more open weave pattern than regular cotton, it's almost like a tight weave burlap, and I thought it would work well. It is a little darker brown than I would have chosen if I were shopping, but these scraps have been around for probably 20 years. It's good to get some use from them.

The hardest part of this project was turning the doll right side out after stitching up most of the body. The pattern chooses to leave the opening on the inside of one of the legs which makes sense if you're thinking about limiting visibility of the slip stitched final closure after it is stuffed. But I found it difficult to turn and difficult to stuff the head and arms from this location. For working purposes, it would be much easier to leave the opening on the side of the body instead.

Do you know how many pairs of old, clean panty hose you can get in a small doll like this? I probably used at least 15 pair, which is good, since I have been saving them for quite a while. There aren't many women that wear panty hose any more, but I do. I'm very old fashioned in that I must wear panty hose and a slip with a dress, or I'm just not dressed. And don't look at the feet very close, because one of them turned out bigger than the other, rather noticeably. But when you're playing with a doll and you're two years old, it won't matter, right?

The clothes for this doll are very simple. I decided that every little girl needs some ruffles, so I brought out the bag that has Frank's grandmother's Eastern Star dresses. She gave these to me before she passed away, and I have used bits and pieces in several projects. This gave me a gauzy covering for the little shirt, and a couple of layers, along with another piece of lacy fabric for a ruffledy skirt. It took a bit to get them adjusted correctly, but I liked the way they turned out.











The next challenge was the face and hair. I found it interesting to make the eyelids and nose out of the same body fabric. The recommendation was to make the eye pieces out of felt, but I didn't have any, so I got out my bag of embroidery thread and took a stab at it. It looked pretty funny until I got all of the detail finished, and it turned out better than I imagined. Not great, but okay. The hair was another story. They have several examples of pig tails and baby loops, but I wanted some curly blondish hair to sort of match that of the little girl who was receiving this doll. I got out a big tapestry needle and did a combination of loops and straight cut off pieces of yarn tied in place until I had a nice messy mixture that almost looks like hair if you use your imagination.

It was fun making this doll. All together it probably took me about four to five hours. I sent a picture of it to a friend when I finished, and her comment was that we will need to know how to make toys for the children after the collapse comes, because they won't have all of the electronic gizmos and contraptions they have now. People used to make their children the toys they had, or they didn't have any. I guess this is one of the reasons I made this little girl a doll. Good old, imaginative play, without batteries or electricity appears to becoming a thing of the past, much to the detriment of society, in my humble opinion. Imagination requires children to think instead of react. It involves a whole different set of thought processes.

Through much of my teaching career I would bring my special education students out to our farm on a field trip. We would be gone the whole day, playing at a park, having sack lunches, then
visiting the farm to see baby goats or lambs, baby chickens and the garden. They always had a great time. It was the only day of the whole year I would give them a soda and a snack bag that had crackers and candy. Otherwise, I never provided any sugary snacks for them. I allowed the kids to bring something to play with at the park as long as it would fit in their backpack. But one of the main rules about toys is that it could not be electronic or have batteries. No cell phones, no game boy things (I know their called something else now, but I don't know what it is.), only plain, old fashioned toys. Otherwise they could run and play, all day long and use their imagination. It was great. By the end of the day, they were tired and happy. 

I'm glad I made this little girl a doll for Christmas. It reminded me of yet another important skill we will need, to provide loving support for children when the world turns upside down. 

Until next time - Fern
 

14 comments:

  1. that was a wonderful gift made with love and so very suitable for a 2-yr old. It comes under the heading my 5-yr old grandson calls a "lovey" - something to hold, cuddle, talk to, sleep with and be comforting.

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    1. A lovey, what a great label for a comforting item, Bellen. I'll have to remember that one, thank you.

      Fern

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  2. What an absolute treasure! I am sure you made her very, very happy!

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    1. It was fun to make, Mandy, and really pretty simple. I hope she plays with it until it falls apart. Then I might have to make another one. Thank you for sharing.

      Fern

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  3. Very cute and fun! Perfect for a two year old. The spoiled kids nowadays are going to be in for a rude awakening when the grid goes down. (not yours, though).

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    1. I don't know, Tewshooz. Every kid I know is glued to the TV, video games or their cell phone. Every single one of them. There are a few that still go out and play and use their imaginations, but not many. It's sad. I really appreciate the astute observations you share with us here.

      Fern

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  4. Delightful. I can just see the little two year old in her chair with ""Dolly". Oh for the the days of simple joys how do we get back there from here without going forward in faith.

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    1. The simple life. What an ideal goal for us all. Thank you for sharing.

      Fern

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  5. Cute Cute...I am dure this little doll will be cherished for years to come!

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  6. What a sweet and treasured gift. The little girl and her new friend will have many hours of playtime together.

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    1. Thank you, Hobo. There are so many imaginative games and scenarios that can be played out with just one little prop. In this instance, a doll. Now, I wonder if I can figure out how to make an army man for the boys...... Thank you for sharing.

      Fern

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  7. our ladies church group made 25 similar to yours for a missions project. We started to think of them as our children and hated to see them go. We are quite certain God has 25 very special little girls ready with open arms.

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    1. Blessings to all of you for making some little girls very happy.

      Fern

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