Making dolls - non waldorf

[ShannonCC]

Anyone here making dolls other than waldorf?

Care to share tips, patterns, pictures?

I'm making two of these for the kids http://www.cely.com/doll/dollyhugs.html I'll try and post pics when I'm done (we don't have a digital but are borrowing SIL's next weekend!).

I don't have the money to buy any supplies so I'm using all materials from my stash. Luckily I have a decent sized stash :LOL! (I inherited a lot from my Grandma).

I made the bodies out of an old hemp diaper prefold : Is that too weird?

My son's has dark purple curly hair and blue eyes. My daughter's has lavender curly hair and purple eyes. I'm calling them "fairy babies"

I'm going to use an old tie dye t-shirt to make a dress for my dd's. Not sure what to make for my ds's yet.

Oh, and I got the face from here http://www.angelfire.com/or/sammystuff/dolls.html The upper left hand face is the one I used. I embroidered it on. I think painting would have been faster but I don't have any paints and I have an entire suitcase full of embroidery floss (organized into hues even!) from my Grandma.

I also found this pattern that I like http://www.masseysewing.com/projects/kids/rag_doll.html We have two Raggedy Ann's and one Raggedy Andy my Grandma made that look like this I might make one of these someday. They look fairly easy.

And I really like this one http://www.ragdollroom.com/freedoll.htm Ok, I'm not sure what's up with her face (looks like a tumor!) but I think it's just sewing error (I don't see the lump on the pattern).

I'm not an accomplished seamstress like my Grandma was, but I'm having fun! Mostly I don't find sewing at all relaxing (like crochet) but so far I'm happy with the results.

[Meiri]

I've done the finishing work on doll bodies I bought from Rosy Hippos a couple of years back. Unfortunately they don't carry the blank bodies any more.

I have 2 bodies left, one of whom will be going to our youngest neice. I will save the other in case anymore neices are born. Or make that in case one more neice is born.

I embroider the faces: simple or stylized eyes in the color of the child for whom I am making the doll, nose outline, simple mouth, eye brows, eyelids even on my best ones--overlapping the iris on each eye. I then stitch on yarn hair, again as close to the color of the hair of the future mommy of the doll. I do use permanent marker to color in pupils on the floss irises. For DD I made a doll like she was (her hair has since darkened) and an African American doll.

[ShannonCC]

I love the idea of making dolls that look like the kids I was thinking of that, but then realized I didn't have the right colors for them so I went with crazy colors ( I have no money so I'm limited to what's in my stash right now)

But I think the next dolls I make will be like that. Straight brown hair and brown eyes for dd and curly blond hair and blue eyes for ds

Do you have pictures? I'd love to see

Dh took the kids to his moms tonight to put a coat of finish on my Christmas present (and somehow, even with a 6 year old in the know, I haven't found out what it is!). So I had the house to myself for about 2 hours and I finished dd's doll

Now I just have to make clothing for their little nakie bodies :LOL