Does anyone here like making dolls from judisdolls.com?

she's got a lot of patterns. I like the baby stages ones, especially the infant sized ones...

the fingers are just so small, though. I can never get them right....

:bump:

no one?

I was thinking of making this one...
http://judisdolls.com/preemie.html

You can put weights in them to make them feel real and everything.

I design dolls, fashions and soft toys for a living, which are made almost exclusively from polyester fibers; not by choice, but because of company profit margins. When I am dollmaking on my own time, which I love to do, I want to work with all natural fibers. It is so much more enjoyable to work with cotton, wool and silk, and the end result is so much nicer for the recipient (IMHO). So, although I admire the artistry that goes into making dolls such as the ones that you have linked to here, I prefer making waldorf dolls, myself and have found it to be a compelling vocation.

That being said, I have made quite a few dolls from polyfiber, similar to the ones depicted on Judi's site, such as 'My Child' and 'Hot Looks' for Mattel Toys and many other more recent designs. Check out some of the turning tools available at a bear or doll making supply such as CR's Crafts. www.crscraft.com for helping out on those tiny fingers. Also, trimming the seam allowance close & evenly and clipping the curves carefully will help you to get those fingers looking the way you want. A small hemostat, also for sale at some bear and doll supply sites really works to get tiny bits of stuffing down into the fingers all the way to the tips, evenly. HTH

Oh. Well, what different does it make as long as you use natural materials to make it with? It's not set in stone that you HAVE to use polyfibers to make judisdolls. That's the beauty of it. It's just a pattern. You can make it out of whatever you want to make it out of, right? Or am I missing something? Educate me.

The designer has created the pattern with particular fabric in mind. You can use a different choice of fabric but may not get the intended results, which might be disappointing for you. The Judi patterns look like they are using a poly brushed tricot, poly suede or other poly tricot knit, which have a limited stretch and other properties that make it possible to create the fingers and other details and also work well with poly fiber stuffing. If you change to a very stretchy knit, like cotton interlock or a non stretch fabric like cotton percale, you will get much different results. It is always better to go with the recommended fabric when using a pattern, at least for the first pass. With experience, you can learn how to correct the pattern so that it will work to your satisfaction with a different choice of fabric than what was originally intended.

In regards to the stuffing-- Polyester fibers expand and push out towards the surface, wool fibers lock into place and require a different stuffing technique. The biggest reason that I prefer wool for children's toys is because wool is self extinguishing, while polyester continues to burn and melt when removed from the source of flame. Also, some fabrics are too loosely knitted, or woven to use with polyester fiber stuffing and will allow fiber migration through the fabric, which could also pose a hazard. Loose polyester fiber should always be kept away from young children and pets. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions.