Choosing eyes for your softie creation! Have a look through the different options Larissa provides and you’ll see that each choice alters the overall personality and expression of the bunny. For the most part, you could try different kinds of eyes after the softie has been sewn up and stuffed - the only exception is when using the plastic safety eyes as these need to be inserted before these steps.
Ellen Lumpkin Brown is an extremely talented doll-maker. Not only does she create an amazing range of dolls of different ethnicities, she also makes their outfits, and hand draws/paints on their faces.
Ellen has also published a book - “Doll Fashionistas” - that provides step-by-step instructions on how to make her dolls including excellent tips on stuffing, materials, and construction. The book also provides further detail on creating the doll face and how-to’s on an excellent range of doll outfits.
Melly & Me have returned with their Tips and Tricks series for 2010. Their first post addresses a very good topic in the realm of softie making - stuffing!!
And I can vouch especially for their suggestion to use a paintbrush for stuffing. I have been using an old paintbrush for years and it has proven by far to be more effective that traditional specifically-made-for-stuffing tools (that’s my humble opinion, but please try it out for yourself).
And we’re back!! No excuses for the prolonged absence. Let’s just get stuck back into it!
Check out this excellent time-lapse video on the process of making a plush toy by Love and Sandwich. Nothing solves the mystery of bringing a plush toy to life like seeing it in action. Enjoy!
Melly & Me have started a fantastic little series on their blog called “Tips & Tricks Tuesday“.
Their first tip/trick addresses one common softie-making question: “How do you sew and turn out those small softie parts?“. This includes parts like ears, little arms or legs, feet, horns, etc. that are easy enough to sew up but can drive one to instant insanity when it comes to turning them right-side out.
Melly provides a very clear tutorial accompanied by excellent pics.
Rice Babies provides a great tip on how to use animal silhouettes to make forest-themed stuffies/softies from felt. She used these as giveaways for her child’s birthday party:
Tantehilde makes extremely cute rag dolls. She shares a very helpful and clear tutorial on how to make a doll’s wig from knitting yarn, and how to attach it to a doll’s head to get this kind of hair style:
Elise of Zippypops recently contacted me to let me know that she had some tutorials up on her blog. Elise is a very talented doll-maker and you can view and purchase her beautiful creations from her shop.
In this tutorial she shares how to make a doll’s wig using synthetic hair (purchased from a craft shop or costume store) and how to attach it securely to a doll’s head creating this two-bun hair-do:
Here is an excellent tutorial by Crafty Sheep on how to create a gorgeous thick head of hair for a doll (not just for Waldorfs - you could do the same for any kind of handmade doll):
Copyright of free patterns remains with the respective Author so please use the pattern to make the softie as a gift or for yourself but do not make softies to sell. Thank you!
