Little Red

Illustration from Childhood's Favorites and Fairy Stories

   A few weeks ago a customer asked me to work on a Little Red Riding Hood doll for her. I was happy to receive the custom order, but dreaded having to work on the hood so much I had nightmares. As I've said many times before, making clothes is not my forte. There are things I just can't figure out how to make and things get worse when they're for a shoulder-less doll. As you can imagine, that's a bit of an obstacle for a doll maker that likes to create a different outfit for each doll. I must say though, I think I've succeeded so far within my limitations.

Little Red Riding Hood by George Frederic Watts

   I searched online for a pattern or any tips that would help me construct the hood. After much fruitless searching I stumbled upon a website with a free Little Red Riding Hood Pattern. Since I create my own patterns, I had no use for the doll portion, but the hood part saved the day. I couldn't use it as it was because the size didn't match my doll pattern and I didn't love the shape, but it was a good starting point.

   After a lot of tweaking I ended up with a hood I love and will be using over and over again in the future. Once the hood was settled, everything else was easy. I pictured my little red blonde, so I hand-dyed some boucle to use for her hair. I knew I didn't want a completely red outfit, so I searched through my stash until I found the perfect fabric. I used white polka dots on a red background for her top and a dutch fabric called "The Gnome Story" for her skirt.

   Red's face is hand painted using acrylics, but this time I didn't feel like painting her shoes. I wanted to try something different, so I went for wool felt shoes. When Red was finally done, it was a hard letting her go. I keep falling in love with my dolls and sometimes I wish I could keep them.

Red by Carrousel Dream Dolls