Dolls: Say Hi To Sandy!

   I can't believe how much I enjoy creating these little people. I love the way they acquire a personality of their own as I make them. As I complete each part of the process they tell me what I should do next, and when I finish, they tell me their names and their styles. That's when I decide what their clothes and shoes should look like, and I do my best to recreate the image in my head. In my last post I told you that my next doll would have purple, green and blue hair. Here she is! Say hi to Sandy.

   I'm in love with Sandy! She is the first doll I make that is exactly what I had in mind when I started making dolls. First: Her hair is 100% merino wool, the yarn is hand-dyed and the felt is SUPER soft. Second: Her clothes can be changed and played with. Third: She is super colorful; I love colors. I've seen many doll makers that focus on using pastel colors, I always find those dolls gorgeous and I love them, but that is just not my style. When I create I need colors, the brighter the better; colors make me happy.

    I'm super happy with the yarn I told you about in my last post. The 40 yards were enough for Sandy's hair, yet I had to use every single strand that I had of it and if I had more I could have probably used it too. I used Kona Taupe for her skin and acrylic paints for her face and shoes.

   When I finished Sandy, she told me that she was a summer loving girl with a high sense of fashion. So I made her a short strapless sweetheart neckline dress with a flowy skirt. I love the way the skirt creates the illusion of having a petticoat underneath.

   The only thing that left me thinking about the dress is that since I don't own a serger I just pinked the raw seams. The thing is, I make purses and I'm used to having to line every single part of a piece so the raw edges won't show. This tiny garment making thing is new to me and I don't know if there's a secret for fully encasing the raw edges that I don't know about yet, otherwise I'm happy about it and its construction. The back fastens with a plastic snap.

   I definitely like the look of painted shoes, I can create many styles and I can embellish them as much as I need. I also think they look cute.

   So far I've made 3 dolls with pretty yarn hair, and I love the fabrics I found for their skin tones. So many possibilities, so little time.