Pocket Baby Dolls

These little dolls were a creation that came about thru an exercise of simplicity. I wanted to make a fun little doll that was super easy to sew up and different from any of my other creations.

I've seen other handmade dolls with these cute little cheeks - I knew I wanted that feature. I wanted hair, but not felt, I've done that already and wanted to try something new. I also thought that if the arms and legs were made from the same pattern piece as the body, that would make finishing the doll even easier and faster. So, putting all that together, I came up with my Pocket Baby Doll pattern.

Now remember, these were supposed to be super easy - and they started out that way. ... I had a naked little baby doll that was essentially two pieces of fabric sewn together and some yarn for hair. Well, they aren't all that cute naked, so I decided that clothing was essential.

This was my first time to "design" a doll dress. I kept it simple. And I hope you'll agree, it made a huge difference!

I did spend quite a bit of time considering whether or not I had made the right decision to give them rectangle-ish heads, but I figured, "Why not?". I was looking for different when I started out, right?

I'm happy with the way my experiment turned out. They're still easy to make and still unique to the collection of dolls and patterns I've come up with so far.

If you'd like to make your own, you can find the pattern listed as "Pocket Baby Doll Pattern" in my etsy shop. http://www.fun4me.etsy.com/

Kooky Koko

Have you seen those sweet little amigurumi dolls wearing animal costumes? I'm in love with the ones on http://www.owlishly.etsy.com/.

I used to make all kinds of amigurumi (it's a lot of fun) - then I switched to sewing, I started making my own patterns and my yarn collection has gone untouched since. So, still being in love with these dolls wearing animal costumes, I really wanted to come up with a pattern and make my own.

This kooky doll, Koko, is what I came up with. Now, she doesn't have the same type of charm as those that originally inspired me, but she's my own take on the concept. First of all, she's asymmetrical in just about every way you can imagine (which was intentional). I never could decide if she should have a kitty tail or not - and since I couldn't figure out a way to attach one (short of just stitching it to the outside of her little bottom) - I went with the no tail option.

Koko fits into the first draft category for me - I'm considering the pattern a work in progress with future versions to follow. I'm open for suggestions if you have something. I'm thinking that maybe her kitty ears need some tweaking and that the felt piece for her face needs to be flipped to the opposite angle ... I don't know. I'll have to work on her some more. Unfortunately for my kooky kitties-to-be I came up with another pattern or two that I wanted to make. (And it seems that I have a thing for being fickle when it comes to which pattern I'm going to finish up.)

So, my kooky little Koko is left waiting for more friends who love wearing a kitty costume as much as she does. :)

My First Doll

Amry's Doll was my first doll pattern creation. At the time, my sister-in-law was pregnant with her daughter, Amry. I had made her boys and my son teddy bears and whatnot from commercially available patterns, but this was my first opportunity to make an actual doll for someone, so I figured I'd give it a go at making my own pattern.

This teal-haired cutie is what I came up with. Amry's not quite a year old as of yet, but I'm hoping she gets years of enjoyment out of her doll.

(I've got to give credit to Amry's mom, Michele, for the beautiful pic above. You can see more of her fabulous photography at http://www.pinkletoes.com/.)

Of course I didn't totally know what I was doing, and the first version of Amry's Doll turned out to not quite be what I had envisioned with her super skinny arms and legs. But, with a little tweaking, Amry's Doll was made. This was the first pattern I posted for sale at my esty shop, http://www.fun4me.etsy.com/. I was pleasantly surprised and excited to gain the approval of other crafty sewers who bought the pattern to make for themselves.