my very first (hand-stitched and hand-painted) doll!

i finally decided to do a black apple doll! i was reading emily martin's blog and found out that she has a "black apple doll" tutorial featured on martha stewart. i was so excited, because i really wanted something simple and adorable to make. (photo by emily martin)

i always have a soft spot for anything handmade, so i decided to practice my hand sewing skills (because i couldn't make a 1975 sewing machine work - still saving for a brand new one).

i figured i used to do small cross stitch projects (that i barely finished if it wasn't for my mom), and a bit of embroidery in grade school (did i mention that my mom is amazing with needle crafts?).

so, the point of me rambling on about this is, i might be able to make something work. hand-sewing my "practice" doll might take forever, but it will help me appreciate the process better.

so, here is my first attempt at a handmade doll:



... cut out all of the pieces using the templates,


...attached the felt hair to the linen / poly-cotton blend fabric face,



... turned the sewn legs right-side out, and attached the head to the body portion of the doll,


... filled the arms and legs with poly-fil, sooo fun!


... put the puzzle pieces together,


... turned the doll right-side out, my favorite part of the whole process,


... tada! it's slowly coming together!


... and here she is!


... added a ribbon, to see different options.

in the end, i decided to create a collared-shrug from the left over felt. i also hand-painted her face with acrylic paint.


this was such a fun project for me. a perfect distraction from the mini flood our laundry machine made yesterday morning!

hope your weekend is lovely!

xoxo,
carla