Rag Doll

I saw this doll pattern in a craft magazine years ago and stashed it.

Last year a friend from work and his wife had their first baby, Alessandra.

She was about 18 inches tall when complete (the doll not the baby).

Again I had the base body material in my stash as I had intended to make this for a long time.

The WI show had a rag doll in it and that spurred me on even though I would not be able to enter it.

The legs and arms are very thin and I employed small bear techniques to get the stuffing just right, she could not have lumpy legs.  The trick is to roll the stuffing into 1cm balls (a good TV watching activity).

I enjoyed making the clothes more than I thought I would.  She is wearing cropped pants, a long top and a jacket.  Deciding which fabric to use took me ages.

The shoes are the cutest bit and were quite easy.  Two pieces of felt, blanket stitched together with a bow to tie them.

The hair took a long time too.  But it covered my biggest mistake.  I am used to making bear noses, but delicate doll features were a trial.  After 3 attempts I turned her over and used the other side of her head for the face.  Her hair is quite secure, but if you are determined, you can see she is two-faced.

I liked all the detail on the cloths and the tiny bows, which all had to be secured so that they would not come un-done.

This was a labour of love and she will be an only child.