Dolls for My Girls (from their drawings)

I need to write about these dolls.  I had planned them for a very long time and finally finished them this spring.  They now live in Brooklyn and I hope they are well taken care of.  It was truly a labor of love.

They are modeled after drawings that my girls did when they were about 3 1/2 years old.  I saved the drawings...they are in a frame on a shelf in my bedroom.  Some time ago I saw...maybe on Etsy or some blog or somewhere...dolls modeled after children's drawings.  

I had no idea how to start...so I just did.  I enlarged the pictures at home on our printer/copier.  The entire pattern fit an 8 1/2 x 11 piece of paper.  I used Sulky Sticky Fabri-Sollvy (a self-adhesive, fabric-like, water soluble stabilizer...magic stuff) to transfer the pattern to linen cloth (an old pair of my pants).  I still wasn't sure what to do next.  So I just started.  I did the long-legged guy first.

I used whatever embroidery stitch felt right.  There is a lot of chain stitch.  It made a bolder outline and I love filling in with it.  I hadn't planned on the hair but I love it.  You can't see it well but the drawing does have a tuft of yellow-gold hair.

The back of this doll is made from Dad's old t-shirt....I included Jo's (the artist) initials, the date the picture was drawn, and my initials.

I used chain stitch again on the second doll.  The skirt is made from a scrap of batik that Cara brought back from her study-abroad in Ghana.  The circles are stitched with a running stitch to give it more texture.  My friend, Karen, gave me some pointers on this one as I was making it.  The back of this doll is made from a skirt that I wore to Cara's graduation from Guilford College.

I have plans to do this again.  My mentee, Meosha, drew a snail that I hope to finish some time soon.

Like the dolls, I will just start stitching.