<Living Crafts Blog

Felt flowers are fun, fresh, and best of all super simple to make. Even very young children can make the most delightful blossoms. These are an ideal craft for young children because they don’t have to be fully felted to be beautiful and wearable as pins, so when the child is finished felting the flower can be considered finished also!  Although generally children do love to play with the soapy bubbles and wool and this project can take as little as 15 minutes to felt! Every flower will be as unique as the child who makes them!



Materials:

Small amounts of wool roving or batting- ideally a quick to felt variety like merino

piece of bubble wrap and/or bamboo sushi roller

small amount of warm/hot water and a drop of dish soap



You can work on either a piece of bubble wrap, a bamboo sushi roller or a combination of the two, as we have. Any of these will work beautifully.
Lay out the wool fibres from the center, spreading out at the edges. There will be more wool at the center, and the outer “petals” will be more light and airy. Encourage children to work with thin wisps of wool, as though they are fairies painting the flowers.



Add some details to your petals by laying on wisps of wool in other colors. You can add a bright flower center too.



Make a felting solution of about half a cup of water with 2-3 drops of dish soap-not too much or this will slow down your felting!)
Wet out the felt flower by flicking water over the surface. It takes only a very small amount of water for such a small project. Use less at first, and then add more as necessary to wet out.



Cover with another square of bubble wrap, or fold over the piece you are using, and press down on the wool to wet out. Don’t rub, just compress with your whole hand. This flattens the wool and moves the felting solution evenly through the fibres. Check to see if you have any fluffy spots, add more water if necessary, then finish compressing.



Roll up the flower, and roll under your hands for 5-10 minutes, opening it up every now and then and changing the direction that you roll in. It is fine just to roll just with the bubble wrap if that is what you are using. It may be helpful to roll a pencil in the middle, to give the bubble wrap roll a little more structure.



Your flower should be quite felted at this point. Remove it from the roll, squish it up in a ball, dip into some fresh warm water and squeeze at and roll it in your hands for a few minutes to finish the felting. Rinse well and wring out any excess water.


To shape the flower as a pin, we need to create a flat backing. Place a coin in the flower center and gather the edges over the center and secure with an elastic band. Allow the felt to dry. The felt will hold the random ripples created by shaping this way.

Sew a pin onto the back and voila! A quick and totally individual gift every Mum and Grandmother will love to wear! You could also glue a magnet onto the back to brighten your fridge door!







You can also shape the flower to create a pendant, or to attach it to a felt stem. We used this method once to make a felt flower fairy garland for a forest tree house. Place the flower center over the eraser end of a pencil, or a piece of dowel. Gather and secure with an elastic band and leave to dry.

To make the Flower Stems:



To make the felt stem (or any felt cord), use a small amount of wool, roving laid out on your work surface. The wool should be about 1 inch in diameter for the stem, or the thickness of a carrot.

Wet out as above and then roll up in your bubble wrap. Try the keep the wool as round as possible as you gently roll.



Now place your wool right into the fold of the bubble wrap or sushi roller, place your hand on top of the fold and press down, pulling it towards you. The felt stem will roll along, under your hand, staying in the fold. This keeps the stem round, and will firmly felt it. Each time after pulling the roll towards you, you’ll need to open it up, reposition the stem at the top of the roll and then repeat.



Remove the felt stem from the roll and squish it up in your hand, dipping it in fresh warm water. This will finish the felting. Rinse well, and squeeze out any excess water.



Pull the stem straight and leave to dry, and create a curly stem by wrapping around the end of the pencil. The stem will hold it’s twists once dry. Sew stem to the flower back. These can be enjoyed as a table centerpiece, made into a pin or hat decoration. You could also use the directions above to make a long cord, working on one section at a time, then sewing on a group of flowers as a garland, or use each stem individually and join like a daisy chain.
A lovely May Craft for everyone!

GIVEAWAY

Leave a comment here by Sunday, May 6th midnight and enter in a drawing to win enough wool to make two of these beautiful flowers.

 

Fiona Duthie is a regular contributor to Living Crafts.

In her studio on Salt Spring Island, BC, she creates in a bountiful beauty of color, wool, and texture, inspired by the natural world. Fiona designs fine feltwork, felting and knitting patterns, gives workshops in natural craft, and runs her hand dyed, artisan fibre company, Kattikloo. You can read more about her fibers, projects and creative living at www.kattikloo.com and on Facebook.

 

 

 

Comment #59 : Fleur de Paix

Congratulations!

By Katja Magus

“I truly believe that anyone who has basic hand and machine sewing skills can successfully complete this doll with these detailed and photo-rich instructions. If you feel you’re not up to the challenge right now, you can reach out to a family member or friend who sews and offer to do an exchange of skills.  Every child deserves a beautiful doll to cherish for years to come! ”

Katja Majus, author of these patterns, our doll pattern and tutorial available here,  and the article “A Doll for Every Child” in the Living Crafts Winter 2012 issue

Materials:

• Small pieces/scraps of knit fabric for clothing/diapers/etc. (can be from recycled clothing or there are beautiful cotton velours from the listed sources) *
• Optional ¼ inch elastic for doll gown and pants
• 2 closures for each diaper (sew on snaps, hook and loop tape fasteners, etc.)
• Sewing machine (or lots of time and patience!)
• Living Crafts  “A Doll for Every Child Doll”  Clothing Patterns:

Doll Diaper Pattern

Doll Hat and Pants Pattern

Doll Shirt Pattern

Doll Gown Pattern

*Starred items can be found online at www.weirdollsandcrafts.com and www.achildsdream.com, other items can be found around the home or at a local craft store.

Sewing the diapers and clothing:

You can use recycled children’s clothing or scraps from your sewing stash to make the diapers and clothes. All of the patterns are designed for cotton knit (stretchy) fabrics; they DO NOT include seam allowances. I didn’t need to add elastic to the bottom of the gown or to the waistband of the pants due to the stretchiness of the fabrics (skipping the elastic makes the clothes easier for little ones to take on and off), but if you do, use 1/4” elastic and look for directions on the package or online.

Making the diapers:  Doll Diaper Pattern
1. Using the diaper pattern, cut out two diaper shapes from a light colored cotton knit fabric with the stretch going across the diaper. With right sides together, pin and sew around the diaper, starting at the back notch/line and going all the way around, topping at the next notch/line to leave room for turning.
2. Backstitch at the beginning and end of each seam. Clip/trim seams as described in the doll making instructions, turn diaper right side out. Blind or whipstitch the back opening closed or leave open to have a “pocket” diaper and make inserts for it. Add fasteners to the flaps and the front section.

Making the shirt/gown: Doll Shirt Pattern and Doll Gown Pattern
1. Fold under the seam allowance on the top curved edge across the shoulder flaps and neck, and sew with a narrow seam. Then lay the front and back pieces end to end with the shoulder flaps overlapping (matching notches/lines). Make sure both flaps are going the same way before sewing.

2. Baste this armhole seam using a longer stitch, 1/8” from the edge, to make sure the flaps don’t slip as you add the sleeve. Fit the curved edge of the sleeve to the armhole along your basting line, matching up the center of the sleeve with the notch for the shoulder flaps. Sew a ¼” seam for the armhole.

3. Fold up seam allowance at sleeve edges and sew. Lay the gown/shirt out flat with right sides together and match the underarm and body seams. Sew a continuous seam from the sleeve edge to the bottom of the garment. Turn up the bottom hem and sew.

Making the pants:  Doll Pants Pattern
1. With right sides together, first sew both crotch seams.

Then hem both leg bottoms.
2. Next, lay the pants out flat and sew one continuous seam up the inside of one leg and down the other.

Fold under top edge and sew, adding elastic if needed.

Making the hat:  Doll Hat Pattern
1. Place two hat pieces right sides together and sew along the curved edge. Try the hat on your doll before sewing a hem along the straight edge. You may need to snip the seam, as mentioned before, along the curved edge.
 
Time savers and other tips:

I can complete a doll in 4 uninterrupted hours or in many small bits of time over a few days, but give yourself much more than that if this is your first doll.

To save time, skip the hair and add a hat, the doll can “grow up” over the next year and be presented later with a full head of hair. Also to save time, skip the face embroidery. Many cultures have created faceless dolls for their play and I think this would be especially suitable for a young toddler.

Present a finished doll without clothes, wrapped in a blanket or play silk and let the child know that making clothes will be your special project together.

For the younger child, loosely sew on the cap and gown to avoid dolly being left naked all the time, these can be unsewn later as the child matures.

Treat the doll as if it were real and your child will follow your example, make sure it is rocked, clothed, and carried gently. When picking up toys, treat the doll with reverence and make sure it has a special place to sleep.

Making accessories for the doll, such as, scarves, sleeping bags, rugs, hats, and blankets are wonderful ways for an older child to relate to a doll, while practicing their hand crafting skills at the same time. Older siblings can also be involved in helping to ready a doll for a younger sibling.

Most dolls only need to be washed about 1–2 times per year. The general rule of thumb is to wash a waldorf doll as you would wash a real baby. Run a sinkful of warm water and place the doll in the water, gently surface wash using mild soap, dunk the doll a few times to rinse (no squeezing, rubbing, etc.) and wrap in towels to dry. The drying may take 24–48 hours so you might need to do it “on the sly” so your child won’t be too anxious about it. A doll that has been washed can have new “cheeks” applied and a new outfit. Then, presented again to a grateful child – rather than giving a new doll each year!

By Katja Magus

“I truly believe that anyone who has basic hand and machine sewing skills can successfully complete this doll with these detailed and photo-rich instructions. If you feel you’re not up to the challenge right now, you can reach out to a family member or friend who sews and offer to do an exchange of skills. Every child deserves a beautiful doll to cherish for years to come! ”

Katja Magus, author of this pattern and the article “A Doll for Every Child” in the Living Crafts Winter 2012 issue

MATERIALS (to make two dolls)

• Cotton knit fabric in skin color (½ yard) *
• Wool batting (½ lb) *
• 2” wide tubular stockinette (1 yard) *
• Doll making needle (5” long) Note: a regular sewing needle will NOT work*
• Embroidery floss in colors for eyes and mouth
• Cotton twine or sturdy cotton yarn (white)
• Sewing thread to match skin tone fabric, hair color, and clothing fabric*
• Regular sewing needles
• Red beeswax crayon or natural rouge/blush for cheeks *
• Double pointed knitting needles (size 3) for knitting hair cap
• Wool yarn (mohair is best) for hair (1 ball) *
• Small pieces/scraps of knit fabric for clothing/diapers/etc. (can be from recycled clothing or there are beautiful cotton velours from the listed sources) *
• Optional ¼ inch elastic for doll gown and pants
• 2 closures for each diaper (sew on snaps, hook and loop tape fasteners, etc.)
• Sewing machine (or lots of time and patience!)
• Living Crafts  “A Doll for Every Child Doll”  Pattern: LivingCraftsDollPattern.

*Starred items can be found online at www.weirdollsandcrafts.com and www.achildsdream.com, other items can be found around the home or at a local craft store.

 INSTRUCTIONS
Note: If making twins, do each stage (inner head, skin, etc.) at the same time so they will be more consistent in shape and size.
Making the inner head:
Measure and cut a 10” piece of tubular stockinette. Tie off one end about ½” from the end using a 10” piece of cotton string. Trim ends of string. Turn tubular stockinette inside out and set aside.
Lay out wool batting and separate the layers until it is one thickness. Tear off a long strip (going “with the grain”) about 3” wide and as long as you can.
Wrap the wool into a ball, pulling it firmly and changing directions as you would when winding a ball of yarn so that the ball stays round and very firm. Continue until ball is 9-10” around the “equator.”   It should be firmly enough wrapped to stay together when you set it down. A soft head will lose its shape quickly, so take it apart if necessary and re-wrap until even and firm.
Tear off a square of batting about 10” by 10” and place the ball onto it, gather the square around the ball as you would if making a tissue paper ghost.

Place the ball side into the tubular stockinette and push it all the way to the knot at the top. The extra wool from the square should stick out the bottom of the stockinette.

Cut a piece of cotton string 18” long and tie tightly around the stockinette very close to the bottom of the ball. This creates the neck (it should be about 2/3 head and 1/3 shoulders). Trim ends of string.
Working with the tubular stockinette and the wool under the head, arrange your doll’s shoulders so they are going side to side under the part you wish to be the face. Push in the wool stuffing that is hanging out the bottom of the tubular stockinette and sew the bottom shut using a whip stitch (it won’t show). If the wool won’t fit, tear some off. Once sewn, the bottom will resemble a clamshell. This is the doll’s shoulder pad.

Cut two 24” pieces of cotton string to become the “eyeline” and “earline” and set aside.  Working as if the head was a globe, first examine it to see which side you’d like to be the face and keep this side towards you. Tie the first string around the head at the “equator,” starting with the middle of the string at the back of the head, bringing the ends towards you, tie a half knot in the middle of the face, bring the ends back to the back of the head, and pull tightly to indent the face. Tie a double knot at the back of the head.

 
For the “earline,” do the same with the second piece of string, this time starting with the midpoint under the chin, tying the half-knot at the top of the head, pulling tightly, and tying the double knot under the chin. Rearrange strings as necessary to keep them even and straight.
Using sewing needle and light thread, stitch the section where the two strings meet at the ears, using deep stitches to catch the underlying wool and stitching between the strings in an “x” shape so they won’t move out of place in the next step. Repeat on other side.

At this point your doll’s head should be pretty symmetrical, but it won’t look much like a baby. Now for the magic, at the back of the head, pull the “equator” line down under the head to the back of the neck, to meet the neck string. Your doll will now have a smooth round curve at the back of the head just like a real baby.  A doll is born!  Take a deep breath; the hard part is over.

Preparing the doll’s skin:

  Spread out your piece of skin tone fabric. If using the source listed above, it will be a tube, so there is no need to double up the fabric. If using other fabric you will need a double thickness. Lay out the pattern pieces for the legs and arms onto the fabric with the direction of stretch going from side to side as indicated on the pattern pieces. The pattern pieces DO NOT include seam allowances, so add at least ¼” before you cut, either by eyeballing or using a ruler. In between the legs it is impossible to add ¼”, so just cut a slit to the top of the legs as marked on the pattern piece.

    It may be helpful to trace directly around the pattern piece onto the fabric with a contrasting soft pencil so you have a “stitching line,” this is especially important around the hand and thumb and at the bottom of the feet. Set arm and leg pieces aside.
Now it’s time to trace the head shape onto fabric so your doll will have “custom” head skin. Place the doll’s face next to a fold in the fabric tube, so that the forehead and chin are touching the fold. Holding your pencil straight up and down and starting at the top of the head, trace the doll’s head, creating a moderately straight line from the front forehead to where the head starts to curve at the back (if you curve down at the forehead, when sewn the skin will have a “widow’s peak”), down the back of the neck, indenting at the neck string and out again at the shoulders and then straight down 4-5,” ending with a straight horizontal line at the bottom. If your shoulders are significantly narrower than the head, add a little there, because the inner head has to be pushed thru the shoulder area as it goes up. Again, add seam allowances before cutting.

Machine sewing the skin pieces:

   These steps can also be done by hand using small straight stitches. On all pieces, use a skin tone thread, regular straight stitch on your sewing machine and backstitch at the beginning and end of each section. Leave the space between marks/notches open (shown on pattern pieces as lines and in photos as pins).
Sewing the legs/torso: Sew from the underarm notch down the outside of one leg, up the inside, make a gentle curve over the crotch and come down and up the other legs, ending at the armhole notch.
Sewing the arms: Beginning at one notch, carefully sew around one hand and thumb, stop at the next notch and start again on the other arm.  Go slowly to achieve a good finished hand shape.
Sewing the head: Using your pencil line as a guide, start at the forehead and sew around the head and down the shoulders, but leave the bottom open so you will be able to place the inner head inside.

Clip into the curved areas of fabric seams right up to the stitching (but not touching it) using sharp scissors, especially at the back of the neck. You can try turning the hand and foot fabric right side out. If it is hard to turn it smoothly and you see little bumps all along the seam, turn it inside out again and trim the seam to 1/8” in those areas.

Turn arm, leg, and head pieces right side out using the eraser end of a pencil to help you turn smoothly.

 
Creating the finished head:

   Place the inner head inside the head skin, being careful to place the “face” towards the smooth front of the skin and having the stitching line go down the back of the head. You may have to squeeze the head a little, but if stuffed firmly, it will recover well with a little squishing.
If the doll’s head has a point at the forehead, fold it back in a triangle as if wrapping a package and stitch it down. It will not show under the hair or hat.

Cut another 24” piece of cotton string and tie it around the neck as before to redefine the neckline, pull any gathers towards the back, pull the string tightly and tie off at the back. Leave longer ends when cutting so they are easier to tuck in when you sew the doll’s body together. Set aside the finished head.

Stuffing the arms and legs:
 
While stuffing the arms and legs, it is helpful to tear off a large rectangle of wool and lay it over your fingers before placing it down into the arm or leg hole.

   Add additional tufts of wool inside the tunnel your finger created, this way the layer closest to the skin (which will show!) is smooth and free of lumps. A firm dense doll will hold up to “love” over the years better, but the doll also needs to be flexible enough for the child to bend the arms and legs while playing.
Stuff each arm, hand, and thumb (roll up a little ball of wool for the thumb), leaving the spaces where the seam is open free of stuffing.
Once the arms are stuffed, hold the arm piece “thumbs up” and reach up through the bottom opening, and then through the top opening of the arm piece with your fingers. Grab the shoulder pad of the head and pull it down through this opening. Fold the raw edge of the top opening towards the inside around the neck.

Stuff legs (using same method as the arms) up to the crotch, then repeat the “wool folding” technique for the torso area by wrapping your hand in a large rectangle of wool and pushing it into the torso. Add extra wool into the pocket near the bottom at the back for “cheeks” (pick which side is the front and back for your doll) and extra wool in the middle of the front for a tummy. Some wool from the pocket should be sticking up out of the torso skin and that is fine.

Nestle the head/shoulder/arms piece into the torso, making sure some of the torso “pocket” wool comes over the chest and back to create continuity. If you can’t get the shoulder to fit deep into the torso (right up to where the seams stop), take out some wool from the torso until it fits.   Tuck in extra wool.
Once the shoulders are snug in the torso, fold the square corners of the torso in towards the neck (on front and back). Also fold under the raw top edge about ¼” across the front and back neck. Once sewn, this folding of the torso skin will create the arm crease that allows the doll’s arms to bend forward.

Using contrasting pins (don’t lose any in the baby, some people like to count them first!) and beginning at the armpit, pin the torso skin to the shoulder piece using straight pins stuck straight in towards the stuffing.

  Make sure all the raw edges are folded under and the shoulder stays snug to the torso. Work your way up to the shoulder seam with pins and then across the neck.

    At the shoulder the front skin will overlap the back and the pin will act as a “button” on overalls, holding the seam in place.

Using skin tone thread, regular sewing needle, and a blind/invisible stitch, sew one long continuous seam beginning at one armpit, up across one shoulder, around the front neck, across the other shoulder, around the opposite arm hole, back across the shoulder (just slide your needle underneath, no need to sew it again), across the back neck, and finishing back at the first armpit. When sewing the shoulder, you will sew a straight line across the shoulder to the neck, If you’re having trouble visualizing it, take a look at a t-shirt for help, one seam all the way around the armhole and one seam from the shoulder to the neck. Tuck in any strings and raw edges as you sew.

At this point your doll’s body is perfectly presentable, so if you’re running short on time, skip to the face section and start there. Otherwise, it’s time to do some “sculpting:”   The use of stitching to define various parts of the dolly’s body. Sculpting is done with a doubled skin tone thread and a regular sewing needle. Though if you find your needle is getting “lost” in all the stuffing, try the doll-making needle.
Leg creases: Have your doll sit up on the table so you can see where the natural creases will be, mark the beginning of each crease at the crotch and the end at each hip with a straight pin.

   Sew a line of running stitches along each crease, pushing your needle straight through all the layers of the doll’s leg and out again at the back, making sure to watch what the stitches look like at the front and back of the doll.

  Pull up tightly as you go to indent the leg at the crease. Secure threads.
Bottom “cheeks: On back of doll, sew a line of running stitches from the crotch up about 2” along the middle of the bottom to form “cheeks.” Pull up tight to gather the stitches and secure threads. You may need to run another set of stitches in the same line if it is hard to secure. Push wool in from surrounding areas to further fill in the “cheeks.”

Belly button: Mark placement of belly button with a straight pin and sew a circle of running stitches ¼” to ½” in diameter around the pin. In general, a larger circle makes an “outie” and a smaller one, an “innie.” Pull up tight and secure threads.

Embroidering the face:

  You must embroider the face before adding hair or a hat, because the knot ends of your eye and mouth floss will show at the back of the head.  Mark placement of the eyes and mouth using straight pins, placing the two eye pins along the eye line and the mouth pin midway between the eye line and the neck string in an equilateral triangle with the eyes.

Cut a 24” length of each eye and mouth colored embroidery floss, divide the eye floss into 2 parts with 3 strands in each part. Leave the mouth floss as is.
Using one of the pieces (3 strands) of eye colored floss, thread the doll making needle. Poke the needle straight into the doll’s face slightly to the side of one eye pin and through to the back of the head.

  Take the needle off the thread and make a knot at the back of the head, there will be floss hanging out at both sides of the doll’s head. At the front, pull on the floss to take up the slack at the back and rethread the doll making needle. Make 4 horizontal stitches across the eye pin (remove after first stitch) and then 4-5 vertical stitches covering the horizontal ones.

Make sure to “dip into” the underlying wool stuffing as you do the eye stitches, as they will hold up better if anchored in. The entire eye should be about ¼” square. Push needle through the face until slightly to the side of the other eye and repeat stitching for other eye. (Photo 34- DSC04482)

On last eye stitch, push the needle all the way thru to the back of the head and tie off.
For the mouth, use the same starting technique and all 6 strands of the mouth colored floss. Begin the mouth with one straight stitch centered across the mouth pin, about ¼” long. As you finish the first mouth stitch, come up slightly to the side of the mouth and at an upward angle doing one stitch back towards the first mouth stitch. (Photo 35- DSC04484)

   Repeat on other side for a gently curved mouth, 3 stitches total.  Push the needle through to the back of the head and tie off.
The colored knots at the back of the head will be covered with hair or a hat and are easy to snip off later if you need to replace the eye or mouth over time. You can certainly customize eye and mouth color to match the recipient of the doll or as your heart desires, but I do believe that as waldorf philosophy suggests, simple and realistic faces are best.  This leaves room for the child’s own imagination and also allows the doll to be more “sympathetic” in times of sadness than a doll wearing a large smile.

Instructions for knitting and sewing the hair:
 
Almost any natural fiber yarn can work for doll’s hair but this knitting pattern was written for the mohair doll hair yarn found at the sources listed above. You will need to adjust the needle size and perhaps the pattern if using other yarns. The pattern is the same for both the straight mohair and the curly boucle yarns. Patterns for sewn doll hair, long hair, and crocheted hair can be found in the books listed in the doll making resources or by searching the web.

Gauge note: this cap is so small, that doing a gauge swatch would be tedious, just start making the cap and if you can’t get it on the doll or it’s too big, change needle size or # of starting stitches and try again.
 
Knitting pattern for hair:
1. Using size three double pointed needles, cast on 30 sts in the round, placing 10 on each needle.
2. Knit every row until 3” long, then begin decreases every other row.
3. First decrease row: K3, k2tog, repeat until end of row.
4. Knit 1 row.
5. Second decrease row: K2, k2tog, repeat until end of row.
6. Knit 1 row.
7. Third decrease row: K1, k2tog, repeat until end of row.
8. Knit 1 row.
9. Fourth decrease row: K2tog, repeat until end of row.
10. Break yarn and using yarn needle thread through remaining stitches and weave in yarn ends on whichever side of the cap you choose as the “wrong” side. The cap is fully reversible, but I find the inside/purl side to be the most realistic hair. The cap may look too long, but the extra length will be taken up by the width of the doll’s head and any extra can be tucked under at the hairline while sewing it onto the doll.
11. Stretch the finished cap over the doll’s head, adjusting it along the hairline so it looks natural. It should touch the base of the neck and come in a little near the cheeks. (Photo 36- DSC04487 and Photo 37- DSC04488)

You can pin it if necessary but mine usually stay put pretty well. Using sewing thread to match the hair color and a regular sewing needle, blind or whip stitch the hair along the hairline beginning at the back neck, making sure to “dip into” the underlying wool stuffing to anchor the hair. Secure thread ends. For a wilder look, you can ”brush out” a mohair cap (not boucle) with a stiff hairbrush or clean metal cat brush to make slightly longer hair (you can even put a bow in it).
12. As a final touch, you can add color to the doll’s cheeks using eco-friendly non- toxic rouge/blush or with a red beeswax crayon. For the crayon, first rub the crayon on a scrap of cloth and then use that to add color to the doll’s face. For either method, make large gentle circles of color on the “apples” of the cheeks. You will need to reapply the color every once in a while, but be careful not to let the child see you “coloring” on her doll.

Congratulations, you have completed a beautiful doll!

 
Time savers and other tips:

  I can complete a doll in 4 uninterrupted hours or in many small bits of time over a few days, but give yourself much more than that if this is your first doll.

To save time, skip the hair and add a hat, the doll can “grow up” over the next year and be presented later with a full head of hair.

Present a finished doll without clothes, wrapped in a blanket or play silk and let the child know that making clothes will be your special project together.

Also to save time, skip the face embroidery. Many cultures have created faceless dolls for their play and I think this would be especially suitable for a young toddler.  (see pictures of Avery loving the unfinished dolls)

For the younger child, loosely sew on the cap and gown to avoid dolly being left naked all the time, these can be unsewn later as the child matures.

Treat the doll as if it were real and your child will follow your example, make sure it is rocked, clothed, and carried gently. When picking up toys, treat the doll with reverence and make sure it has a special place to sleep.

Making accessories for the doll, such as, scarves, sleeping bags, rugs, hats, and blankets are wonderful ways for an older child to relate to a doll, while practicing their hand crafting skills at the same time. Older siblings can also be involved in helping to ready a doll for a younger sibling.

Most dolls only need to be washed about 1–2 times per year. The general rule of thumb is to wash a waldorf doll as you would wash a real baby. Run a sinkful of warm water and place the doll in the water, gently surface wash using mild soap, dunk the doll a few times to rinse (no squeezing, rubbing, etc.) and wrap in towels to dry. The drying may take 24–48 hours so you might need to do it “on the sly” so your child won’t be too anxious about it. A doll that has been washed can have new “cheeks” applied and a new outfit. Then, presented again to a grateful child – rather than giving a new doll each year!

Beautiful Valentine’s Friendship Bracelets tutorial from Purl Bee.

We loved making these friendship bracelets as children but have never made any with patterns like these, especially designed for Valentine’s Day!

What a great craft to make for  a special friend…time to get out the embroidery floss and check out the tutorial!

A 2011 interview with Kaffe Fassett, discussing how he designs and how he inspires others to create and express their inner color, filmed at his London studio for Ehrman Tapestry.  You can find Kaffe’s latest needlepoint designs at www.ehrmantapestry.com

  Kaffe Fassett was our Living Crafts sage in the Spring 2010 issue.  He is a master of color, and one of our favorite designers.  He’s teaching right now at Vogue Knitting Live in New York, and don’t we wish we could be there!  For those of us that aren’t, we’ll enjoy this video inspiration, instead!

There is also another wonderful video interview of Kaffe at his own website.   Be sure to watch it!

If you have made one of his designs, or have taken any of his workshops, please do leave a comment or a link to share.  Thank you!

Celtic knot work can be stunning in any form, and this beautiful knotted necklace is a great example.

The video tutorial explains the process so well, simplifying what looks like complex knot work.  In addition to Valentine’s Day gifts, wouldn’t these make lovely wedding tokens- as necklaces for the guests or bridesmaids, or as table decorations for candles, vases or glasses?

Or make a garland of love knots by using a longer length of rope….On our must do list!

by Fiona Duthie

Merry Winter Stars are made of wool felt, simple stitches, and shiny beads, representing warmth, connection and light….everything we celebrate in this season.

Materials:

1  sheet wool felt 8″ x 10″ (20cm x 30cm) in ecru and lemon yellow, both from Pollika
cotton embroidery floss, gold metallic thread
small amount of wool for stuffing
assortment of beads and sequins
scissors, sewing needle

Merry Winter Stars Pattern available here as a pdf:  Merry Winter Stars

Cut out three stars from the wool felt. Two in Ecru and one in Yellow. Cut the inner lines on one of the ecru stars. Mark on the sewing points for making the folds on the inner line and outer edge.

Lay the stars one on top of the other in following order: ecru, yellow, ecru. Turn them to get the best match to each point. Trim the felt edges a little as necessary. Sew all three layers together, using blanket stitch.

Leave one side of one point open to stuff the star.

Stuff the stars in between the back ecru layer and the middle yellow layer. Use a knitting needle or bamboo skewer to move the wool all the way into the star tips.

Fold the point marked on the inner star line, out to the outer star edge and sew in place with a single stitch. Continue around each point on the star.

Fold down inner star tips. Do not stretch them all the way into the middle, allow then to form a little three dimensional petal.  Pin them in place, then sew to the yellow layer with a single stitch.

Add beads or sequins to the inner star points and the star center. Add some decorative stitches using the gold metallic thread. These are the little touches that really make the star shine.  Add as much or as little embellishment as you feel your star needs to reflect  it’s inner winter light!

This Merry Winter Star can be used as pin cushion, or sew on a long ribbon loop for a child to wear as a holiday necklace, or a short loop to use as a hanging decoration.

Wishing you, your friends and your families much Merry Winter Starlight – warmth, connection and light,and a peaceful, joy-filled holiday season!

Fiona Duthie is a regular contributor to Living Crafts.

In her studio on Salt Spring Island, BC, she creates in a bountiful beauty of color, wool, and texture, inspired by the natural world. Fiona designs fine feltwork, felting and knitting patterns, gives workshops in natural craft, and runs her hand dyed, artisan fibre company, Kattikloo. You can read more about her fibers, projects and creative living at www.kattikloo.com and on Facebook.

Designed by Lesley Cuming

Materials: All available from Pollika

Rope Doll Bases: 2 x 6inches/15cm,  1 x 4.5 inches/11 cm
Fresco Felt:  I sheet each, Sky, Marble, Spring,
True Felt: 1 sheet color #643
1 pack Bhedawool -Brown
Pencil Crayons in eye and mouth colors
Needle and Thread
Glue
Gold Wire
Brown Cord
Brown acrylic paint

Jesus, Mary and Joseph Pattern pieces: Download the Pattern here.

Mary and Joseph Dolls

Step 1: take a very small amount of brown acrylic paint, watered down. Paint Joseph’s face, feet and hands.

Step 2: using pencil crayons, draw on Joseph’s eyes, nose and mouth.

Step 3: position small amount of fleece wool on top of Joseph’s head, making sure not to cover his eyes. Shape a small triangle of fleece and glue to Joseph’s chin for a beard. Roll a very small amount of fleece into a mustache and glue above beard and mouth.

Step 4: cut out two tunic pieces, a front and a back, for Joseph’s tunic using Fresco Felt Spring,

Step 5: placing front and back together, sew from bottom hem to end of sleeve using running stitch.

Step 6: Using running stitch, sew from sleeve edge to neck.

Step 7: starting on opposite side, using running stitch, sew from hem to sleeve edge.

Step 8: place rope doll in tunic before sewing top edge of final sleeve. Using running stitch, carefully sew the final sleeve together

Step 9: tie cord around waist

Step 10: cut out scarf for head, using True Felt color #643.  Fold in half-length wise. Using running stitch sew along longest curved side

Step 11: turn head piece inside out, and position on Joseph’s head. Tie a brown cord around head and scarf to secure.

Repeat these steps for Mary, with the following changes:

For Mary’s hair, position fleece wool on top of Mary’s head, making sure not to cover her eyes or face too much. Glue into place. With a small amount of thread tie excess fleece at back like a pony tail.

Use Fresco Felt in Sky for her Tunic, and Fresco Felt in Marble for her cape.

Add Mary’s Halo: Using gold wire, wind in circles leaving small tail. Poke tail down seam of head dress to secure.

Baby Jesus Doll:

Step 1: using smaller rope doll, remove legs.

Step 2: with watered down acrylic paint add light color to baby’s face and hands

Step 3: with pencil crayons add eyes and mouth

Step 4: wrap baby in  Fresco Felt in Marble.

Step 5: sew halo on back of child’s head, sew bottom flap of blanket up. Place Baby in Mary’s arms.

GIVEAWAY

Pollika is generously offering four lucky readers each a complete kit to make the Jesus, Mary and Joseph dolls in this tutorial.  Each kit includes rope doll bases, wool felt sheets and wool batting for hair. For a chance to win,  please leave a comment on this post by 12/26/11.  Good luck!

Felt Painting Boards are the fifth project in a seasonal series of  little, quick-to-make gifts we so often need for the holidays. For planned or last minute occasions, for tooth fairies, pocket ladies, and winter fairs; for classmates, neighbour’s and host’s children; for advent calenders and stockings! Tiny treasures that can be made with a small amount of materials and a small amount of time- 20 minutes or less!

Painting with wool roving is such a warm, tactile and pleasing craft. Washes of color or detailed images- they all look lovely made with wool. And, most importantly, they can be changed at any time to become a whole new “painting”.  These little kits make fantastic creative gifts, not only for children! Make the felt board on a log cut, as we have, or on a piece of  finished wood, include a little pouch of colored wool, and the wool painting can start! We’ve included instructions below on making a simple tree image. It can be helpful to show children how to make an image first, to develop a hand and head understanding of how to use the materials….how to build up a picture, enjoy it, and then take it apart and make another!

Materials:

a log slice or piece of finished wood, about 5 inches in diameter or a 5 inch square. Log slices can often be obtained from craft supply shops. If you are cutting your own, make sure the wood is dry.

5″ x 5″ piece of wool felt.  A fluffy felt works especially well as a background to hold the paintings in place. A piece of felted blanket or sweater would work well, or National Non-Wovens wool felt in white dyed using this method.  All felt will work for this though!

small amounts in a rainbow of wool roving/batting colors

tiny twigs

wood glue

Cut a piece of wool felt to fit on the wooden base. Cut to a size so there is a nice wooden frame left visible around the wool felt.

Apply glue well over the entire back of the wool felt piece. Glue onto the wooden base. You may want to weight down the wool felt while it dries to get the best adhesion to the wood.

To make the wool tree painting:

First we need to lay down some earth for the tree to put down it’s roots and grow…

This step sets up the basic painting with wool technique- Use only very small wisps of wool. Hold down one side and draw or paint the wool out, pulling it where you want it to be on your board.

Push your twig tree trunk a little way into the earth, and roll a little on the felt base to hold it in place.

Paint the branches on your tree.  Hold the green woolly wisp at the top of the tree trunk and pull the wool out into boughs.  Add a few on each side and down the trunk.

We can make some decorations for our tree by using just a few wool fibers and rolling them into a ball between thumb and forefinger.  Drop them randomly onto the tree.

If it’s going to snow in your picture, pull out small white wool wisps of snow and have them fall in drifts across the ground and on a few boughs. When the snow melts and the holidays are over, the snow and decorations can be taken off the tree.

Or maybe the whole tree will come off and the wool and twig be made into something completely different.  Here are some ideas:

These wool paintings can be hung on a wall, displayed on a table or mantlepiece, or hung on your tree. It can be changed through the day or the year to create new seasonal pictures. Ideal for travelling, during appointments, or family gatherings.

You can read more about painting with wool in Living Crafts- Fall 2008.

Watch for more in our Tiny Treasures series- we’ll be featuring at least one new tutorial each week until Christmas,  including wooden castle blocks, and poppy pod people, plus other small and simple natural gift making inspirations.

Enjoy our earlier tutorials in this series:  Tiny Toadstools, Rainbow Rocks, Frost Gnomes and  Pinecone Gnomes.

Giveaway

National Non-Wovens has generously offered a wool felt assortment pack for the lucky winner! Their gift includes a collection of gorgeous colors in 100% wool felt sheets!

Please leave a comment on this post by Thursday, December 15 for a chance to win this wonderful giveaway.

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Fiona Duthie is a regular contributor to Living Crafts.

In her studio on Salt Spring Island, BC, she creates in a bountiful beauty of color, wool, and texture, inspired by the natural world. Fiona designs fine feltwork, felting and knitting patterns, gives workshops in natural craft, and runs her hand dyed, artisan fibre company, Kattikloo. You can read more about her fibers, projects and creative living at www.kattikloo.com and on Facebook.