Dolls

I bought the book and patterns last November, and I have been sewing these dolls faithfully ever since. I had to do it without any of the girls around, since they were always intended for the twins' birthday surprise. This means maybe 20-40 minutes a day after they were in bed, and some Saturday mornings when Trevor took them out. These stretched my sewing skills, and I learned a lot of new techniques. I had a lot of fun sewing them, but they were so much work I'm not sure if I'll ever sew one again! Well, I'll have to for the new baby girl...

 I stuffed them with wool I bought from this Etsy shop, and was really pleased with how well it worked. I was concerned at first because it smelled strongly of sheep (naturally), but I stuffed it into a pillowcase and let it air out, and it was fine. Wool was so much better than the polyfill you buy at craft stores - heftier, sturdier, and it makes the dolls sit up better. Big fan. I also weighed the dolls at the bottom of the torso with heavy but tiny metal weights, also so they would sit better. Worked perfectly.

 The coloration is based on my girls, since they are so beautiful. I think we'll call the dolls after each of the girls' middle names.

 Jo's doll. Her hair was the hardest and the least fun. It jammed up my Bernina, which I didn't know was possible. But I eventually got the hang of it - the trouble was the kind of yarn I used (alpaca), so it was extremely soft and slippery.

 Love the way Millie's turned out!

 I bought the shoes here on Etsy, and I LOVE THEM. The shoes were the only part of the dolls I did not sew from scratch myself.

Embroidering the faces was the part I was most nervous about, because no one would see the beautiful stitchwork I had done to assemble the doll, it was the faces that would make the biggest difference. But it turned out to be the most fun part of making them. I chose variegated floss I got at our local sewing shop The Corn Wagon, and it made the irises really pretty! I had fun matching the girls' eyes to the floss...

This doll's hair was my favorite to do, which is funny because Millie's hair is also my favorite to do in the mornings. It just turned out perfectly, and was so much fun to sew. Took forever though.

Hazel's doll

The only thing I wasn't all that pleased with was the dresses - they're kind of like hospital gowns. Too big. But the collars are cute.

This wasn't in the pattern - I added little strips of fabric in the palms of the hand so they could slip objects into them. Like mirrors and sticks or puppy leashes.

I sure hope they like them. It would be disappointing if they didn't - but I think they will :).