When handmade gifts go wrong

Sometimes, even the most well-intentioned handmade gifts can go wrong.  Especially when I’m making them without using a pattern, as is the case with most of my attempts.

Let’s examine the events of last night. I am making a doll for my niece, because I have this idea that she will absolutely love it and cherish it and never let it go.  Of course, in reality, she may very well hate it, and go for the iPad or TV or other fancy toys instead.  But an aunt can dream, right?

So I sketched out a shape on paper, then cut it out of fabric. The style I was going for was a plump but tiny doll, one that she could carry around without being too much of a pain.  I carefully and painstakingly hand-embroidered a face onto the doll, then cut off a bit of an old shrunken cashmere sweater sleeve as the “hair.”  I put the two pieces of fabric together, wrong sides facing out, with the cashmere in the middle between the two heads.

I sewed it together several times, discovering that the unbleached cotton linen blend liked to unravel easily at the edges..  Ugh.  I then began the painstaking process of turning it right-side-out.  See, this was tricky, because the doll turned out to be more emaciated than a barbie doll. Oops.

At this point it was 1 am, and I was determined to finish this sad little doll before bed.  I worked like a woman obsessed.   I knew I’d have to make another, more plump one, but I really wanted to finish this.  I stuffed her full o’ stuffing, and sewed her up.  I also had to re-sew her feet because they came apart in the turning right-side-out process.  Same with her neck.  It was wobbling precariously, split open at the seam.

I threw together a dress, whose proportions also came out wrong, and squeeeeeezed the doll into the too-tight dress.  I took a scrap of wool and sewed it around her neck to a) hide the bursting seam and b) keep her warm! 🙂

So she’s a little wonky looking.  But I actually kind of like her.

Does anyone have a good pattern for a doll?  I think I may need one.

Shared at House of Hepworths.