Sew Dolled Up
By: Boutique sha
Rating: 5 of 5
I first learned to sew by hand when I was ten years old and in elementary school. Our student teacher that year had convinced our school principal that a good art project for the year would be teaching our class to hand sew felt dolls to be given to an orphanage in Tijuana, Mexico. I remember how difficult it was to learn to sew such tiny little stitches as were needed to keep the stuffing inside the dolls. I soon learned to love our art period (only one hour three times a week) and to try to make as many dolls as well as I could.
Over time, felt doll making became a thing of my past… until a few weeks ago when I ran across a couple of books, including “Sew Dolled Up”. It was like I had been hit by a thunderbolt. I had to get the books and start making these dolls. It was like the more than forty years since I first learned to sew had been wiped away. I remembered the joy of making the little felt dolls and the deeper joy of giving them to children who needed a doll. That is a type of joy that I need in my life once again.
In “Sew Dolled Up” very traditional felt dolls are updated to some of the cutest I have ever seen. My only complaint about the book is that there doesn’t seem to be a boy doll in the mix. However, there are so many patterns, that I am sure that I can easily adjust a doll to become a boy and some of the outfits to become boys clothes. Little boys love dolls, too. As a grandma to a little boy, I want to make him a couple of dolls to remember me by in later years.
There are a number of dolls and many dolls clothes. The instructions are well thought out. I have been led to believe that this is a translation of a Japanese book on felt doll making. If that is the case, the translator and editor did an outstanding job as I could follow the instructions very well. I have had the book for over a week and have made two dolls and a number of clothes already. As a crafter, needleworker, beader, and quilter, I found that I had most of the items I needed to start my projects. For felt, I was able to go to my local fabric store and to a Joanne’s to get what was needed.
It has been many years since I have felt so much fun and joy in my projects. Maybe it is because I know that I am making them to give away to children – I try to imagine who might get my current project while I am working on it. I find that it helps me use my imagination in making expressions on the dolls and in adding little special touches. Once I am comfortable with the dolls, I will begin modifying them to make some for little boys.
This is truly a wonderful book for making felt dolls by hand. It is so much fun to look through and then to actually make the dolls. I am thrilled to have found this book to help re-awaken my early love of doll making. I must admit that these dolls probably look a lot better than the ones I made when I was ten but I can assure you just as much love went into those dolls and the love of making things with my hands started with felt doll making. It is a craft that would be wonderful to teach young girls and boys today as we live in a time when items made by hand seem to be a thing of the past.
I first learned to sew by hand when I was ten years old and in elementary school. Our student teacher that year had convinced our school principal that a good art project for the year would be teaching our class to hand sew felt dolls to be given to an orphanage in Tijuana, Mexico. I remember how difficult it was to learn to sew such tiny little stitches as were needed to keep the stuffing inside the dolls. I soon learned to love our art period (only one hour three times a week) and to try to make as many dolls as well as I could.