Australian Homespun — February 2018

3

Trace the facial features onto

the right side of one of the head

shapes using the fabric-marking pen.

(This will now be referred to as the

‘front head’.)

4

Cut one head shape from the

interfacing and fuse it to the

wrong side of the front head.

5

Fold the black/white stripe knit

in half, right sides together. Lay

the template for the leg on it so that

the stripes run horizontally across

it and use the fabric-marking pen

to trace the legs twice. Cut the

shapes out on the traced lines.

6

Fold the multicoloured floral print

fabric in half, right sides together.

Trace around the dress template and

cut the shapes out on the line.

ASSEMBLY

7

Match the arm shapes in pairs,

right sides together. Sew around

the curved edge, leaving the top

straight edge open. Clip into the

seam allowance on the curves, then

turn the arms right side out and use

a turning tool or chopstick to push the

seams out smoothly. Stuff them firmly

to within 1cm (^33 ⁄ 8 in) of the opening.

8

Trace the hair shapes onto the

black felt with the tailor’s chalk

— you will need one hair front, one

hair back, two pigtails and two

pigtails reversed. Pin the hair front

shape to the right side of the front

head. Topstitch it in place just inside

the bottom raw edge.

9

Match each pigtail with a pigtail

reversed, right sides together.

Sew around the curved edge but

leave the top straight edge open.

10

Gently turn the pigtails right

side out and stuff them lightly

with fibre fill. Don’t stuff them too

firmly as the felt can distort.

11

Backstitch the mouth with two

strands of Red (321) and work

the eyes in running stitch using two

strands of Black (310).

12

Cut two cheek shapes from the

pink felt and position them on

the face using the photograph as a

guide. Appliqué them in place with

running stitch using two strands of

Very Light Dusty Rose (151).

13

Repeat Step 7 to make the

legs.

14

Sew each head shape to a dress

shape along the necklines.

15

Lay the doll’s front head+dress

on a flat surface. Pin the arms

in place at the shoulders, raw edges

matching, referring to the Pattern

Sheet as a guide. Check that the

arms curve as shown in Diagram 1.

Then pin the legs to the bottom edge

of the dress, raw edges matching.

16

Pin the pigtails in place in the

same manner, matching the

bottom edge of each pigtail with

the bottom edge of the hairline.

See Diagram 1.

17

Pin the doll’s back head+dress

on top of the front head+dress,

right sides together, sandwiching the

limbs and pigtails between the two

layers. Sew around the outer edge,

leaving a 5cm (2in) gap along the hip

area for turning. Check that you have

caught all the limbs in the seams. Clip

into the seam allowance around the

curves, especially around the neck.

18

Turn the body right side out and

use a turning tool or chopstick

to push the seams out smoothly. Stuff

the body firmly to prevent wrinkles in

the neck. Turn in the raw edges of the

opening and whipstitch it closed.

19

Cut the burgundy ribbon in

half, then tie a bow around

each pigtail to finish.

TANIA’S

STUFFING TIP If

you wish to use what you have

in your stash for stuffing your

doll, consider wool or even

finely cut-up fabric scraps. It’s

a great way of recycling what

you have on hand.

Diagram 1

Homespun 107

HSP1902_p104-107_Charlie PROJECT.indd 107 12/11/2017 12:18:28 PM