skip to main |
skip to sidebar
I just love this little doll! Kendra is 12" tall, has chocolate brown skin, espresso brown hair, black eyes, and rosy cheeks. I adore the print on her skirt... in fact, it is made from a remnant of fabric left over from an outfit I made for my own daughter's "baby." It is light pink with small doodles of hearts, flowers, four-leaf clovers, and bugs, and is covered with cursive-writing words like "play," "dance," "believe," etc.
My favorite thing about Kendra's outfit is her hand-knit cotton tank top. I came up with the pattern for it specifically for this doll and it turned out so cute! It has a small band of ribbing on the bottom, stocking stitch on the body, and garter stitch on the straps. It buttons in the back for easy removal and looks so cute even without the layering shirt! I can see myself making lots of these tanks for summer dolls.
Visit my Etsy shop!
While I prefer making one doll beginning-to-end, more often than not I find myself making dolls in batches to save time. The current line up is planned as follows:
-light-skinned 12" boy with blue eyes and brown hair, probably a little country boy or cowboy with overalls and a straw hat
-light-skinned 12" Asian girl with kimono or similar clothes
-tan-skinned 15" cowgirl with brown hair and eyes
-light-skinned 15" red head with green eyes and fairy wings
So look for them in the next few weeks in my shop! Of course, they might change slightly as I go, but that's the current plan!
I'm simultaneously making a 17 1/2 - 18 inch doll for my daughter's birthday next month. I have never made one quite this large and am having fun putting her together!
Here is the line-up getting their legs sewn on:
All of my dolls come with their bodies and heads reinforced with a second layer of high-quality 100% cotton interlock, hence the white fabric on top... it will layer their insides when flipped properly.
So there you have it... a small peek into my doll-making world!
My Etsy Store
Here is a recent addition to my Etsy shop.... her name is Heidi. She is 12 inches tall, has lots and lots of sandy colored hair in my favorite super-soft cotton/modal blend yarn, blue eyes, light skin tone, and rosy cheeks. If I had been able to design a custom Waldorf doll as a child, she would have looked exactly like this!
I have been making a lot of hand-knit shoes lately. Maybe because my own slippers are getting old and sporting enormous holes so I'm living my dream of new slippers vicariously through the dolls I make. Or maybe they're just cute! In any case, all my dolls come with an accessory, and this month it's mostly knit shoes!
See Heidi in my Etsy Shop: Janel's Rainy Day Toys
It all started about five years ago. My husband and I were newly married, poor, in our pre-children years, and starting a new life in a new state. I had tried working to pass the time, but we only owned one car and doing a double commute everyday quickly lost its appeal. I had always wanted to learn to sew before I had children, so one day I borrowed my mother-in-law's antique green, solid metal, attached-to-its-own-table, workhorse sewing machine, bought some patterns and fabric, and set about teaching myself to sew. I have to say, my first five or ten projects have since been cut up and turned into rags, baby wipes, or just plain thrown out. Who knew that a two-year-old sized baby doesn't require buntings? Not me, apparently, but it was good practice. At the same time, I was beginning to make friends in our area and was invited to learn to crochet and knit. Admittedly, I didn't take well to either one at first since I could get such a quick result with sewing and I didn't like spending months on a knitting project. But at least, I had the basics down.
A few years passed, and thankfully I don't have to cut up or trash projects anymore... at least not very often. I have also learned to enjoy knitting after all. Not crocheting quite yet, but never say never! One thing that hasn't changed since those newly wed days in Ohio: we're still poor! My husband decided to go to grad school and recently finished, so we have lived quite happily on a tiny budget for some time now. In our experience, it's been a good life! We have food on the table, a roof over our heads, close family, good friends, and lots of imagination! And one thing is for certain: imagination + tight budget = a DIY addict in the making.
So welcome to my blog about all things crafty and homemade. I dabble in many areas so I'll be talking about sewing, doll-making, knitting, soap-making, baking, cooking, and maybe even crocheting eventually!
Most of my projects are for use around my house or for gifts, but I have an Etsy shop too, where I mainly sell handmade Waldorf-inspired dolls. Check it out! My Etsy Shop
