Newsletter
Jan/Feb 1999
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By Diane Lewis |
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Materials
-
1/4 Yard Robe Velour - Good Quality Poly-Fiberfill
- About 1 dozen 1 1/2 to 2 inch silk flowers for Skirt
- Silk Leaves for Halter Top
- Doll Hair
- A Sheet of Mylar or Fabric of choice for wings
- Pattern - Click HERE to View/Print Pattern.
This enchanting tiny Fairy will delight you not only with her charm
but with the ease of construction. Her dress is a bouquet of
silk flowers that are easily glued or sewn to her waist and her halter
top is simply a few well placed silk leaves. Tres Chic and so easy!
And now on to her magic!
Directions
This doll is small – only about 8 inches tall. You will find it much easier to trace the pattern pieces on the fabric directly or onto tracing paper and sew all the parts before you cut them out of the fabric. Use a very small stitch size on your machine and follow the lines carefully.
Body
Carefully trace the body pattern and sew outline, leaving arm holes open. Be sure you are sewing with the right sides together. In this case, you will have the shiny side of the velour on the inside, sewing on the fuzzy side. Once sewn, carefully cut the body out, trimming very close to the stitch line.
Using hemostats, turn the body right side out. Using small amounts of fiberfill, begin to firmly stuff the toes and work up the rest of the body. A stuffing fork or small hemostats will make filling the small cavities easier.
Head
Trace the head and repeat the same process as used for the body. Carefully trim and turn inside out. Be sure to trim very close to the stitch line at the nose. Coax the nose with a blunt tool like the end of a pencil so it will take shape. Firmly stuff the head. You can give your fairy cheeks by strategically positioning the fiberfill as you stuff. Be sure to work some fiberfill into the nose as you finish stuffing.
The face can be drawn on the head using Micron Pens or Berol Prismacolor pencils and some blush for the cheeks. Test your pens on fabric scraps before starting the face. The texture of the velour will cause the ink to wick in some cases, creating a less than pleasing look. Water based markers will run if applied to robe velour that has not been treated with a textile medium.
Now that the face is complete, turn in the “neck” that is at the bottom of the head. It will create a tube inside the head. Insert the neck on the body into the head. Position the head and stitch. A small needle makes it easier to work a ladder stitch in a small area like this.
Arms
Trace the pattern to create two arms. Sew and trim carefully.
The thumb will turn easily if it is trimmed close to the stitch line. You can use turning tubes or cocktail straws and a blunt toothpick to accomplish the turning. Stuff arms and sew openings closed using a ladder stitch.
Position the arms over the arm holes on the body. Pose the arms and stitch in place.
Fairy Clothes!
The fairies’ costume was created using the petals from silk flowers that were removed from the plastic stems & stamens. Pin the petals in position and once arranged sew or hot glue into place. The halter top was created with a few leaves from silk plants. They are stitched in place and finished at the shoulder with a tiny silk flower. Her back is bare… Don’t want to interfere with the wings!
Wings
Fairy wings can be created by tracing the pattern onto Mylar and embellishing with glitter or by using a fine fabric like organdy that has been stiffened with starch or fabric stiffener. You can add glitter to the fabric wings or paint with luminescent paints. Attach wings to her back with a few stitches or a dab of glue.
Hair
The Fairy has wisps of mohair sewn to her head to create her hairdo and embellished with a few tiny flowers. You can use any number of different fibers to create wonderful fairy hair, and because she is tiny a little goes a long way.
Once the hair is in place you can cut two ears from the velour and stitch on the sides of her head. If you stiffen the fabric a bit with Fray Check or fabric stiffener you can curl the ears to perfect fairy fashion.
Sincerely,
Diane Lewis
Sisters and Daughters,
The complete source for cloth-doll makers.
http://www.sistersanddaughters.com
Editor Note: Diane has several free doll patterns available. Patterns include:Cupid in last year's Valentine issue of Crafty Visions Newsletter. You can find more free patterns on The Doll Net - http://TheDollNet.com
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