Hansel and Gretel, Part 3: Covering the Heads and Embroidering
In this chapter of our free doll making series, we are going to cover the doll’s heads in skin fabric and embroider the eyes and mouth. You can head now to YouTube to watch the entire tutorial.
In the previous video I shared with you some of my tried-and-true methods to create sturdy, long lasting, high quality, smooth and well-shaped doll heads. We sculpted the spine of the doll, to give it strength but also so that it is a little bit easier to stuff the doll in a following step.
This method is one I have been using for a long time, and which I also detail in my beginner doll making pattern the Wee Baby Bunny and the Little Fig doll pattern. Both extremely thorough doll patterns, which might come in handy to you if after making Hansel and Gretel you decide to keep going on your doll making journey.
As a dollmaker, you are always thinking ahead. “If I do this, what will happen next?”. I must confess that when I started making dolls I didn’t think like this at all.
I just made the dolls the way I thought was “right” and then later on when I encountered issues, I was able to rectifiy my techniques little by little. It is my hope that by showing you this method you learn a little bit faster, without wasting precious time and expensive materials.
Now, in this video I am showing you how to drape the skin cover, pre-sew a little bit of it in the sewing machine (you can also do this by hand) and then hand-sew the rest of the head cover.
It is a little bit more time consuming than using an entirely pre-sewn cover, but in my experience, learning how to do this gives you a wealth of practice and technique for when you make larger dolls, or dolls with more sculpted features, etc.
Besides, using a pre-sewn cover usually creates a lot of issues with wrinkles at the neck (unless your doll has a neck almost as fat as the head).
So as you can see, though I am giving you a lengthier way to make the doll, I am also trying to save you grief later on.
Hansel and Gretel Dollmaking series: sewing the skin cover and embroidering the face. Video tutorial by fig&me.
Once you cover the head with the skin fabric, I like to sew the top and bottom of the skin cover first, before doing any embroidery or further sculpting.
It is very important that you pull on the skin fabric, over the spine of the doll, as much as you can so that the fabric is very taught at the neck.
Once you secure the fabric, both at the top, over the little head, and at the bottom, over the spine, then you can make another set of ties at the neck, that will cinch the fabric over the neck area and hopefully give you a very smooth and pleasing result.
These dolls have very small eyes and mouth so it is really no bother to do the eye embroidery, but if you are after a larger doll or would lile to try your hand at more intricate eyes, the steps detailed in this doll eye embroidery tutorial will come in handy for you.
Then, once the pretty eyes are embroidered and the little mouths made, you can blush your little dolls with a little piece of red beeswax, rubbed onto a piece of leftover skin fabric, and use it to give them a healthy glow. One of my favourite parts in the doll making process.
Now, it seems I’m able to keep these tutorials under 30 minutes, which I think is great! Not too long that you lose your way, but long enough to give you the right amount of instruction. Do you think they are long enough or too short? Do let me know what you think.
So far in the series we have covered:
Part 1. The tools and materials you will need.
Part 2. Making the dolls’ heads.
Next week I will be sharing with you how to sew the bodies and stuff them. I am not entirely sure I will be able to squeeze the dolls’ assembly in one video but we shall see.
Thank you so much if you are following along with this series and I sure hope you learn something new.
Many professional dollmakers, who have been in business for a few years now, have told me they have learned new ways to do simple things and that just gives me hope that I am taking you in the right direction.
See you soon.
