Workin' the weekend

Saturday I had the house to myself and I got some much needed work done.  Besides some baking and cleaning, I tea stained some doll bodies and hung them out to dry.  Couldn't resist snapping this pic....so funny!

I know that patterns have different sequences for making dolls, but here are a couple of tips that make it easier for me.
1. Make multiples.  It is so much easier to make several dolls at once than to make one, then the next, etc. 
2.  If hand embroidering the faces, double up!  I actually cut an extra piece out so that it is a thicker (doubled) fabric that I embroider through.  Your thread won't show through muslin if it is doubled.  I only use one thickness for the back though.
3.  Stuff bodies, limbs, etc. and put each doll's pieces in a grocery back to keep them separate.  If not, you could easily mix up arms and legs if using different patterns.  The picture above is actually four different patterns. 
4.  Once the bodies are stuffed and sewn together, tea stain if desired.  I like to hang them on a clothes line.
5.  Do any painting after the staining has dried.  My trick here (I paint shoes or stockings on most raggedies) is that I paint one leg, then hang it up to dry.  Then I paint the next doll's leg, etc.  I do this because I always seem to smear wet paint if I am working with two wet limbs.

I love to spend time giving each doll her own special look.  I had some Halloween fabric so I decided to make a Raggedy Hatty. 

I also made one of the tissue holders with a fabric with tiny gingerbread men

 on it.  So in the dollie's arms, I placed a gingerbread man, a rolling pin, and hand printed a recipe for gingerbread.  (Picture is shown without tissue)

I also worked on some really cool Christmas hang tags.  They are perfect for gift giving, to hang as ornaments on your tree, or as package decoration.  Stay tuned for a tutorial coming later this week!