Dolls

A long time ago, I made a little doll version of myself out of felt, and another of my sister. My sister has the one of her, and she loves it very much. My Emily doll has a mean face on, because I was feeling mean when I made her. You can refer back to the blog from March 2, 2010 if you're really interested in her inception, and then let's all marvel at how long I've stuck with this blog despite the ups and downs and long periods of neglect. 

Speaking of long commitments that are both gratifying and fulfilling, I decided to make a little doll of my love, to join join little Emily doll. We'll call him Tobi. For a while I put off making a Tobi doll, because I thought Real Tobi would find it unsettling and voodoo-esque, but then I decided I didn't mind. 

First I did a little Tobi doodle, to make sure I had a good feel for his facial features. Then I cut out the pieces of his arms, legs, body and face. I worked on the face first.

He kind of has these Doug Funnie features, which I think I did a pretty good job bringing to life on the felt.

I only had a brown piece for the back of his head, but he has black hair, so I needlefelted a layer of black over the brown.

Next I sewed the two parts of the body together, as well as the arms and legs.

As you can see, I pretty much took strips of felt and folded them in half, sewed, and then turned right-side-out. I gave him a baby blue T-shirt, some felty pants (American Apparel Slim Slacks, duh), and little black boots.

    Another golden rule of softies is that pose-ability is awesome, so I put pipe cleaners in his appendages, just as I'd done with Emily doll.

The trick with this type of doll is to put the two body/face pieces together right-sides-in, and then put all the appendages inside with just a bit of end sticking out. You leave a hole, of course, to pull it all through. I left the hole in the crotch.

 Hahah! 

Ta da! This is Tobi doll after much pulling and adjusting. Second to last step was stuffing him full of batting. Last step is crazy stitching his crotch closed, and post-last step is bending him into a come hither pose.

I think his head is a little wonky, but I love him all the same. I like the doll OK too. HEY YO!

This is a photo of Tobi doll and Emily doll standing next to a photo of Real Tobi and Real Emily standing by a strangler fig in Costa Rica, October 2009. The only thing is that Emily doll's face is all wrong now that she has Tobi doll by her side.

Not a problem. Presto--love is all you need, people!

She's ALIVE!

Once upon a time, I was in a sore mood. After busying myself with some self-portrait doodles of my disgruntled expression, an epiphany struck! Why not turn that negative energy outward into a little creature who could then encapsulate my stores of petulance, frustration and fury, freeing me up emotionally and cheering me with her beguiling good looks.


So this is what I'm working with. Last night there was electricity in the air. A thunderstorm hammered down upon the city as I diligently crafted this miniature malevolent me. I felt like a mad scientist, threading on her little belt, perfecting her twisted glare and knitted brows. I even broke a needle on my machine in my frenzied haste, which only momentarily halted my progress. I quickly retrieved the machine's handbook and replaced it. Phew!

As I completed the stuffing and sewed the scalloped edges of her slip closed on the bottom of her skirt, I was absolutely giddy! She's alive! She's beautiful! She's poseable! (I put pipe cleaners in her appendages.) She gets angry about all the same things I do.

"What do you mean I can't drink in here?!"

"Not this shit again!"