Monday, October 5, 2009 at 06:00 AM

Autumn shares her inspiration for creating this wonderful doll pattern. Dolls and softies are some what of a challenge, there are a lot of specific techniques that go into making them wonderful. If you want a little hand holding when you are ready to create your first doll, take Autumn's class this week.

When my son was two he was very interested in baby dolls. I didn't want to buy him a plastic doll at the toy store, so I searched for a handmade doll online. I got inspiration from so many people on Etsy and some great craft blogs to make my own doll for R. Not only did I want to make my own doll, but I decided to create my own doll pattern. It was a challenge; I had never done anything like that before. There were many rejects before I was done with the pattern.

 

R. loved the first doll I made him. He dragged it all over the place

I continued to improve on the baby doll, then I started selling them on Etsy. I loved making these little boy dolls custom to fit the little boys they would be going to by  adding an initial onto the shirt of the doll. R. got his very own "R" doll for Christmas. He named him Ralph.

 

In 2007 we made the decision to adopt a baby girl from Ethiopia. I very quickly started work on designing an African baby girl doll.

 

The biggest challenge for me was the blond doll. I really struggled with the hair. I tried so many different styles. I settled on a bob hair style.

 

I love choosing the fabric for the doll's clothes. The great thing is that you could go to your scrap pile and find pieces big enough for your doll. I love using the scraps from some of my favorite fabrics for dolls for my daughter and sitting it on the shelf, so I can enjoy that fabric a little more.  

 

My patterns are now available at Bolt!  R. loves going into Bolt to check in on the dolls in the store. He makes sure the other kids in the store are taking care of them and he makes sure that everyone knows that his mama made them. 

If you are interested in making a doll for your little one or a special little one in your life, I will be teaching a class at Bolt. The three night class will be offered starting October 7.