Handmade dolls..Goldilocks and the three bears..

 I thought it might be  fun to make some dolls from stories and nursery rhymes.....I am very pleased with how these turned out....However I shall not use the same fabric for the bears again....I used needle cord which gave the look I wanted, but it was so hard to turn them after sewing as the fabric is too stiff.....I shall repeat on these but in a different material...

I was in a mood for doing fiddly things when I made these, not at all normal for me...the clothes can be taken off..I added a little pocket and patch to Daddy bears trousers...I have been asked to reserve these for a customer, but I shall be making more soon....

Handmade fabric rag dolls.....

A lot of my customers say that my dolls have a retro look about them.....I suppose they do !....I drew some sketches...and decided to make a doll that looked a bit like how children draw people....I just love children's drawings...they have a way of simplifying everything..I have sold many of these, each is different. They are about 31 cm tall.....some have felt eyes sewn on with tiny stitches, but I am gradually going over to printing the faces...this adds to the retro look.  My main love is screen printing fabrics and I hope at some time to print the whole doll...I just need a bit more room in my tiny house to fit in a bigger table and use my larger screens. I print in the sun room in the summer...there is no heating out there, so some things I want to do will have to wait...

Handmade patchwork fabric lovebirds ...

These are Shabby Angel love birds....I made them in patchwork just because I love it and I thought it would make them colourful...They are 25 cm tall. Each has button eyes...a felt beak sewn on with tiny stitches and a pocket hand sewn on with a little stuffed heart . The wings have a layer of wadding in to give them some body....the feet are felt. These were quite time consuming but I enjoyed every minute...I sold three as soon as I made them....All my things are as well made as I can make them. All the things sewn on are done with very strong thread and as secure as possible...

Handmade gift...I love you...fabric cat dolls...

I was asked to make some pink I love you cats....the ones I made before Christmas were in colours suitable for boys or girls.....I sold out of them. So I have made these as I was asked and sold one to the lady who requested them....Little girls just love pink !  When I was little I wanted every thing purple...and I must admit it is still my favourite colour in any shade.

These cats are about 24 cm tall..they always seem to vary for some reason....the faces are printed and I did the words in various ways in order to make the all individual....

Handmade gifts...fabric little mermaid dolls..

 At first glance some of these may look the same but everyone is different...I sold out of these on ebay over Christmas...well I sold out of everything and have been madly re-stocking ever since...these are 29cm tall...some have printed eyes, some felt that I carfully stitched on...they have a shell , starfish or something pretty in their hair....

Handmade gifts...fabric mermaid dolls..

These are my new mermaid dolls....They measure aprox.38 cm high..arm span about 22 cm as each may vary very slightly. The faces are printed and hand embroidered...I try to make each face a litle different. I use acrylic yarn for hair, and sew on something pretty . The bodies are curtain weight fabric...the fabric I use for the tails vary accordingly to what I think is mermaidish ! I stick to cotton as I like to sew it, although some fabrics I use may contain a little polyester. Each mermaid is unique...the tails have wadding in them and are quilted....

The mermaid above is sold....

Handmade gifts...fabric kittens in bags....

These are cute little kittens that have their own bag...the heads are fleece fabric, the bodies are cotton. All my dolls are filled with polyester stuffing... I buy pillows from Sainsburys which is just down the road from my house...The faces are hand embroidered.    I have put on a photo to show how the bags fit on the cat dolls.....

This cat and her kitten are sold...

Handmade gifts...perfect pink and white cat dolls...

These are my cat dolls....I have sold a great many of these...they are made from soft fleece with strong cotton fabric bodies...they are about 33 cm tall. The pattern is my own, in fact all the designs, patterns are unique and my own.I use felt buttons etc to embellish my dolls..every one is different.

Handmade gifts....cat dolls...

I either print out and sew on,or embroider a special little something.....a few meaningfull words that makes each cat or doll an extra special present for someone you care about......This one says ...You're Special...... The white heart and the ears are felt with glitter on....I spend ages choosing just the right buttons. 

I like my things to have a slightly handmade look whilst sewing everthing as perfectly as possible.

I am a trained sewing machinest and worked many years for a top upholsterer...we did upholstery for 'Cliveden House'...Lady Astor in Buckinghamshire... The fabrics we used were extreamly expencive,and I was often quite worried I would make a mistake.....The best thing though was that I got to keep the left over fabric...I still have a lot of it in the loft...Pure silk velvet...siks and embroidered fabric far too posh for my little house. Mind you although I love my fabric stash, I far prefer cotton and retro designs... 

Handmade pink fabric cat doll....

I really like the fresh colour of the fabric for this cat...I have used the same fabric as the backround on my cat tote bags....