I don't know how many people still make art dolls but I have a sizeable collection of the old Art Doll Quarterly magazines. I used to look forward to buying one at ten dollars a pop four times a year. That was quite a few years ago. They are not publishing any more.
I remember doing a Humpty Dumpty doll years ago by a doll artist Suzette Rugolo and she still has patterns on Etsy. So I fell in love with this one. I love making fairies and I've made several dolls from Patti Medaris Culea patterns back in the day too. I have all her books. And I still have the dolls I made.
I never sold them, I never got that good at making them but I really loved learning new skills and watching them come together. No two are ever alike as each one takes on its own personality.
What I really like about them is that you use every craft and skill you can imagine when making them. So each time you make one, you learn something new.
The hardest part of making a cloth art doll for me is always... the hands. Most people think it is the face and head but for me, that's easier because I also sculpt. But those tiny hands and finger turning are a trick. Sewing them is intense. And when they come out right, it's quite an accomplishment.
I started with the wings on this one because it takes a while to dry, then you flip it over and do the other side too.
Then I knew I needed some eyes and these are 8mm. I've made eyes for sculpts before so I got busy. I had to throw the first batch away, they were so awful. Then I made several variations. I finally got something I could use.
Then I moved on to cutting out all the fabric and organizing all the pieces. Once that was done, it came together really quick. The only problem I had was with the instructions for the skirt. I had to figure out how to make those prairie points because the instructions were not very clear. I just couldn't figure them out from the instructions (and I didn't want to cut out over a hundred squares) so I did some research and figured out how to make endless prairie points the size I need for eight rows of 12. Very easy, very fast. Once I got that, then I just painted the lace with some metallic acrylic paint and was good to go.
It still took me half a day to make them and sew them onto the skirt. Putting the body and head together didn't take that long. The rest went pretty quick but I saved the hat, shoes and arms for last. I had some Tibetan wool for the hair but I didn't have pink so I just used some fluffy pink and white yarn instead.
