Saturday, June 14, 2008

It doesn't work if it isn't ugly

Nothing is ever lost... this is something I learned to make probably fifteen years ago or more. At that time, I had the unfortunate (but highly flattering! lol) experience of making these and having them go unused... the people I made them for thought they were too pretty to use. Ooops! lol! So now I know... make 'em ugly!!

So you might be wondering what this is all about. Gryph came back from vacation to a VERY rough time at work, and needed an outlet. I wondered at first what to do... and then I remembered!!!

Vaguely humanoid shape: Cut two from an old pillowcase, the weirder or uglier, the better.

Save the scraps and cut them into thin strips, straight or curvy doesn't matter. Add in some pieces of yarn or crochet thread, the same length as the thin strips. Remember, the goal is ugly.

Flip your humanoid inside out (eeep!) and stitch it together, leaving an opening. I left the head open... won't do that again, but it did work. When you come to the end of the stitching, pivot the humanoid around and restitch the whole thing. It's gonna get a lot of wear-n-tear, so double seams are a good thing. (If you want to leave the opening in the side--a much better idea!-- then place the 'do in between the layers of the head with the "hair" inside the body and the transparent tape part sticking out. Make sure you don't accidentally stitch any hair into the side seams.)

Any place that seemed vulnerable to me got multiple seams. This is the crotch.

Flip the humanoid inside right. A crochet hook comes in handy when you can't find your Purple Thang.

Now make hair. Take all your assorted scrappy strips and the yarn or thread pieces and arrange them in a 'do. Lay a piece of transparent tape over the bottom, pressing it down to catch as much as you can. Carefully flip the 'do over and tape the other side.

Stuff the humanoid pretty full, even a little tooo full, everywhere except near the opening. Leave that empty, because as you stitch it shut, your hands will naturally move the stuffing into place. I used Cluster Stuff this time and I just love it! Couldn't find the Morning Glory website, so I give you a pic instead of a link.


Once your humanoid is stuffed and the hair is made, place the hair in the opening so that the tape is below the stitching line (inside) and stitch it shut by hand or machine. I did it by hand, because I didn't want tape residue on my machine needle.

When I put the machine away, I was startled to find one of the little things that makes life so much nicer.

Look at that, a little cut out in the drawer so that I can lay the machine down with the thread still on it!! Now was that thoughtful design, or what?

I am truly in love with Our Beauty. This is hands down the nicest sewing machine I have EVER used---even including an Elna of the same vintage!!

When you want to
throw the phone

Or kick the desk and
shout

Here is a little Dammit
Doll

You cannot do
without

Just grasp it firmly by the
legs

And find a place to slam
it

And as you whack the stuffing
out

Yell "Dammit, Dammit,
Dammit!!"



2 comments:

  1. chuckles. your so good for gryph.. smiles at the doll idea. :)

    Hope it helps. ;) Hey kath do you know anyone who crochets doll clothes and is willing to pay for magazines a years worth? ( sweetheart, I thought of you first, but I looked at the patterns-- these would make even your talent hands ache. )

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi darlin! I didn't know if you would realize that I answered you here, so I posted on your blog.

    And I still want the magazines even though I keep telling myself no... sheesh, silly, eh?

    Cath

    ReplyDelete

So... what do you think?