Mermaid Art Doll Part 2

This is the second part of making the Mermaid Art Doll. I have been working on the doll for the last couple of weeks.

Once all the dye was set in the dryer I started putting on some beautiful sheer brown/green/blue fabric. I wanted a unique look so I pinned it into folds along the side of the body, over the chest and up onto the head. I added some to the head and around the face. This step took more than eight hours over a three day period.

 

Once that fabric was done I added the yarn hair along the front and sides. I had separated the yarn strands to give it a better effect as hair. Then I twisted it into interesting curls and added more sheer fabric to create a really unique look. Embellishments to the hair came later.

The velvet tail was sewn but not completely. I only stitched part of the way up the sides so I could add stuffing and to let me hand stitch the velvet around the sheer fabric. At this point I was hoping my vision would actually work out. (You don’t always know as you work if the ideas are viable.)

The inner tail wasn’t as flexible as I thought due to the wire. But I did get the velvet tail up over it and started adding stuffing and then hand stitching the seams. It took me a couple of hours to pin, hand stitch, and stuff the tail. Even after stitching the side seams and around the sheer fabric I added stuffing before finishing up the top edge of the tail. The stuffing was inserted through that top edge with the hemostat and pushed around until I got just the right look and feel. (When I add sequins and beads the stuffing and velvet tail will be fully secured to the underbody and nothing will shift in the future.)

Once all the stitching on the velvet tail was complete I decided to add more sheer fabric on it. It took another three or four hours to add it, but it looked right once it was done.

Then it was time to add the sequins, beads and more. Black sequins were stitched all over the doll and on the fabric on her head. I added strings of black beads to her hair and tiny green ones to the sheer fabric areas. The sequins and beading took a week.

 

More yarn was separated to look like sea plants and then attached to her hand. A couple of shells were sewn on the yarn. Then a polymer clay clam shell was added.

Then I made a polymer clay starfish that I decided was perfect in her hair.

Then I darkened the facial features and add more color to her eyes. I also used Prismacolor pencils to add some peach color to her face and other areas on her body.

The last thing I did was to make a tiny seahorse for her to hold. I used the last of the small green beads as accent. This little thing took a day to finish. Turning the nose and tail were tedious. But it was worth it.

She didn’t quite turn out the way I thought she would. But I like the results anyway. 

This doll is now available on my Etsy site for sale.

Til next time. J

Terri

Stop by my Etsy shop for new arrivals www.etsy.com/shop/1krazyrtist