Now on to the dolls.
I use cotton muslin for the bodies because it can be found
in a variety of flesh colors and weights. It is also a fairly inexpensive
fabric that is great for beginners. I do recommend a tight weave rather than
the really light weight (and cheapest) muslins. Cotton takes the dyes really
well and will hold the color once it is set. Since these are dolls you won’t be
washing them like you do your clothes. So you really don’t have to worry about
fading.
To dye the dolls I just grab a paper plate (coated so it
doesn’t soak up the water and dye) to use as a palette. I use a small paint
brush and have a small water container next to my jars of dye. My process is
really simple. I put a little water on the plate and add dye until I get the
depth of color I want. I dab the doll with water to wet the fabric. The wet
fabric allows the dye to spread. If you add the dye to dry fabric it will
create a dot that is very strong in color. If you get too much dye on the
fabric just add lots of water to it. This will dilute the dye and it will
spread. It also spreads into the stuffing inside. This can make the dye on the
fabric lighten up a bit. Just keep adding til you are happy with the color.
Experiment on a small piece of fabric before you start the
actual doll. This will let you see how the colors will look and how they will
spread. You can also determine how much water you want to use.
Don’t get discouraged if it turns out crazy looking. Just add
some crazy fabric later and make it a really ‘out there’ type of character. The
biggest problem would be adding too many colors like blues and brown over reds
and greens. You will end up with muddy colors. You can heat set one group of
colors and then add others over them. Then heat set again. Just like in
printing, put on the lighter colors first then move on to the darker ones. You
can’t put light ones over dark but the dark ones will cover lighter ones.
Once you are happy with the colors let the doll dry. Then
put it into the clothes dryer for about thirty minutes on medium heat.
After that you can use rubber stamps with dye based inks to
add designs. Do freehand designs with fabric pens and markers. Just heat set
your inks, pens or markers when you are done.
Hair is the next fun addition. I like yarn and other fibers.
I usually split the strands of yarn to create thinner ones and then stitch them
on. Cutting the strands longer than the
desired hairstyle requires will let you trim it into a nice style later. You
can wrap it around the head, braid it, glue it on or randomly stitch it. You
can intertwine fabrics, fibers or strings of beads. It’s up to you and what
your vision.
I even took apart a nice tapestry fabric to get the thick
chenille threads to make hair for the Willow
doll.
The hair can be put on at any time after your dyeing process
is done. If the hairstyle would suffer while embellishing and putting on
clothes then I recommend you wait. But if not, you can go ahead. The hair does
enhance the personality of the doll. It can influence the clothing and how you
finish the doll. Even if you are waiting to add the hair it is always a good
move to hold the yarn/fibers around the head to inspire you. You can see what
color hair is right and get a lot of ideas for styles, colors, beads and your
other embellishments to the doll.
On this fairy doll I stitched the yarn at the front hairline
and then put a second knot even with the neckline and stitched it. I layered it
to cover the head and created an interesting hairstyle. 
Then I gathered a variety of fabrics to make choices on her
outfit. By choosing the fabric for the clothes I could see what to use as
decorations in her hair too.
I used both tulle and sheer fabric for the hat, with some
gold metallic thread knotted to hold the fabrics on. It came out as a cool hat.
The next post will talk about clothing and trim.
Til next time. J
Terri
Stop by my Etsy shop for new arrivals
www.etsy.com/shop/1krazyrtist
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