Tuesday, December 4, 2012

RUPERT - a little dragon

Pebble fabric

Spotty fabric

Spotty fabric

Pink hearts fabric
Rupert is a lovely, very simple dragon.  The body is in one piece with spines down the back.  There are little arms and legs which can be thread jointed onto the body or glued.  The wings are small enough to not need any wiring - just a piece of batting holds the shape nicely.

I originally made Rupert as a holiday class for school aged children (ages 8 - 13 years).  I did the machine work and they did all the turning, stuffing and hand sewing.  Well, they loved it so much they asked for another (Crispin of Cornwall), then another (Sir Richard) and another (Wesley & Junior) ,and finally one  more (Rainbow Dragons).  We did them over successive holidays.  By the end of 5 lots of school holidays they had a wonderful collection.

As a blog-featured animal, Rupert is available as a print pattern and as an e-pattern for 30% off the regular retail price for December only.

Hugs
Raewyn

Ballet Class

Another design I just love making.  Ballet dancers are in fixed positions (the legs will not move), and are designed to be hanging dolls.  They look gorgeous as a set as you can see in the photos - just imagine how lovely they would look on the wall of a little girl's bedroom.

Lavender

Pink

White

Black   

So, the dolls are about 15 inches tall.  The body is all in one piece, the head is separate. I paint the leotard and ballet slippers onto the body using fabric paint, and then when completely dry, put on a topcoat of varnish.  The braid around the top and bottom of the leotard and round the slippers very effectively covers any 'scraggy and scrappy' paint lines.

The face is painted using the technique for Lavinia.  I use a variety of yarns for the hair, often blending several together to get the right shade.

The pattern is Ballet Class, and it is available to buy on my website as a e-pattern (pdf download) or as a print pattern (free posted out to you!)...as a blog-featured pattern it is on special now for December at 30% discount!!!

Hugs
Raewyn

Monday, December 3, 2012

Rainbow dancers

I love making these little dancing dolls.  They are so sweet and look simply gorgeous as a set.  They take very little fabric - you will get at least 2 out of a fat quarter, and just a small piece of flesh fabric is needed for the heads.

I have been having fun with a variety of different yarns for the hair.  There is a HUGE range of textures, colours, blends to choose from - something to match every piece of fabric you have chosen.

The heads are the same size as  the little Lavinia heads, so you can use the tutorial below to paint the heads.

As you can see I tend to use only the more traditional poses.  I guess as I'm making these for sale, I have to make the most popular ones - and I know that anything in pink will sell quickly!  Lol gotta love little girls!!!

Pattern is Rainbow Dancers and is available on website.  As a blog-featured design it is on special for December at 30% discount!

Hugs
Raewyn