I did it! I have just finished my live webchat about the My Crochet Doll book by Isabelle Kessedjian and I seem to have survived the experience! I was a bit nervous as I am sure you will be able to hear, and I can't believe how Northern my accent still sounds even after all these years of living in Devon!
If you have bought or are thinking of buying the book, this series of slides with commentary from myself and Ame at Stitch Craft Create may help answer a few questions you would have about the usability of the patterns. You may want to just watch it if you know me online for a giggle!
Here are some useful links to help you with making your crochet doll or amigurumi:
My Instagram feed with some photos of my doll project as well as all sorts of bits and bobs.
#mycrochetdoll - loads of great photos with this tag on Instagram. If you tweet me with this hashtag and ask any questions you may have about making the doll I will see what I can do to help you!
Isabelle Kessedjian's Instagram feed is adorable and she has shared lots of images of the dolls.
Planet June has an amazing blog on which reside a great selection of really clear amigurumi tutorials and videos. She is a clever lady!
Stitch Craft Create is a great place for hooky supplies along with an ideas blog where there are lots of free tutorials and patterns for download.
Of course, if you want to message me here with any questions I will keep an eye out and try to help. I would stress that the book is really easy to follow and that you can make what looks like a really impressive project, using only one stitch and some careful counting. I really loved making mine!
Now here is a project I really enjoyed working on the whole way through. I work at the publisher of this great title by Isabelle Kessedjian called My Crochet Doll. I worked to drop in the translated text and prepare the book for printing as well as redesigning the cover for UK and US sales. Because of the hours I spent poring over the beautiful images of this gorgeous doll pattern and the amazing wardrobe of clothing options, I could not resist having a go and making one for myself.
Here she is! I really enjoyed making all the parts and sewing them together. The instructions were really simple and clear and there are lots of pictures in the front part of the book which show how the doll fits together. I had a slight calamity with the hair because I got so carried away giving her a thick mop of golden locks that I added too much yarn and the weight of it made her head sag down! I spent a lot of time unhooking random strands of hair to shed the ballast!
There are loads of outfit options in the book including various scenarios such as bedtime, outdoor wear, holiday wear and so on, dressing up clothes and accessories, and even some little companions for the doll. This video shows some of the cute little photos from the book to give you an idea.
I chose to use the basic wardrobe patterns to create my doll's clothes so that I could customise an outfit in the colours I liked. I may make some more later on but for now she has Trousers, boots, a jumper and even some knickers! I also made a few bits of my own design to accessorise her. There is no limit to using just the items from the book as long as you make things to fit the doll so I made a tiny beanie hat and then just because I could I made a weanie little cowl using this marvellous pattern from the lovely Annaboo's House blog.
I used Stylecraft Special DK yarn for the doll all the items and a 3mm hook rather than the standard size for that yarn which made the stitches a little tighter. The book suggests Bergere de France yarn but I love the feel and the range of colours in the Stylecraft range. Almost all of the patterns use just one stitch (double crochet UK / single crochet US) worked in an increase and a decrease to shape the pieces. It is a true masterpiece of amigurumi!
My crochet doll was finished around Christmas and yet she remains, chilling out in my craft room and generally looking cool and coordinating with things (over Easter she found a little friend to keep her company!) I have a lot of very tiny girl relatives who are a little too young for me to bear handing her over to just yet so I am keeping her although I am finding it a bit weird keeping dolls at my age! Maybe when one of the small girls gets a bit bigger and less hamfisted I will part with her, or if I have a little girl of my own I would make an heirloom of her.
If you are thinking of buying the book or have it but want to find out more before getting started on your doll, I will be taking part in a live Google Hangout session next Weds (30th April). You will be able to view the video on this page during and after the event but if you subscribe to the session here you will be able to ask questions during the discussion and I will do my best along with the help of my colleague Ame from Stitch Craft Create to answer them!
I had so much fun making this cute little picture! For ages I have been wanting to have a go at embroidery.
I acquired this brilliant little leaflet from a neighbour of my Mother last year on a visit up North (look at the price!) and it seemed to tie in with my existing wish to make a start with some stitchery! Ever since on the design of Kirsty Neale's first book 'Hoop-la!' and seen just how versatile an embroidery hoop can be, I have been fired with a need to make and frame an item within that simple circle of wood.
I began with a rather scribbly sketch on a piece of paper which I roughly transferred to a piece of neutral linen I had bought on an Abakahn spree on my trip up North. I only had a 2b pencil but a washable marker would have been much better. I was just suddenly so excited to begin I was winging it quite a bit! Then I started stitching.
I stitched the fox first. I like to throw myself in at the deep end so to speak! Using a simple backstitch to outline the shape, I then filled in with satin and scatter stitches, working to create the shape of the nose and make the tail look suitably bushy! I love his little black forelegs! His nose got a bit large but I'm not complaining for a first effort.
After stitching the lines on the tree trunk using stem stitch, I outlined the grass and filled it with different coloured running stitches. I used seed stitch to fill the leaves in on the tree and created the curved shape of the sun using shades of yellow and orange in different stitches to give it a sampler style. One of my favourite elements of this piece literally grew as I went along. These cute little agaric toadstools just seemed the right thing to add. Peering out from behind the tree trunk and flower stems, you have to look for them but its an 'aww' moment when you see them!
The flowers were created from an explosion of different stitches I wanted to try. lazy daisy being one, bullion knots were another (these are what make up the bush which my chirpy and exotic bird perches on. Not all the stitches have names as far as I am aware. The further I went, the more confident I became with how to create the shapes and colours I wanted.
Like I said at the start of this post, I really had fun with this and enjoyed every last stitch. Embroidery is for me a wonderfully creative medium in which to express some of my more artistic ideas. Whilst I have never been the world's best sketch artist, the slow speed of embroidery and option to pull back and reposition a stitch when it doesn't sit quite right, give me the confidence to embellish and decorate with a true sense of freedom.
This first piece will be hanging on my craft room wall but I think that next I would like to make an embroidered item for a particular purpose. Maybe a cushion cover or cloth of some kind. I like the idea of making some new heirlooms...
