"She loves the handmade buttons the best. Each one lovingly hand carved, whittled, painted, moulded and smoothed. little works of art with souls all their own. If she listens carefully she can hear them talking of their travels & all the wonders of the world they have seen. She dreams of the day she no longer has to sell her tiny treasures but can stitch them to her clothing & hold them close."
"The Button Seller" doll was inspired by a friend I meet in my travels who is passionate about collecting buttons. Since then I have met others.
I remember seeing a pic of a gorgeous gypsy porcelain doll years along with some traditional pedlar dolls. I also love Babushka dolls. The idea for this doll came from all these places. The doll is a simple 2 piece construction that fits over a storage jar.....for your buttons or other sewing odds & ends. She stands 11 & 1/2" tall & fits over a jar 6 & 1/2" tall by 13 & 1/2" around.
The pic (above) is the design traced & colour washed onto calico. Its very easy to do. The trick is to make sure the calico you use is UNWASHED. The sizing stops the very watery colour from running through the weave of the fabric. All the details are in the pattern so a beginner can do it.
All the stitching is finished before the doll is sewn together. I have used basic embroidery stitching with a single strand to keep the flowing lines of the design. The buttons were embroidered but if you have an interesting collection you could stitch your favorites to her after her sides have been sewn up.
No comments:
Post a Comment