"Little Sis" Mermaids

Sweet "Little Sis" Mermaids to hit the shop this weekend.

A bit smaller than the original dolls, but just as sweet.
 

Problem: One roll of wool yarn is not large enough to make 2 standard sized mermaid dolls.
Solution: A smaller doll to accommodate the remaining yarn.

Hence the creation of the "Little Sis" mermaids. They're fun little dolls to make. It's a bit of a challenge to embroider the facial features (especially the eyes), because of the smaller canvas. Another problem was finding socks small enough for the tail. I got around that by using brand new cotton knit sweater sleeves. The cuff at the wrist makes a lovely tail. Yay me!

In the coming weeks, I hope to have about 6-8 dolls listed in the shop. Pink, turquoise and white hair dolls are currently in the works. Once I have a good variation of different skin tones and color combinations, I can make a "Custom Doll" listing. That's the goal, anyway.

Have a great Tuesday. I better get busy. Lots of work to do!

Vintage Mermaid Sock Dolls

Mermaid Tail is made from a brand new knee sock.

The head, torso and arms are inspired by a vintage doll pattern from 1953.

It has been a very long time since I have actually sewn some dolls. Life with children is the culprit, but I have no regrets. 

Today I want to feature the first of several new dolls. This is a combination of a sock doll, and a cloth doll with a three part facial construction. It's inspired by a vintage doll pattern from he 1950's. I purchased a huge lot of vintage patterns over the past 2 years. Overall, no one single pattern worked well with the the mermaid tail, so I had to draft my own pattern. It has been a time consuming labor of love, but I'm happy with the results. 

For me the biggest challenge was the hair. I wasted almost 2 skeins of wool yarn before it looked right. Did NOT see that coming.

Anyway, today is the first official day my shop is actually back in business for complete dolls. It's been a while, but I'm glad to be back. You can see my shop (with 2 whole items in it) here.