kgdolls

Tiny dolls for your dollshouse dolls

Tools

small sharp scissors
needle nosed pliers
wire cutters
needle & thread
fine permanent markers in red and black
ruler/tape measure
iron and ironing pad
fine pointed tweezers

Materials

15cm white paper covered florist's wire (24 gauge)
6mm round wooden bead
5cm x 5cm cotton fabric, plain, or tiny print
10cm x 2mm silk ribbon to match/contrast
5 cm very narrow cotton lace
8 cm bunka for the hair
1 cm sqare Kleenex or facial tissue
tacky glue
tiny amount of household emulsion in peach or white
OR tiny amount Fimo or paperclay
2cm x 1cm Bondaweb/Wunderunder

Make the Armature

Fold the florist's wire in half, then, using your needle nosed pliers to hold the wires together for about 1/8" bend the two ends outwards, at right angles.
Putting the little blip that will be the neck in the middle of your ruler, measure ½" along both sides of the wire, and double the wire back again, to make the arms.
Where they cross in the middle, under the neck, twist them together for about ¼".
Lay your armature on your ruler and fold one of the ends back on itself, 1" from the end of the neck blip. Repeat with the other wire end. If the wires are a bit long, trim them, so that your armature looks like the diagram.

Completing the armature

Bend up the ends of the legs by about 1/8" for the feet.

Paint the hands and the feet thickly with emulsion paint, OR use a little Fimo, or paperclay to make hands and feet

When this is dry, paint them if necessary.

You can bind the armature with cotton thread if you like. It does keep the wires together nicely.

Drawers

Using your tiny square of Kleenex or other tissue, separate the layers and using 1 for each leg, put a little glue down the back of the leg, glue one end of the tissue to it. Put a little more glue on top, and loosely fasten the other end. Repeat for the other leg.

Skirt

Cut a piece of fabric 2cm x 4.5cm. Trim your lace, and glue it just on the edge, on the right side of the fabric on one long edge, as in the illustration. Press to dry the glue.

When it is dry, fold the edge over and lightly glue to the wrong side, as illustrated. Press well

Skirt continued

Right sides together, glue the short edges of the skirt together to form the centre back seam. Press seam to one side.
Check the length on the doll. The lace edging should be just above the feet, and the top edge right under the arms.
If the skirt is too long, trim at the top edge.
Using a double thread and a tiny running stitch, gather the top edge, fit it onto the doll (with the seam at the back) and pull up tight. Fasten off securely

Bodice

Cut a piece of fabric 2cm x 1.5cm
Fold it in half, then in half again the other way. cut a tiny bit off the folded corner.

This makes a hole for the neck

Fit the neck loop through this hole and check the length of the sleeves. Trim if necessary. The hands should just show.
With the bodice folded over the arms as shown, make 2 cuts where indicated, through both thicknesses (front and back)

Trim any excess fabric from the width of the sleeves, and glue the back of the sleeve to the arm, then glue the front sleeve over the back onto the arm.
Glue the back bodice round to the front, and the front pieces over the back. Glue a piece of silk ribbon tightly under the arms, with a bow at the back. This should cover any rough edges.

Head

Paint the face onto your wooden bead, using felt (fibre) tip pens, or paints.
It is useful to wedge the bead onto a toothpick with you do this.

Glue the bead onto the wire loop neck.

Hair

Unravel your Bunka to create loose curls. Cut into at least 8 short pieces.
Glue some of the pieces round the back of the head, as shown.

Save some of the pieces to put round the face when you have put the bonnet on.

Bonnet

Copy and print this pattern

(Check the actual measurments when printed)

Cut the bonnet back from a single thickness of fabric.
Take a piece of fabric 2cm x 2cm and iron a piece of Bondaweb or Wunderunder on the wrong side.
When it is cool, take the paper off, fold the fabric in half, and press to bond.

Cut the hat brim from the pattern with the fold of the bonded fabric along the straight edge.

Fold the staight edge of the hat back over to the wrong side. Glue and press.

Using a double thread, and a tiny running stitch, gather round the curved edge of the bonnet.

This gathered edge goes over the top of the doll's head, with the straight edge at the neck..
Fit the gathered edge, and fasten off securely. Glue to the dolls head.
The gathering may be a little bulky. If so, trim as close as possible, without cutting the stitches, and put some glue along the gathered edge. Smoosh it in well, pressing down the gathers, and allow to dry.

Brim

If you like, you can glue a thickish thread round the edge of the bonnet brim, to finish it off.
To do this, put a little glue right on the edge of the brim, and lay the thread into it. Trim it when it is dry.
.

Glue the straight edge of the brim over the gathers of the hat back, from ear to ear on the doll.
Finish off by glueing the remaining Bunka round the face under the bonnet brim.

Kit available for this project please click here