Making Dolls for Quick Gifts

Today’s Topic:  Making Dolls 

Good Afternoon, Quilters!

I have a new hobby.  Like many of you, a new hobby is the last thing I need!

But now that I have a grand daughter (I have six grandsons), I have been following the never-ending rabbit hole of the Pinterest doll making category

And then that lead to Pinterest stuffed animals (more on that later this week!)

Nata Patterns

After perusing for hours, I found these adorable and simple dolls designed by Nata Patterns (Etsy)

They are quick and easy.

It took about an hour to y stitch each doll.  Most of the sewing is by machine, with a little hand embroidery for the face and to close the bottom.

Replace the Felt

I don’t really like felt (how it feels or looks) so I replaced the felt hair with lightweight fabric.

I stitched two layers together and turned it right side out to create a clean edge.

Elle Approved!

My grand daughter loved the dolls!  Just the right size for a one year old!

She lunged for the doll and never let go….

Warms a grandmas heart….

And now I’m hooked on making dolls.

I also ordered the NataPattens animal collection.  Can’t wait to make the raccoon and fox!

(BTW–these are not affiliate links–just here for your reference.)

Do YOU Make Dolls?

What about YOU?

Do YOU make dolls or stuffed animals?

Are YOU making any gifts?

We’d LOVE to hear–and please, include links!

Your Happy Doll Maker,

Gepetta Kennedy

PS… All tutorials, images and information are the property of Lori Kennedy Quilts and are intended for personal use only.  Feel free to re-blog, pin or share with attribution to LKQ.  For all other purposes, please contact me at Lori@LoriKennedyQuilts.com.

 

 

 

27 responses to “Making Dolls for Quick Gifts”

  1. When the kids are a little older you can make tons of animals and dolls with empty toilet paper rolls, glue and construction paper!

  2. Oh my gosh – these bring back memories from my childhood. A family friends daughter taught me how to look through large color books for animal shapes – to cut them out and then pin to double layer of fabric and sew together – leaving a small opening for stuffing and then stitching closed. We made homemade stuffed animals.
    The concept is the same as the dolls above – smiling remembering Diana and her patience teaching a little kid
    how to make toys.

  3. When our girls were little, the cabbage patch craze began. I found a pattern for what was called “little people”, which is what the original c.p. dolls were called. When I made them, the heads were rather oversized, but the girls still loved them, even more than the store bought cabbies. All the cabbies are still in a Rubbermaid in our house and our grandchildren have enjoyed them immensely. Our daughters still remember their names.

  4. Before I was a quilter I made teddy bears. They were all different, but each one had a head and limbs that moved. Just like my quilts now, I gifted teddy bears to all of my friends and family. They were fun to make and everyone enjoyed them, but once I discovered quilting I lost my enthusiasm for making them. I still love all teddy bears and have quite a large collection of collectible teddy bears, but I am now completely addicted to quilting. Enjoy your hobby, but done forget us! Congratulations on your granddaughter! When are you going to start teaching her to sew?

  5. Bit of Whimsy dolls on Etsy – I have made several of these and they are quite cute – a great excuse to use some of your girly stash on the clothes. My grans love these! Have fun!

  6. There are some great ITH doll and animal stuffie designs out there. I have made jointed teddy bears too, but I really love the mindlessness (LOL) of ITH designs.

  8. It is wonderful having girls in the family, we are a little like you, 4 grandsons but;the eldest and youngest of our grand tribe #1 and #6 are both girls, we don’t have to tell them they are special. However, don’t forget little boys like a cuddle with a doll or two, I made dolls dressed up us as boys and they loved them, especially my son so many years ago, he called his little boy after a famous Australian car racing champion and was proud to take him anywhere. Oh and our daughter loved playing with a train set. She is now an electronics engineer, the boys have followed the electrician and plumbing trades, so dolls have nothing to do with their career choices later in life.

  9. I made 2 dolls 46 years ago!! I made 2 Holly Hobby dolls- one for my best friend and one for my sister ( I was 16 when I made those!!) I made the dolls, and my mother made the clothes for the dolls. I am really aging myself here!
    The dolls were beautiful- blonde curly hair and beautiful clothes …. My sister still has hers.

  10. I made two of these dolls recently. One for my 6 yr old grand daughter when she was going in hospital to have her tonsils out. She loves it. And one for her younger sister for her birthday, she loved it too! I designed blankets to wrap them in also. Adorable dolls!

  11. just followed your link and I love the stuffed animals, they are adorable, and even a Koala in the mix. Whoo Hoo. You will have lots of fun making them in between all your quilting and tutorials. Enjoy.

  12. Not sure I understand about replacing the felt hair with fabric. Do you use the same pattern but double it so there aren’t any raw edges?

  13. Oh my yes!! When my two older girls were small, I made little dolls from cotton ankle socks (lived in an tiny OLD town with a general mercantile who had these in several colors!❤️), then I crocheted sweaters, stitched loops of yarn for curly hair, pleated little bits of fabric for skirts and painted on simple shoes. Everyone who saw them wanted one! Then I crocheted animals for them (a bearded goat, a Siamese cat, a puppy,etc). Later on I took up sculpting and made tiny 3” babies from baked poly lay, dressing them in diapers, painting features, using wool strands for hair. Some were even jointed! I made several reborn dolls as well, also sewing bodies for them and made quite a following on eBay with those. So satisfying to see a little “person” come alive in your imagination & hands.❤️❤️❤️

  15. Adorable dolls. Thanks for saving us the hours and hours of searching for just the right pattern.

  16. I have never made dolls, but I did make dozens of doll outfits for my gir’ls dolls. However, when I was a kid, my Mom made me a large doll with moveable arms. She could wear the dresses etc that I had just grown out of. Bless my Mom!

  18. When my nieces were little (c.1985), I made them each a doll from kits I purchased from JoAnn.s.I had fun making them and still have the patterns. One of my favorite memories.

  19. Lori, at that Etsy site, which pattern of hers did you specifically purchase? I’m not sure, as there are a couple, and I really like how you’ve made yours. TIA, Robin

      1. Okay. Thank you very much! That’s what I thought, but I didn’t see the little carrier on yours. Merry Christmas!

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