DOLL
BODY FABRIC HINTS - It is important, actually
critical, that you observe a few rules about sewing
doll bodies when working with old-fashioned style dolls
where flat weave fabric and a good hard-stuffed body
are needed. The first rule is to use a good fabric
that is strong, a good color, and has a good hand.
Then, make sure of the grain. In a recent class of
50, about 15% (these were experienced dollmakers) made
their dolls on the wrong grain and so ended up with
bodies and heads that were much longer and thinner
than intended. This is a high percentage of errors
amongst experienced dollmakers. So pay attention to
the grain markings on the patterns and if there are
none, assume that the grain is up and down, or parallel
to the selvage. If you do not have a selvage to identify
the grain, then pull crosswise and then lengthwise
to see which way has the least stretch - this will
be the grain. Mark leftover fabric with tape if selvages
will be cut off. Some of us remember being taught that
there is not any significant difference between crossways
and lengthways on plain fabric. But there is, and the
bigger the doll, the more this difference can show
up. Here is why. The lengthwise (parallel to selvage)
is the direction the looms are threaded (warped) These
threads are taut. Then the crossways threads (weft
or woof threads) are woven up and under the warp threads
and to do this windy trail across the tight warp threads,
they have a bit of slack. So when you pull across the
grain, there is some give. The larger the doll, the
more stretch that can happen, so you may see a huge
difference in shape on a larger doll than on a small
one. One hint, not often considered is to stick to
one fabric over time for all your dolls of this type
so that you will know the particular stretch of that
fabric. It does not make good sense to conserve money
using up odd bits that may backfire after all your
intense effort. If you are designing your own doll
bodies, it will be important to use the same brand
of fabric on later models as on your prototypes so
that your results will be the same.
SUM UP: If your doll's body is one where you
are attaching molded or wooden parts to cloth, the
fabric used is not so critical since you are only usually
stuffing to "full" and not determining a
shape by stuffing "hard" where you will be
defining a shape, especially the head.
USEFUL GENERAL HINTS
FOR DIFFERENT SIZED DOLLS - After 35 years
of creating doll bodies (I am talking about old-fashioned
dolls, not needle sculpted dolls or other contemporary
styles), my own personal advice is this:
• Whether or not you are painting or antiquing your
cloth doll in some way later, I recommend that all doll
body fabric be initially paint overdyed. (See my paint
overdye below - it is easy and fast). The paint overdye
gives stability and smoothness to the fabric, plus makes
it fray less, if at all. It is easier to draw and sew
on, very easy for accurate cutting as well. Plus, it
can add a bit of color/patina to the fabric taking away
that brand-new look. Do this to the fabric when it is
flat.
• For nearly all dolls up to about 16-18",
use a good quality, plain, tight weave cotton with a
bit of stetch when pulled cross-grain that will allow
rounded heads to be formed if stuffed well and strong
enough to take stuffing firmly with stuffing that will
be packed hard such as wool roving.
• For dolls larger than 9 - 10" tall, Kona
cotton is a good choice. Kona has a larger thread which
will have a bit more body (stiffness) and less overall
stretch so that larger dolls may benefit from using it.
Plus, it is available commonly. If your doll is to be
painted, it will have more visible weave, which may not
be desirable, but you can use a layer or two of gesso
underneath to smooth the surface. And of course, if you
want a coarser look, this is it. Just do not try it on
smaller dolls as its stiffness does not lend itself to
small turned places like hands or individual fingers
or thumbs.
• For very tiny dolls of 3" or less, use paint
overdyed batiste. You might think its weave cannot take
turning and stuffing, but with the paint overdye as a
stabilizer, the very fine weight will make the most delightfully
detailed parts perfectly and about as accurately as could
ever be hoped. The thinness of the fabric allows it to
turn RS out easily and the valley in the seam is that
much less due to the scale of fabric, so that is why
parts can come out so accurately. It would not be good
on dolls much larger however, due to the lumpiness of
stuffing that would be obvious on a bigger surface. This
is a new find for me and I am pleased to share this with
you.
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SOLIDS
FOR DOLL BODIES AND PLAIN COTTON NEEDS
NEW BASIC DOLL BODY
FABRIC - I have finally found a new and really
good doll body fabric in a basic tan. I am thrilled with
this cloth and it far surpasses any other including the
basic doll body fabric I used for over 25 years (and
then it was discontinued). This new one is all cotton,
made in the USA, has a very tight weave (less fray on
tiny curves) and is just the right color. I love it!
NEW BASIC DOLL BODY
FABRIC $7.50/yd Add
to Cart
FOR
LARGER DOLLS (read info above)
KONA BODY TAN $7.50/yd Add
to Cart
OTHER
SOLIDS
BASIC OFF-WHITE
PLAIN $7.50/yd Add
to Cart
BASIC PLAIN BROWN $7.50/yd Add
to Cart
BASIC BLACK $7.50/yd Add
to Cart
NEW ~ PAINT OVERDYE FOR VINTAGE CLOTH DOLL
BODIES- This new color can be used on any
light cotton and unlike factory dyed fabric, does
help to add to the true age as any hand dyed fiber
does, which are the good things out of the bad. The
color you arrive at is intended for dolls where the
cloth shows (although you could paint on it) so that
it looks old and aged in color. The added benefit
is that it crisps up the fabric some, preventing
fraying, and is easier to draw and sew on while also
giving a slightly smoother surface when stuffed without
losing the stretch you need in stuffed doll parts.We
also have used this as a darker overdye on some fabrics
needed a darker cast.
2oz. jar $7.50 Add
to Cart
8 oz. jar $10.25 Add
to Cart
FABRICS THAT HAVE
SOME CHARACTER (TEXTURE)
UTILITY MUSLIN (must
be washed and dried in a dryer for the soft, crinkled
look) $3.75/yd NOW BACK IN STOCK AFTER A LONG SEARCH Add to Cart
OSNABURG -
Sorry, this has been discontinued by the manufacturer.
The kind I carried was not the modern kind that you
see everywhere with all the little "natural" flecks
in it. I had a source for the real osnaburg, which
in its day was a fine even weave for men's shirts and
had no flecks. By the way, I learned that those little
flecks were put in because fabric manufacturers figured
we all liked the crude look. Until another source is
found, I recommend the homespuns below. Or, go to Hemptraders.com
and look at the Hemp Linen for an alternative.
HOMESPUNS -
good for primitive animals and other applications needing
a bit of woven texture.
OFF-WHITE LINEN LOOK
HOMESPUN $7.75/yd Add
to Cart
TAN HOMESPUN $7.75/yd Add
to Cart
FEED SACKING -
Our supply in the nice linen weave look (from antique
stock) is now gone and I do not approve of the replacement
stock being sold, so it is no longer available, which
is too bad, but so typical. Use the Off-White Linen
Look Homespun above - same look.
MISCELLANEOUS
COTTON BATTING -
This is Warm & Natural Cotton Batting which is
used (usually overdyed for whatever it will be used
for) in my Cotton Batting Characters and Ornaments.
Sold by the yard (35" wide). $2.25/yd Add to Cart
WOOL FELT -
Brown - 18"x36" (1/2 yd) $12.00 Add to Cart
COTTON KNITS for
Dollmaking
White is an all purpose cotton knit that may also be
dyed. Can be used in Izannah Walker heads where knit
is being used but I recommend instead the Knit-Over
knit below instead. 1/2 yard of 45" wide. $3.95 Add
to Cart
Black, Brown and Off-White - These are the colors I
use for all of my doll stockings. All cotton with the
tiniest rib and good stretch just right for even small
dolls 56" wide.
Buy a set of fat quarters of all three colors $6.00 Add
to Cart
Buy by 1/2 yard cuts $4.25:
Black Add
to Cart Brown Add
to Cart Off-White Add
to Cart
NEW Knit-Over
Knit ~ Very special and impossible to
find is this extra fine cotton knit with high
stretch in both directions useful for applying
to molded doll heads for the knit-over technique.
Color is a light tan. Fat quarter (18" x
28") $4.50 Add
to Cart
FINE
COTTON NETTING
Perfect for aprons, caps, overskirts for Queen Anne
types or even dolls like Hitty. This is very fine cotton
netting (19 holes per inch) with very nice drape. Edge
with fine lace and paint overdye all to look old. Can
also be embroidered or applique small lace motifs on
it.
$13.75/fat qtr (21" x 18") Add
to Cart
BATISTES
This is the fine weight necessary for doll underwear
and bonnets and if overdyed with my new paint overdye,
gives a look that with equally treated lace, looks
authentically old and moreover is so fine that it drapes
and gathers perfectly even on the tiniest of dolls.
I cannot speak highly enough of it for doll's clothes.
It used to be that I had two types offered. The Fine
Batiste pre-hemmed squares was the finest weight available,
but fairly transparent although less so when overdyed.
It was my favorite, though only available in the pre-hemmed
squares. These squares are being discontinued at the
source, so to replace it I have located another - Batiste
by the Yard. It is actually a better quality fabric,
but this also makes it a tiny bit denser. This is good
news for pinafores or dresses, which previously had
to be lined when using the batiste squares, but it
is still great for all other uses and maintains an
excellent drape for even small dolls. It is also far
less expensive, so I highly recommend it, though I
am still fond of the old squares and wish they were
still available.
BATISTE BY THE YARD The
finest grade of fabric available. It has good drape,
overdyes well, and is very affordable. $8.00 yd Add
to Cart
Pre-overdyed for aged look - No
longer offering this but it is easy to do with any
of the paint overdyes which are just mixed with water,
fabric swished in, squeezed out and left to dry, drying
in minutes. Scroll down this page to choose paint overdyes.
Additional Tip - besides my paint overdye for an aged
look, you can use deep colors of paint in the same
steps which will yield a soft pastel of that shade.
NEWLY FOUND BATISTE -
Like the old hemmed squares above.
EXTRA FINE BATISTE (
54" wide)
This has the quality of being drapey even on the smallest
of dolls (meaning dolls that are about 2” tall)
and has a vintage look when overdyed. This is that
much loved batiste mentioned above - a bit more expensive
even considering its much wider width, but dolls do
not need much, so the cost is worth it. This batiste
overdyes well if you want it to look old (or more off-white)
and I recommend using my paint overdye* for this. Consider
over dyeing any lace or other trims at the same time.
It tucks well and even the tightest of gathers turn
out beautifully with little bulk, so it is perfect
for doll underwear, pinafores, bonnets or dainty tucked
dresses. Lace dyed to match makes it ideal.
Tips: Prewashing recommended. Semi-transparent,
so plan to use an underlayer if to be used on an outer
garment. $12.00 yd Add
to Cart
Pre-overdyed for aged look - No
longer offering this but it is easy to do with any
of the paint overdyes which are just mixed with water,
fabric swished in, squeezed out and left to dry, drying
in minutes. Scroll down this page to choose paint overdyes.
Additional Tip - besides my paint overdye for an aged
look, you can use deep colors of paint in the same
steps which will yield a soft pastel of that shade.
SILKS
DYEABLE SILK - There are many places where certain
dolls require silk because there is simply nothing
like it. It happens that silk is the easiest of all
fabrics to dye and like wool (both are protein based
fibers), dyes well because the fibers soak up dyes
readily, evenly and are fairly colorfast (unlike cottons).
So, this silk can be used as is, an off-white, or easily
dyed using just Rit dyes or any other dyes useable
on silk. One effect that is easy to achieve is soft
muted colors and these are nice for very small dolls,
Hitty things or to make a Queen Anne, but silk is also
easy to dye in deep colors, including black. I always
have some handy for various projects and it makes a
good lining too.
Choose from the weights and types below and then see
the packets of Gail's actual recipes in her color palette
below. Choose your color or recommended is the Starter
Set.
SILKS BELOW SOLD
BY THE HALF YARD - If you want a yard and
a half (for example), then in your shopping cart,
change the number 1 to 3 which will be a yard and
a half.
Even weave silks (Habutai):
Light Weight (12 mme) Good for sewn
sashes, bonnet ties, bias trims, linings or general
use such as doll dresses. $7.75/half yd Add
to Cart
Medium Weight (16 mme) This is an
equivalent weight to taffeta, but more affordable.
Good for doll dresses, especially dolls 10" and
up and accessories. This silk is good to use for the
drape and scale of silk, but it can also take on a
look of a nice old-time solid color, so does not have
to be thought of as fancy. A truly fancy look is best
had by using Taffeta below. $9.50/half yd Add
to Cart
Taffeta -
This is my best recommendation for doll gowns or best
dresses. Taffeta is a crisp silk and has a dominant
vertical (warp) thread that is slightly different than
the horizontal (weft) thread allowing for a slight
sheen (desirable) and in colored taffetas, sometimes
a different color is used creating a shadow or irridescent
effect. Taffetas are expensive, but worth it. (Or use
Medium Weight above as a substitute). Note: If you
are interested in dressing your dolls in solid color
fabrics but do not necessarily want the fabric to look
dressy, but more everyday, then use the Medium Weight
silk above. $18.50/half yd Add
to Cart
OTHER DYEING POSSIBILITIES
Using my Utility Muslin, pre-washed, will give a soft,
hand dyed and old look. Colors may fade slightly
over time, but the effect is very authentic. It is
harder to get even results with no tiny spots of
off-dye, but the fabric is so reasonable, if you
dye some extra, you can usually cut around, or in
most cases, ignore as part of the charm. Likewise,
using any tissue weight linen has similar effects.
If you can only find a soft color in linen, you can
still overdye it and alter the color to something
you like - the original color will enrich the new
color, but if it is a pastel, you can dominate it
with the dye.
Check "Dollmaking
Notions" in the Supplies sub-menu for more dyeing
and antiquing options to use on fabrics.
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