an attempt at a Black Apple...

Since my first two attempts at dolls turned out, well, doll-like, I tried making one from a pattern this time. I found this one from The Black Apple (so super cute) through Martha Stewart (of course).

The instructions seemed simple enough so I gave it a go...

It came together pretty easily. The only part that was a little tricky was after you sew and stuff the arms and legs, you are supposed to sew them inside the two body pieces. I had trouble keeping them stuffed inside and squooshed down enough to sew the body. (Has anyone else had this problem?) So, I kind of just held my breath, smooshed everything down and went for it. It seemed to hold (if not perfectly aligned), so I was happy. Her head may also be a tad pointy around the top edges, but that is probably because of my lack of sewing skills tendency to sew super fast and veer off the lines a skosh...

Then I painted on her sweet little face and knit her a tiny scarf. Bun named her Bebe. She turned out so well I wanted to make another.

THAT is when I had my BIG idea!

I realize most of you experienced sewers probably also had this BIG idea, but to me it was BIG. When looking for fabrics, I realized that I had a ton of fabric in the form of Bun's old baby clothes that I couldn't bear to part with. What better way to preserve them than in the form of a dolly!

I grabbed this sweet corduroy jumper that she wore as a dress, then as a tunic, then as a short tunic until it was finally retired. I loved how traditional it felt and the sunny fabric and definitely wasn't ready to let it go. So it became...

Gigi! (Yes, apparently all of our dolls get French girl names.) I used the plain parts to make her body and then cut out the little butterfly decorations and hand-sewed them and one of the buttons on with embroidery thread. (I'm sure there is a more correct way to do this, so don't look too closely at my stitching!)

A little butterfly even landed around back!

For her legs, I used one of Bun's old plaid tunics that she had also grown out of. I love the little patch of yellow that accidentally ended up on her toes.

Gigi got little Princess Leia buns... from this book. Which is up next...!