Saturday, April 3, 2010

Adorable Annies by De Powell

A friend on the 'Friends of Cloth Dolls' message board shared a link to these adorable Annie patterns a few months ago. In addition to crocheting, I also love to make cloth dolls, and De Powells Annies have snagged my heart. I've been working on the pattern 'Goody, Goody, Gumdrop,' which makes two Annies, a 10" and a 12".


Here are the body pieces for the 10" and 12" doll all stuffed and closed up. A great tip for stuffing a doll like this nice and smooth, with no wrinkles, is to spray the cloth with water from a simple spray bottle, before stuffing. Work the misted water into the fiber of the cloth, especially around the neck and head, then stuff. Keep the body slightly damp (not soaked), and stuff hard. You'll be amazed at how much better your stuffed doll body will look. Gail Wilson shared this tip on her website.




Here are the girls with their painted and embroidered faces, and all the limbs assembled :-)







And here we have very simple wigs. De uses a very simple wigging technique. If you want more hair coverage on the back of the head, you can just make a crochet chain a few chains long and hook your hair strands into this. Stitch it down to the back of the head and pull up the ponytails. Either way is very cute.






With bows in our hair, and our pretty matching bloomers. The clothing patterns for these dolls are very simple, but work up very nice.




And here are the completed dolls, all ready to warm the heart of a child, regardless of her age :-)

11 comments:

  1. Hi Beth, I just love De's Annie dolls. I have made a couple myself. They are so cute.

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  2. Hi Jenny!

    Yes, they were a lot of fun to make. I'm feeling in the mood to make cloth dolls for a while. Nice to find my sewing machine again :-)

    Beth

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  3. DEAR BETH 4-3-10
    MY NAME IS PATRICIA/ I FOUND YOUR WEBSITE AND FELL IN LOVE WITH IT. THANK YOU FOR SHARING YOUR TALENT WITH US. I WOULD LIKE TO DO MY FIRST, FS BASIC BODY AND THE PATTERN CALLS FOR 2 DIFFERENT HOOKS SIZES AND THEY ARE (E AND F). I DON'T HAVE A CLUE WHAT HOOK TO USE, ON WHAT BODY PARTS. DOES IT EVEN MATTER OR NOT. PLEASE LET ME KNOW WHAT I NEED TO DO. THIS IS THE SECOND POST I HAVE DONE AND I AM NOT EVEN SURE YOU GOT MY FIRST ONE OR NOT.I COULDF NOT FINE YOUR ANSWER TO ME.IAM SORRY FOR REPEATING MYSELF. I CAN'T WAIT TO HEAR FROM YOU. SINCERLY YOURS
    PATRICIA

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  4. Hi Patricia,

    I did answer your question; it is under the post where you posted it (if that makes sense). But I will answer it here as well...the E hook is used to crochet the body and limbs; the F hook is used for the hair.

    Happy crocheting :-)

    Beth

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  5. OK,this child! Me! Well, maybe not child but I could pretend!
    Kate

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  6. Very nice pair of dolls! Beth, you're the master of all trades! ;)

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  7. So, when are we going to see a crochet version of this doll? I promise to make one if you design it.

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  8. dear beth
    i just want to say thanx for all your help. once i get done with my doll, i will try to post a picture of her. can you tell me how to post a picture on your page. i must sound really stupid. but i have never done anything like this before. iam sorry for bothing you again.i guess you could call me the needy child.well thanx again you and everyone self have a great day.
    sincerely yours
    patricia

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  9. Thank-you, River, Rosetta, and Kate for your good words :-)

    Patricia, everyone has to start at the beginning, especially when it comes to computers :-) A lot of folks who wish to post pictures of their dolls use 'flickr' which is an online photo sharing site. You can set up a free account, which allows you to post up to 200 pictures. This is a nice way to start, and see if you like doing this kind of thing. Go to the flickr home page ( www.flickr.com ) and it should lead you through the steps pretty easily.

    Once you have a flickr account, and some pictures uploaded to it, you can then post your pictures to other groups, like the Free Spirit Amigurumi Doll group ( http://www.flickr.com/groups/freespiritamidolls/ ).

    Enjoy the crocheting, and have a lovely day.

    Beth

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  10. Beth - so happy to find your wonderful blog and patterns! Thanks for sharing! Just wanted you to know that I have you linked to my blog and a couple of photos, so hope you don't mind me putting them there. Also, I did not find you on Ravelry, although I did find many people making your patterns there. I linked you to a thread there, also, as well as some of your photos. Is that okay with you?

    Again, thanks so very much - wish I had your talent! Might try some of these, soon - I'm starting to get on a toy kick now that the granddaughters are starting to be more interested in dolls.

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  11. Hi Cat!

    Thank-you for including me in your blog :-) I certainly don't mind. Although I belong to Ravelry, I haven't participated much there...but it is nice to hear that folks there are making some of my dolls.

    Nothing like having a little one to make toys for! I have three nieces and three nephews, and whether they like it or not, they get handmade from me; no batteries included :-)

    Have a great day,

    Beth

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