Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Manga Eyes

Fiona McDonald introduced me to the real potential of painted eyes for knit and crochet.   Manga eyes are a variation of this idea.  I have a picture tutorial available on my Flickr site to show you how these were made; you can find it here;

Manga Eyes

Meantime, two Manga Spirits have arrived, without clothes, but they are happy to be here.  Meet Kellan and Aimee!


The pattern for the Knit Manga Spirit needs a bit more work; when that is done, the patterns for these two will be available here.

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Getting closer

Manga Spirits are almost finished!  The knit doll needs a few tweaks...a different body construction and smaller neck spacer, but on the whole I'm happy with how close in size they've turned out.

The girls also need hair, which is my favorite part of dollmaking :-)  I'm going to wig these two, then tweak the knit pattern.  Then, I will have something to share with you.

Sunday, March 25, 2012

Two heads are better than one...


Especially if one is crochet and one is knit!

Work progresses on the Manga Spirits; more coming soon :-)

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Manga Spirits

Is anyone else fascinated with Manga artwork?  I confess that I am, and I've long wanted to create a doll with this kind of vibe.  And lately the idea has been circulating in my head of a doll that could be either knit or crocheted, and share a knit and crochet wardrobe. 

Wouldn't it be cool to be able to draw this doll, then create it!  I am definitely art-challenged in this respect, but I picked up a book at the library (which subsequently I've bought) entitled "Manga for the Beginner:  Chibi's"

This is a fun book, full of ideas and lots of help for any beginner.  The result for me is the four kids at the top of the page.  They are concept drawings of the next doll I plan to create.  A doll in either knit or crochet, with big eyes, wild hair, and sweet expressions.  A small doll, under nine inches tall, with a simple wardrobe.  Should be a lot of fun!

The doll will have the swing legs that the Spirit dolls have, and both knit and crochet will have a move-able head.  I'm going to try using buttons this time and see how that works.  No feet and simple hands.  This should be a wonderful doll for children, of all ages.

So stay tuned!

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Erin, from Fiona McDonalds book "Babes in the Wool"

Erin is a red haired beauty from Fiona McDonald's book "Babes in the Wool."  I am so impressed with how Fiona created instructions for such a beautiful, yet simple, knit doll.   These dolls have been a joy to knit :-)