{"id":836,"date":"2022-07-02T06:48:57","date_gmt":"2022-07-02T06:48:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ottercreations.org\/MH\/?p=836"},"modified":"2023-01-10T17:24:47","modified_gmt":"2023-01-10T17:24:47","slug":"the-making-of-a-doll","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ottercreations.org\/MH\/the-making-of-a-doll\/","title":{"rendered":"The Making of a Doll"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It all started with the search for a portable weaving loom. Something along the lines of a small embroidery hoop. Because when it comes to weaving, “portable” can mean a lot of different things, as long as you can pick it up and move it.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Zoom Loom by Schacht<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

I really wanted a travel loom, a lap loom, a no-set-up loom. I discovered pin looms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The resulting weaving on the one I have is a 4″x4″ square out of a loom that’s about 6″ square. For my first attempt I used some old remnants. Grey. Not very exciting. With a few mistakes. But still functional as coasters, immediately appropriated by one of my daughters, which made me exceedingly happy. <\/p>\n\n\n

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Little Coasters: First try with the Zoom Loom<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

I experimented with more solid yarns, in different sizes, while reading up on pin looms and watching a lot of YouTube videos. While I like working with cotton on my rigid heddle loom for its consistent tension and the resulting even weave, I discovered that pin looms really benefit from the elasticity of wool. Yes, I can make cotton squares on the pin loom, but I don’t like to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And “like to” is a rather important factor in how I choose my weaving projects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Next, I discovered that variegated, striped, or ombre yarns created the most interesting patterns on the pin loom. With worsted weight yarn I had left over after a couple of larger projects, I continued to practice little squares on the pin loom (they’re addictive, don’t you know).<\/p>\n\n\n

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The yarn…<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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…and the result.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Once I got comfortable with the technique, I started thinking in terms of projects. Or objects. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sure, I could just finish the edges and make coasters. That would be fun and a good travel project. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But then, the little squares started looking like parts of doll clothes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hand woven doll clothes? On handmade dolls? The monster project was born.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Doll Sample #1 in progress<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

I’ll spare you the side-trip into doll making books (I have those, too), and doll-making YouTube channels, and doll making websites, and searches for the Great Doll Making Book (still haven’t found it), or the attempts to create the right body shape.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Working on Doll Body #2<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Or the need to buy more tools… <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Any crafter will understand the sudden need to buy more tools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Especially when you come back to a craft or a skill after a few years… and cataract surgery, and different glasses, and… You know. Years<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Designing the clothes on the fly<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Eventually, the doll took shape and started talking to me and demanding clothes. Which was good, because in doll-making and especially in doll-clothes-making, you can invoke as many skills as you want and blend them together. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For this one, I started fitting clothes out of pin-loom squares.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then adding details, gathers, a belt (eventually a length of lucet braided purple yarn)… Some embroidery on the skirt, a necklace… A wild mop of mohair hair… A painted face.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is she done? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I don’t think so. She wants me to do something more with her hair. And she needs shoes. And accessories. I agree with her, but she’s letting me think about all that. Maybe then she’ll tell me her name.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Wild hair and braids<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It all started with the search for a portable weaving loom. Something along the lines of a small embroidery hoop. Because when it comes to weaving, “portable” can mean a lot of different things, as long as you can pick it up and move it. I really wanted a travel loom, a lap loom, a… Read More »The Making of a Doll<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":848,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"neve_meta_sidebar":"","neve_meta_container":"","neve_meta_enable_content_width":"","neve_meta_content_width":0,"neve_meta_title_alignment":"","neve_meta_author_avatar":"","neve_post_elements_order":"","neve_meta_disable_header":"","neve_meta_disable_footer":"","neve_meta_disable_title":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[10,36,28],"tags":[38,26,37,25],"class_list":["post-836","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts-and-crafts","category-pin-loom","category-weaving","tag-art-doll","tag-fiber-art","tag-pin-loom","tag-weaving"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ottercreations.org\/MH\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/20220530_173816-rotated.jpg?fit=1710%2C1710&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ottercreations.org\/MH\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/836","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ottercreations.org\/MH\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ottercreations.org\/MH\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ottercreations.org\/MH\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ottercreations.org\/MH\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=836"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ottercreations.org\/MH\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/836\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":859,"href":"https:\/\/ottercreations.org\/MH\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/836\/revisions\/859"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ottercreations.org\/MH\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/848"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ottercreations.org\/MH\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=836"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ottercreations.org\/MH\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=836"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ottercreations.org\/MH\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=836"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}