Tips & Tools

Face Drawing Basics
These are very basic instructions for drawing a face on a cloth doll. The face can be drawn on the fabric with colored pencils, gel pens, and even acrylic paint and fabric markers.

Some key things to keep in mind about face proportions are:
·Divide the face into 4 equal sections.
·The top section is for the forehead and hairline.
·The eyebrows are in the second section of the face just above the eyes.
·The eyes are right on the middle line in the center of the face.
·The width of the face is equal to 5 eyes. There is one eye width between the eyes.
·The nose is in the third section of the face. Nostrils are on the line at the bottom
of the third section and are aligned with the corner of the eyes.
The nose edge, above the phlanges, are also aligned with the corners of the eyes.
·The lips are in the bottom section of the face. The upper lip is in the top half of
the bottom section and the lower lip is in the bottom half of the lowest section of the face.
·The outer edge of the lips is aligned with the outer edge of the eyes.
·The edge of the lips is aligned with the pupils.

Start by drawing an outline of the features with a terra cotta or light brown pencil.

When you are satisfied with the basic drawing, use a darker brown gel pen or extra fine point brown acrylic paint to draw the eyes, eyelids, iris and pupils. Lightly draw the eyebrows. Add color to iris and color the pupil black. Add white to the area between the iris and the outsides of the eyes. Remember to always add a white dot to the pupil in each eye to indicat the source of the light.

Color the lips with a darker shade on the top lip. The center of the lower lip should be light, again reflecting the source of light.

Add a blush color to the cheeks using colored pencils or makeup blush.

Make a Stuffing Tool
You can make your own stuffing tool by taking a doll making needle and grinding off the very tip of the EYE. Then take the needle point and pound it into a 3 inch piece of 1/2" dowel. You can use this nifty little tool to push stuffing into those small fingers!!!

Felting Needles
Felting needles are sharp needles with barbs along the sides. Two or more needles are used together in a poking motion to insert the wool into the head of the doll. If you choose to sew the wool first, you can use felting needles to arrange the hair and push it into the dolls head. This works great with wool and even some man-made fibers.

Pattern Templates
Paste or glue your paper pattern to a manila file folder before you cut it out. This makes a study, reuseable pattern template.

Foot Soles
You can use the heavy plastic packaging material as an alternative to cardboard in the sole of a doll foot.

Turning Tools
You can make your own turning tools for doll fingers with small PVC or copper tubing available in small sizes at hobby stores. Cut them to lengths of 6 - 8 inches. You will get multiple tools from one package. Also keep your eyes open for the coffee stirers. If they are round and have a single whole they can be used for finger turning tools. This tool is inserted into the finger. Then use the Stuffing Tool above to push the fabric into the hole and up the turning tool.

Finger Turning Tip
When turning fingers, it's good to moisten your fingertips to help push the finger up the tool.

Stitch Length
Use a small 1.5 mm machine stitch length when sewing dolls for best results. That's 20 stitches per inch for older machines.

Doll Fabric
Whether it's flesh toned or printed, a 200 or higher thread count cotton fabric works best for making cloth doll. It will withstand stuffing without stretching or pilling. 100% cotton is best but some blends will work OK. If you are really lucky, you might find bed sheets in flesh tones that can work very well and provide lots of yardage.

Stuffing
To avoid clumps when stuffing a doll's body, pull the stuffing over the previous fiberfill to create layers. Always work towards the fabric surface.

Sculpting Thread
Use upholstery thread for sculpting a doll's face or body. It is the most sturdy and will not break when you pull the stitches. Nylon thread used for making draperies also works well.

PomPoms for Nose
Place a small pompom at the tip of the doll's nose to get a nice rounded tip.

Invisible Thread
Invisible thread is great for making doll clothes since it picks up the colors in the fabric and you don't have to search for matching thread.

Shiney Eyes and Lips
To get that glossy look to eyes and lips on a cloth doll, coat them with a gloss medium. Some products include Crystal Laquer, Gloss Medium for Scrapbooking, and even the clear Gallery Glass used for faux stained glass.