Testing, 1-2-3 Testing....

OK.  Since some of you said that you would like to make your own people... Here's a short tutorial on getting things in the right place.

The head is the most important part.  On a 5 1/2" doll, it goes as follows.

The head should be about 3/4 of an inch long and about 1/2" wide...
The eyes are at the halfway point between the top of the head and the chin.
The eyes should have an eye length between them.
The bottom of the nose is at 2/3 of the head.  In this case it is about a half inch.
The mouth is 1/3 between the nose tip and the bottom of the chin. 

I got Tessie to lie down next to the sketch, so that you could see the similarities? between them.  She really is 5 and 1/2 inches tall.  The hair and the stretched out feet make her look taller at the angle that I took the photo.

She kept squirming whilst I was taking the photos... And complaining?  You would not believe some of the words that she used!

I first make a pipe cleaner armature. Everything is two pipe cleaners twisted together.  These are the long ones that they call chenille stems. I bend two in half and twist them.  These become the back bone and legs.  I take one and twist half of it together and put it a little more than an inch down and twist the rest.  That becomes the arms.  They will be shortened when we put on the poly clay ends. As will the bottom of the leg stems.  They only go part way into the leg portions of clay.

Anyway, the arms when stretched out should be about the same as the height.

From top to bottom.  Shoulders at one inch.  Waist is two to two and a quarter inches down.  Torso finished at three inches and the knees at four.  The last half inch takes up the ankles and feet.

Assuming that you made a head, arms and feet, you then assemble them  with the pipe cleaners. I wrap the ends of the stems with floral tape to keep the arms, etc. from slipping off.  I cut a little off until the length looks right... Starting with the feet and head, so that I will know when the height is right. Head first, then feet.

After that, I cut strips of thin quilt batting.  I wrap the arms with about one inch strips.  The upper legs with a little wider strips. 

Over the years, I learned to stretch the end of the strips and smooth them into the layer underneath.  When you are just starting out, you may have to use a little glue on the end.

I use a wider strip to go around the torso.  You can put a little extra padding in the bust and the bustle area... I don't.  I find that the clothes fill things out nicely, especially on Tessie.

Some people cover the batting with strips of nylon stocking material or some other jersey.  I don't. Tessie wears bloomers.  That seems to cover her bottom nicely and hold things together.  Her top is enclosed in a dress top or blouse that covers everything. She seems to do just fine with those coverings.  If she starts complaining, I just make new ones.

Of course, Tessie had to try out the new foot and a couple of the new hands too.... Maybe I shouldn't show you this. 

She built a better skate park on the stove this morning... She has been buzzing around it on the skateboard I found yesterday, while cleaning... I really shouldn't clean.  It always gets Tessie into trouble..

The butter dish will never be the same.  She inserted the ends of two energy bars under the lid and away she went... She has to be quick.  She jumps the energy bars at both ends.  Only the middles are smooth enough to ride on.

She has been singing "Girls Just Want to Have Fun!" at the top of her lungs.  I guess I should go make more hands and feet.  I doubt that she is going to get through the day with the ones I just made. 

I just heard her yell, "Testing, 1-2-3, Testing!". I guess I should go see what she has added to the mix... I don't think I want to know!

Wish me luck.  I think that I'm going to need it!

See you tomorrow.