Made It - Comfort Doll

This past fall, I read of the Comfort Doll Project but knew that Christmas crafting would keep me too busy to work on this until after the holidays were over. 

And since that is now the case, there's no time like the present for me to get started on this endeavor. The project specs indicate that each doll is to be no taller than 6". That eliminated several doll patterns right there, but on the other hand, a doll that small should be simple to make, right? 

Not quite, at least not for an inexperienced dollmaker like me. There were a couple of fails - either the doll body came out too misshapen, or the doll dress took too long to make (due to hand-hemming). I knew I had to use a simple pattern or else I'd run out of steam really fast. 

So I turned to a 1970's era Christmas craft magazine I'd picked up at a thrift store last year. I'd already used one of its patchwork Christmas ornament patterns to make bird-shaped ornaments for nieces and nephews. So I scaled up one of the other patchwork shapes, a girl, to make a doll of about 4 3/4" in height:

Super simple to do, but I think it still turned out cute. Sure, there's a bit of sewing of the patchwork, but since the pattern pieces aren't big, this is a good way to use up fabric scraps. 

I added a bit of trim, sewed on beads for eyes and embroidered a mouth. A vintage fabric yo-yo with a pom-pom glued on top made for a cute hat. I forgot to do so, but I think I'll add a fabric or glued heart to the front. I think that will be a nice touch!

If you'd like to participate in the Comfort Doll project, check out the website HERE.