Wee Wonderfuls: 24 Dolls to Sew and Love by Hillary Lang, photographs by Jen Gotch - STC

Evelyn Inchworm I am addicted to making up tiny critters from wool felt, and the latest addition to the menagerie is this little scrunched-up, green inchworm, Evelyn. She is named after my dear grandmother Evelyn, who was long on style but short on hustle. While Ev may be pokey, the sewing—all by hand—is surprisingly quick and easy. You can make her up on your daily commute or while watching your favorite tv show. Try working without pins and I think you’ll find, as I do, that it’s very easy (and much safer on public transit).

FIN ISHE D SIZE

N OTE

4" long

Unless otherwise noted, all seam allowances are 1/4" and built into the patterns.

PATTE R N PIEC E S (see page 129)

Body (A); Gusset (B); Kerchief (C); Sunglasses (D) M ATE R IA LS

6" x 13" (1/4 yd. or fat quarter) wool felt for body 5" x 6" scrap of cotton print for kerchief Scrap of wool felt for sunglasses Two 3/8" buttons for eyes Matching and coordinating thread Embroidery floss for body and mouth Stuffing STITC HE S USE D (see pages 125–128)

Whipstitch, tacking stitch, backstitch.

W E E WO N DE R F U L S

8

1. Cut Out Pattern Pieces Cut out all the pattern pieces from the designated fabrics, cutting the number of pieces called for on each pattern piece. For more information on cutting out pattern pieces, see page 125.

2. Sew One Side of Body to Gusset Pin one side of the Body (A) to one side of the Gusset (B), aligning the gusset’s small pointed end with the body’s tail end and pinning the gusset up the body and around to the back of the head (alternatively, instead of pinning, you might prefer to just hold the small gusset in place as you sew). Hand-sew the gusset in place with six strands of matching embroidery floss and a whipstitch (see diagram).

WEE WO ND ERF ULS

9

Haus Sweet Haus This sweet cottage looks just as at home on a living room shelf as it does in the kids’ room. Choose bias tape in solid colors to create more subdued half-timbering or go all out and use ribbon printed or woven with a pattern. For the side gusset, use a wide embroidered ribbon with a folk design. Vary house size and shape to make a whole village or use seasonal fabric to make charming holiday decorations.

1. Cut Roof Cut the roof from the 8" x 8" roof fabric, as shown in the diagram.

FIN ISHE D SIZE

11" tall M ATE R IA LS

8" x 8" scrap of midweight cotton print for roof 21/2" x 41/2" scrap of midweight cotton print for door 8" x 6" scrap of midweight cotton print for house 8" x 14" (1/4 yd. or fat quarter) midweight cotton print for backing 2 yds. of 1/2"-wide twill tape, trim, or ribbon 1 yd. of 11/2"-wide ribbon Matching and coordinating thread Stuffing STITC HE S USE D (see pages 125–128)

Zigzag stitch, edgestitch, ladder stitch.

2. Sew Door on House Center the 21/2" x 41/2" door on the bottom edge of the 8" x 6" house, and edgestitch the door in place (see diagram).

3. Sew Trim on House Using matching thread, a zigzag stitch, and the diagram as a guide, sew the trim on the house front in the numbered order shown so that the unfinished edges of the door are caught under the trim pieces.

4. Sew Trim on Roof Using matching thread, a zigzag stitch, and the diagram as a guide, sew the trim on the roof front in the numbered order shown.

N OTE S

In cutting dimensions, the rectangle’s width is always given first, followed by its height.

Unless otherwise noted, all seam allowances are 1/4" and built into the patterns.

W E E WO N DE R F U L S

1 08

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109

WEE WONDERFULS PATTERN PIECES

Koji, continued

Marie Antoinette (see page 21)

1 OF 2

C

D

body bottom CUT 1 from corduroy.

underbelly

CUT 2 from belly fabric.

GRAIN LINE

G R A I N LI N E

TO

P

ED

G

E

F

E

tail

tail bottom

CUT 2 from corduroy.

CUT 1 from corduroy.

GRAIN LINE

mouth

P LACE O N F O LD

G

H

spikes

CUT full paper pattern on fold; then CUT 2 from spikes felt. (See tracing instructions on page 18.)

CUT 1 from mouth felt.

W E E WO N DE R F U L S

132

WEE WO ND ERF ULS

133