Well well well – who’d have thought hey?

My First ever Cloth Doll journey  is finished.

Today is the day – today you will finally get to see how Jolie look in all her glory – face, hair and make-up …

Let’s start as we always do!

Lesson 1 – click here

Lesson 2 – click here

Lesson 3 - click here 

Lesson 4 – click here

and as a refresher – this is what Jolie looked like when we left her last week

Now – I don’t think it is a secret to anyone that I left the head for as absolute long as I could.

I was scared!

Faces are scary!

Especially when you haven’t done them before!

Also, I loved Jolie the way she was looking so I was worried I might mess her up entirely.

But when this idea of doing a cloth doll started out I committed to doing a pattern start to finish so there was no way I was going to stop and not do it.

So here we go!

Cut two of the “back head” pieces – one for the front but make sure your pattern is on the fold so that when you cut and then unfold, you will have one big piece for the front of the face.

Stitch where you’re told to do so – make sure to curve the chin so as to make a gentle chin rather than a straight hard chin.

Pin the front and back pieces together –  on the wrong side.

And stitch all the way around

Now … here’s another whoopsie … which I would never have told anyone about if I hadn’t promised to share my entire journey …

Let’s look at this picture again shall we …

See there … on the back head-piece … do you see that fat bold line that says “Slash”?

Well, I just thought “slash” – I kind of didn’t think it mattered … or shall we say “I kind of didn’t think”!

…because I just slashed a line – not in any particular spot – “thinking” that all that it was needed for was to turn the head and stuff the head!

At least I was thinking enough so as not to slash across the stitching (well done me!) but I didn’t follow the pattern!

So I turned the head and I stuffed the head real full – and then there was nowhere to go but start drawing her features!

Tools … and a head full of lines and the beginning of eyes …

See … those lines there on the face them are real smart!

I used that purple pen that I thought was going to erase after a little bit of time. Because that is what Barbara Willis says in her book about that purple pen – it will go away after a bit of time. Well, that is not entirely true as it were. After two days of the lines not disappearing at all I was getting pretty desperately worried that maybe the lines were never going away?

I went back and read on the packet of the pen and it actually said on it that I had to use a bit of water to get rid of the lines. So I did – and I’m very happy to say that the packet was right.

So basically you “grid” the face and then you “just” draw in the eyes, brows, nose and mouth and then give her some colorful make-up!

And do you know what … I did pretty good!

Barbara suggest you do a few faces so you have something to practise on.

Well, I’m pretty darn proud to say I didn’t do more than one face and it is the face that is on my dear doll today!

Check it out!

well after those eyes I got lost in the moment and did the rest of the face without stopping to take more photos as I went along … I am so sorry!

And let’s put it on the doll shall we?

This however, included that I had to hand stitch that “slash” I had made because the “slash” is made as well for turning the head, stuffing the head AND putting the head on the doll itself – so you HAVE to follow the pattern – slash as you’re told and then pop it on the body.

Follow the pattern – follow the pattern – follow the pattern!

Must remember that one!

She does look a bit like she has a tooth abscess there on the right (as you’re looking at her!) … I am not entirely sure why because I did “slash” at the right spot I’m sure second time round – I’m sure I did!

But I fiddled and fiddled and decided in the end that the hair would take care of the abscess-looking face!

And shoot – I totally forgot to take pictures of giving her hair too – I really was too excited and I don’t know how to apologize for this other than to tell you that when you see the next photo maybe you’ll understand why I was so excited and totally in the moment because lookie lookie here – Jolie in all her glory – finished!

I want to tell you that really all that I did with the hair was to glue it on in little strands of yarn – one piece at a time, starting at the bottom working my way to the top – it is easy peasy and fun to do because this bit really really “makes” your doll.

Once the hair was on Jolie I knew …

She is no longer a Jolie …

She is now Clara!

Barbara Willis put a hat on her Jolie – I chose not to put a hat on my Clara!

Basically – Barbara did A LOT more with her doll than I did with mine but I had to stay true to me in the process too. I wanted to be able to keep loving her – stripey tights, funky shoes, simple (-ish) skirt and a full head of red hair.

I love Clara.

- just the way I made her!

I sure hope you enjoyed my journey into the Cloth Doll world.

When I started out doing Clara I had no idea what to expect.

Whether I’d be any good at it, whether I’d cry many tears, huff and puff a maybe groan a little too.

Instead I found that working with the fabric, watching Clara unfold for every little bit I did – legs, fingers, skirt not to forget the shoes and then in the end, the face – I felt enormous joy, happiness, fun, elation and I had quite a few bouts of the giggles and was often seen doing a little bobble-happy-dance on my office chair ball-thingy.

If you have ever wanted to do a doll – all I can say is do it – please please do it.

Because it brings only good feelings!

Enjoy a close up of my Clara

Thank you for coming along – I had fun