Because I work primarily in doe suede, I will recommend that fabric here. However, any good knit fabric will work. Some have had good results in stretch cottons and Kona Cottons as well as flannels.
We will begin by giving the tips that will help facilitate the process of sculpting a head. You will find a basic profile pattern included. We will use this for our lessons in sculpting a head. This will be a basic, get the shape of the features, lesson because I am not there to show you how to work the needle and manipulate the cloth. However, it will get you started on your way to great experimentation with making facial expressions.
Here are some key tips.
Always take into consideration how the muscles in the face look.
Always remember that every stitch in fabric has an opposite reaction somewhere else on the fabric, sometimes less is more.
Your thumbs are a great tool to use to design a face before you take the first stitch. Use your thumbs to make indentations in the cloth to give yourself an idea of what you want to do. I call it--and are you ready for this?---My rule of Thumb!
A good stuffing stick is the most important tool next to your needle when making a doll.
Mark the entry and exit points with an air soluble pen when you are beginning. Later on you can depend on your eye.
Always use the center seam line as you measurement guide for features.
Have fun, there are no faces that are not good faces.
The more sculpting lines, the more age, is a general rule that applies to making faces.
Use your paints or other medium to create that expression! Plain and simple basic sculpting is just part of the doll's face, what you do with your brush or pens is the key to expressive doll faces. Look at yourself in the mirror. Smile, frown, yawn, whatever, see how the muscles react and imagine what it will take to translate that into cloth....
This page was last updated on: August 17, 2006
Enlarge or reduce pattern to your liking
Step 1...trace head back and face onto the wrong side of your fabric, with doesuede I use the fuzzy side as the wrong side....
Step 2 do not cut out the pattern, sew directly on the traced line of the face, nose side, and the head back, the side without the dot.
Step 3 carefully cut out the head back and the face
Step 4 turn the head back to the right side and insert the face RST into the head back
Sew around the head back and face stopping at dots.
