The first edition of TG and the Rainbow Warriors had no illustrations. As a self published author my funds didn't stretch that far. This was a great disappointment as I knew most children love to see pictures of their favourite scenes or characters.
Then quite a few years later inspiration hit me - I could make dolls of the characters, take photographs and use them as illustrations.
Why not come on my doll making journey .............
I'd never made a doll before so it was quite a challenge. With the help of a few books I took the first step.
The first character was Granny G-Nome.
She is a Waldorf doll - made from cotton knit fabric
stuffed with sheepskin.
I used the book Making Waldorf Dolls by Maricristin Sealey. Traditionally these dolls have a head but no detail to the face. I wanted Granny to be just like her description in the book so I pinched some ideas from books on fantasy cloth dolls, primarilyMake Cloth Dolls by Terese Cato, Introduction to Making Cloth Dolls by Jan Horrox andCloth Doll Workshop by Elinor Peace Bailey, Patti Medaris Culea and Barbara Willis.
Fast Food Fiend and TG
are also Waldorf dolls.
Candy Floss, the Crystal Lady
and Sky are fantasy dolls.
Having embarked on this daunting task and started my blog I thought it would be fun to show the stages I go through when making them.
The legs, arms and bodies are sewn and stuffed first. Then they have to be put together.
Buttons are used to attach the legs to the body so they have some articulation.
Hand dyed buttons for
Rainbow Warrior legs.
Next episode - See Saffron get herself together!
Comments