My Felt Doll 12 Easy Patterns for Wonderful Whimsical Dolls Shelly Down

August 09, 2022 Post a Comment

Open Preview

See a Problem?

We'd love your help. Let us know what's wrong with this preview of My Felt Doll by Shelly Down.

Thanks for telling us about the problem.

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Community Reviews

· 97 ratings · 13 reviews

Start your review of My Felt Doll: Easy Sewing Patterns for Wonderfully Whimsical Dolls

Jan 02, 2016 Athena rated it it was amazing

Recommends it for: doll-makers & hand-crafters

Author Shelly Down operates a terrific Etsy store (Gingermelon), featuring charming patterns & kits for handmade felt dolls of many types along with a curated selection of merino & blended felts and notions, all offered at quite reasonable prices. I was very excited to find she'd published a book, and the book does not disappoint.

In My Felt Doll she's created an outstanding reference work that has a place in any doll-crafters library, with contents that appeal to kids and adults alike. The b

In My Felt Doll she's created an outstanding reference work that has a place in any doll-crafters library, with contents that appeal to kids and adults alike. The book contains full-sized patterns for creating:
- basic girl/boy doll (10"/25cm)
- 12 different basic outfits (many, many more easily created by combining separates)
- various accessories (undies, purses, bags, hats, capes, shoes, tie, book, baton/wand)
- 10"/25cm mermaid doll
- properly scaled pet hedgehog and teddy bear
The teddy bear pattern can be easily modified several ways and is the ideal pattern to use as a starter or practice pattern to get one's hand stitching up to snuff, as construction stitches on the doll bodies are visible.

The difference between these dolls and most 'rag dolls' is that these are entirely handcrafted, presenting a bit of a challenge for those of us who've been making mostly machine-sewn dolls. I'm of the generation of women who learnt to sew as a matter of course at a very young age, stabbing myself a Great Many Times with a needle until my mother, grandmothers & various aunts finally gave in to my basic tomboyishness and let me go play outside, with my toy trucks, in the dirt. It's great fun to be back at hand sewing all this time later, NOT stabbing myself, and creating toys our latest generation of kids truly enjoy!

The outstanding illustrations, along with well-written descriptions and instruction, make creating these dolls an easily understood endeavor, even the tricky bits, and I'd especially recommend this book to beginners.

Down offers the best illustrated description of attaching doll hair I've ever found - this pays the price of admission almost by itself. She goes into detail on the whole Doll Hair issue (yes, it's "A Thing") providing color photos of each material used, name brands, and the contents of each. I also enjoy her modern approach to dolls, many of which have a few strands of interesting hair - pink and purple and blue - mixed in with a natural color. There is one kinky-haired doll (in this case a redhead); I appreciated Down's including this as it illustrates how to tackle this frequently challenging aspect of doll-making.

The book is organized around 12 basic doll/clothing combinations with each doll (of different skin/hair tones) fully illustrated, from photos of the basic materials up through photos of the each finished basic project. There is also a well-written section describing all the embroidery stitches suggested in the book, and various tips on doll-making liberally sprinkled throughout the book.

This is one of the top 5 home-crafting books I've ever read - if you're planning on doing any doll-making and enjoy making things completely by hand, this book definitely has a place on your shelves.

...more

I wish it had a few more "daily" type clothing patterns so I could make custom dolls of people I know. But I can modify the ones it does have easily enough. I think... we'll see when I actually get around to doing it! I wish it had a few more "daily" type clothing patterns so I could make custom dolls of people I know. But I can modify the ones it does have easily enough. I think... we'll see when I actually get around to doing it! ...more

Jul 28, 2020 Pinar rated it it was amazing

Kitap ve içindeki modeller süper ötesi şirin. Detaylı fotoğraflı anlatım ve kalıplar verilmiş. Henüz yapmadım, kütüphaneden incelemek için almıştım, ama sanırım bir tane kütüphaneme alacağım.

Jun 24, 2020 Mckinley rated it really liked it

Nice with patterns and variations, suggestions on how to make your own.
Maybe someday I'll get around to making dolls.

See The Doll Book by Estelle Ansley Worrell

Nice with patterns and variations, suggestions on how to make your own.
Maybe someday I'll get around to making dolls.

See The Doll Book by Estelle Ansley Worrell

...more

Great little book

Great little book. Very good layout of instructions Can't wait to try my hand at making these and more cute little dolls.

Great little book

Great little book. Very good layout of instructions Can't wait to try my hand at making these and more cute little dolls.

...more

Beautifully done

Clear instructions and lots of accessories, lots of variety... will have to look and see if author has a boy one, if not and they read this please consider making one!

Mar 05, 2016 Kristen rated it really liked it

Unique size and super easy patterns with detailing that makes the dolls and clothing look extra lovely and special. Need to have some basics of embroidery down. It would help if the author did more explaining about working with stuffing and how to stuff---I think lots of beginners will pick up the book but she doesn't go into any detail about this. If I had not been stuffing dolls and other creatures for 3 + years I would have been frustrated. Having everything in felt is a terrific idea. No sea Unique size and super easy patterns with detailing that makes the dolls and clothing look extra lovely and special. Need to have some basics of embroidery down. It would help if the author did more explaining about working with stuffing and how to stuff---I think lots of beginners will pick up the book but she doesn't go into any detail about this. If I had not been stuffing dolls and other creatures for 3 + years I would have been frustrated. Having everything in felt is a terrific idea. No seams or fraying. ...more

This book had me both squealing in delight over the patterns, and wanting to sew them. It would seem to that you could easily customize things to make one doll, then a variety of the outfits and accessories included. An excellent resource to either feed or begin a crafting obsession.

Jun 06, 2016 June Jacobs rated it it was amazing

Beautiful projects with great accessories and details. Excellent photography, instructions, and diagrams. I especially enjoyed the mermaid dolls, the woodland maiden doll, and the traveling girl doll.

Highly recommended!