The making of Coree and Bum Bum Pt.2

Welcome back for part 2 of the process! We are now at the stage of wrapping the wire armature with wool. Most doll makers use poly fill for this stage, but I prefer wool. Probably because I also needle felt and I like being able to use some felting during this stage of the process. Also, my hair application technique employs needle felting as well, so it helps to use wool as a stuffing (I wrote a blog about that called Lovely locks - How I do hair). 

    After I’m finished filling out the body, it’s time to sew on the outer layer. This is a relatively new technique for me (you can read more about that in my blog post titled The Crafting of Eli the Wild). 

This stage is challenging because I’m a novice at creating sewing patterns and math is NOT my favorite. Exacting calculations, and such...UGH. Ha ha! But I’m getting better at it! Coree was particularly challenging because I had to consider the wings and create holes for them to fit in. 

Details! I love adding little details like this embroidered texture on the collar. Also, I just generally love embroidery thread! I did a couple embroidery projects on my clothing about 20 years ago and I love using the techniques as embellishments on my dolls. 

Coree is looking pleased, so far.

I use a ladder stitch to sew the arms and legs of the onesie. So it helps to iron in a crease first. By the way, this is the only time I use an iron. 

Next stage, hair! As I mentioned earlier, I use needle felting for applying hair. I use curly sheep locks that have dyed a huge rainbow of colors. I bought the locks for Coree from shespinsknitsweaves on Etsy. 


Oh no! Coree! That’s not the hair style you asked for!! 

Ah, that’s the one. Lookin’ good! Now, time to say hi to some of friends in the garden!

And collect some snacks, of course!

And then Coree literally made a friend! Ha ha! Maybe we’ll convince Coree to show us how this was done in a future blog post... 

I hope you enjoyed this journey! Thank you so much for joining us.