The Santa Chronicles: Part Four

A quick note: I just noticed that in the previous Santa Chronicles posts, I said I decided to finish both of my Santas—the little one from a kit, and the head I sculpted in 1999--in 2010. That was a typo. I really just did the work on both Santas in 2011 and finished the large one on January 4, 2012!

Now Santa needs legs and boots! As indicated in an earlier post, I had removed the legs from the muslin doll skin and set them aside. After stuffing the foot and leg with polyfil, the next step was to create a pattern for his boots. First, I traced around the foot on paper, then added generous seam allowances all around and made the boot fairly tall so there would be plenty of room to adjust the fit and the final length later.




I used the rough pattern to cut two boot pieces from scrap fabric, then pin-fit the boot around the foot.After pin fitting, I drew stitching lines along the pins, removed the pins and then machine-basted the pieces together.

Then I tried the boot on the foot (inside out) to check and adjust the fit. When I was happy with the results, I trimmed the seam allowances to an even 1/4" all around and took the trial boot apart to use as my pattern.

I cut the boot pieces from the same soft black knit I used for the mittens. After stitching the seams and clipping the curve in the front of each boot for easier turning and smooth shaping, the boots were ready to turn right side out, but not yet ready to slip on Santa's feet.

The stuffed foot actually has a flat bottom, making it three-dimensional, but my boot was only 2-dimensional, requiring a firm shape inside the boot so the bottom of the boot would be firm and flat on the bottom. Using the bottom shape of the stuffed foot as a guide, I cut boot inserts from scrap mat board in my craft supply stash, shaping them like the bottom of the foot. These were tucked into the boots before putting the boots on the legs. The shaping took a bit of experimentation—I cut the pieces oversize and then trimmed as needed after trying them on the feet. It helped that the boot fabric was knit, making it easier to shape the boot to the insert too. This idea worked like a charm to create a smooth, flat-bottomed, more realistic-looking boot and foot.

Then for a touch of realism, I cut soles from scrap leather in my stash and glued one to the bottom of each booth with the tacky glue.

At this point, I decided how tall I wanted the boots, and cut off the excess boot and muslin leg as I had decided to make the upper portion of the leg/pant section the way it was constructed for Nicholas Little—with fabric and just a bit of stuffing. See how well the boots stand all by themselves?

In order to attach the boots to the upper legs, I had to create a "knob." This was accomplished by hand basting 1/2" below the cut edge of each boot and drawing up the gathers. After securing with stitches, I was ready for the pants/legs.

Because the legs would be soft, with a minimum of stuffing, I needed a soft fabric. Out came the box of flannel scraps. The black-and-red lumberjack check called to me. To make the legs, I cut a rectangle of a length that would finish off to the desired length of the leg and the desired fullness--just a visual guess. I included 1/4"-wide seam allowances all around the rectangle. I sewed each rectangle into a long tube, pressed the seam open, and then hand-basted around one end, 1/4" from the raw edge so I could draw up the gathers around the "boot knob" with right sides together, and sew it in place. I was careful to position the seam in the leg at the back of the boot.

Next came the addition of the white fake fur. I made "tubes" of the fur, turned them right side out and stitched them to the boots along both edges. A handful of polyfil was placed inside each leg for a little added dimension.
 
Finally, I placed the upper raw edges of each leg together with the seam in the center back and hand-basted through both layers so I could gather the legs before attaching them to the seam allowance along the front of Santa's body. I pinned them in place, adjusting the gathers as desired, and then stitched them in place. Isn't he just the cutest little guy? I think I'm falling in love!

Now Santa just needs his hat and jacket—and a bag of toys.

To be continued….

The Santa Chronicles: Part Three

Whew! Santa has a mustache, eyebrows, and a body with arms attached. His mittens are done, so what's next?

While I continued to ponder how he would be attached to a base, I decided to attempt wig making, using the curly mohair I had used for eyebrows and mustache. But, I didn't know where to start so I looked online for some basic directions—and then modified them as I went along. First, I watched a video tutorial online at http://www.dollmakersdream.com/Doll-wig-video-tutorial.html. It was quite good. This site has lots of free tutorials on dollmaking. Another site with excellent wig making visuals is http://www.fantasydollsbyd.com/New_page_72.htm. I didn't find this until after I made my wig, but the directions are quite similar to those I found first. In a nutshell, this is what I did:

1. Covered the head with plastic wrap and secured with a rubber band under Santa's chin.

2. Wrapped the head with a lightweight mesh-like fabric and secured it with a rubber band.

3. Drew the desired hairline on the fabric.

4. Coated the fabric with Tacky white fabric glue, using a small sponge paintbrush and allowed it to dry thoroughly overnight. The results feel a little rubbery and have a slightly opaque white appearance.

5. Peeled the wig away and checked to make sure it was totally dry. It was and felt a bit "rubbery." (If still damp, allow to dry thoroughly.)

6. Trimmed away the excess glue-coated fabric along the drawn hairline and then replaced the wig cap on Santa's head, over the plastic wrap. Since it didn't fit snugly, I pinned in a couple of "darts," then removed the cap and stitched them on the sewing machine before replacing it

7. Beginning in the back at the lower edge of the cap, I added small clumps of mohair and glued them in place with the tacky glue. I continued adding clumps in rows around the head from the center back to the sides. The top and front of the wig were tricky—I had to play with the positioning and the info on the video tutorial was particularly helpful. You just have to play with the clump positioning until you get it right. Allow to dry thoroutly and the wig is done! All in all, I was really pleased with the results. The first photo is shot from the inside of the finished wig, the second is a closeup of the interior, and the third is the finished wig from the right side.

For step 7, I actually grasped small clumps of mohair, which had been shorn from the goat, looked for the cut end and fluffed the strands a bit from the cut end down. Then I grouped several small clumps together and stitched them together just below the cut ends, backstitching twice (see the photo). Then I glued the stitched end to the wig cap, beginning at the back and working to the sides, following the hairline.

Next, for the beard. I couldn't find any online help, but having made a beard for the small Santa discussed in Part One, I improvised. I simply cut a piece of the same fabric I used for the wig cap, shaping it to fit under Santa's mouth over his chin and then up to the bottom of his ears. (You may need to shape it with a dart so it will fit smoothly, as I did.) It wasn't very wide—maybe an inch at most, but there was room for attaching 2 or 3 rows of mohair clumps. I was able to position and stitch the clumps in place since the fabric wasn't covered with glue like the wig cap was. I started with clumps at the lower edge of the fabric shape. For the uppermost row, I allowed about 1/2" of the mohair to extend above the edge, then flipped it to the back and glued the ends in place.

Here's Santa with his finished wig—but it's not yet attached. I waited to attach both the wig and the beard until the clothes were made and attached. Otherwise, it would have been in the way of my work!

And here's a close-up so you can see his eyelashes. 

To be continued!

The Santa Chronicles: Part Two

Unfortunately when I started the design and assembly of my very own Santa with his sculpted clay head (see Part One), I didn't think to take a "Before" photo as well as many of the process steps that I now wish I had. Midway through Santa's design and assembly, I decided I should blog about Santa, if for no other reason than to document the process--in case I might want to do it again.
Therefore, what you see here is a photo of the Santa head/breastplate unit after painting his face and adding his eyebrows and mustache (which I didn't do until the body was attached; see below).


I do have a shot of the back of the head, where I wrote my name and date in the clay before the sculpted clay head went into the oven to cure.




The next step was figuring out how to make a body of the right proportions. Using the standard of 8 head lengths, my finished Santa would be 36" tall. (My Santa head measured about 4-1/2" from top of head to bottom of chin.) But, when I did a "mock-up" of that height with his head, it seemed too tall for the proportions of the finished head. And I wanted a shorter Santa anyway.

Not long after returning from Montana, I had purchased three muslin "doll skins" for 32" dolls. I found those in one of my two tubs of Santa "accoutrement's," along with a set of sturdy cardboard tubes designed as leg inserts for the skins so the finished doll would stand. I started with one of the doll skins, and cut off most of the muslin head, leaving a few inches so I could use that to glue the muslin body to the interior of the neck/breastplate portion of the Santa head.

How to adhere the heavy clay head and support the body which would be filled with polyfil fiber was the next challenge. Since I had already decided my Santa would sit rather than stand, I commandeered one of the cardboard tubes and reshaped one end so it would fit snugly inside the breastplate cavity. My husband got out the Gorilla Glue for the task of attaching the tube. I put glue into the cavity, then snugged the tube inside and set Santa on his head to dry, propped in a wastebasket. The tube was too long, but I left it that way, to be shortened later. While the glue dried, I tackled the design of the body using the muslin skin.

First I removed the muslin legs and set them aside. They were too long so I knew I would need to cut them down and attach them later. Then I reshaped the muslin skin front and back, giving the front a bit of a belly. ( I used a Santa Elf pattern by Nancy Brenan Daniels as a guide for the tummy and back reshaping.) I also shortened the body a bit after comparing it to head and body proportions of other Santas in my collection, leaving an extra 1/2" allowance at the lower edge for the finishing seam around the bottom of the body, which would sit on a small platform.

Once the tube was dry and secure, I tucked the muslin body with the doll-head section that I had left attached inside the breastplate (but no glue yet). With the head in my lap, I stuffed the muslin body, keeping the tube as centered as possible, but not obsessing about that. I also temporarily stuffed the upper portion of each arm (not shown though in the photo). Once I was happy with the body shape and firmness, I slipped it down the tube, swabbed glue inside the breastplate and smoothed the muslin into the glue, making sure the shoulders of the arms would come up to the edge of the breastplate.  Drying time again! Patience was a virtue with this project but it gave me time to think about the next steps and experiment with ideas. I was determined to use what I had in my stash of fabrics and findings rather than buy anything and I succeeded--for the most part. This project truly was an exercise in problem solving and stash searching! I found things I forgot I had!

Throughout the project, I used Aleene's Fast Grab Tacky Glue. It was the perfect adhesive.

Next, I re-stuffed the arms after checking the proportion of the arms to the body. They seemed to be the right length so I stuffed the hands and arms completely, only to discover they stuck out from the body—far too rigid. To fix that problem, I removed stuffing so that the hand was nicely filled but not too firm. I left only a little stuffing in the wrist area so they would bend a bit. I also stuffed the upper arm and stitched through the muslin to create a bend at the elbow so I could bend the arms into a more natural position. After stuffing the section from elbow to wrist, I whipstitched the arm opening closed. Note: The hands of the muslin doll skin had stitching for the fingers--I took it all out before stuffing the hands as the fingers wouldn't show inside Santa's mittenss--and they were very difficult to stuff!

To glue the upper section of the arms in place, I put more glue inside the shoulder area of the breastplate, pushed the stuffed section into the glue and "tied" the unstuffed arms on top of Santa's head. I sure wish I had a photo of that! Again, Santa went into the wastebasket, upside down, to dry.

To make Santa's mittens, I traced around the stuffed hand to make a pattern, then cut four pieces from a fuzzy black knit. I basted two together to check the fit, refined it as needed and then stitched permanently  the pair before tucking Santa's hands inside. To secure the gloves, I stitched them to the arms through the wrist area.
At this point, I couldn't wait to add Santa's eyebrows, mustache, and eyelashes. I purchased a set of fake eyelashes and cut them down before applying them. Getting them in place without getting glue everywhere was a real trick! The eyebrows and the mustache are tufts of curly mohair that I glued in place. I had purchased several packages of this for future Santa-making projects from Kris Crawford at Fireside Basics Doll Hair Co., 7847 Double Tree Lane, Missoula, MT 59804; 406-549-9665. Our class visited her and shopped for supplies one afternoon during our time at the workshop with Judith. I was happy to find the mohair in my "Santa" supply box, since I had forgotten all about it! At this point, I also cut off the excess tube using an X-acto Knife.

To be continued....

The Santa Chronicles: Part One

I love Christmas! Anyone who knows me well, knows that! If you visit my house during the holidays, you'll see a collection of Santas on the mantle, another in the kitchen window, more in the bookcases—and certainly on the Christmas trees. They are everywhere. Every year I waited anxiously for the Better Homes and Gardens Santa magazine and was sad when they discontinued it. One of the artists whose work was featured was Judith Klawitter, then of Missoula, MT, now residing in Idaho. I loved the realism of her sculpted heads and the clothing and accessories she made.

In 1998, when I returned to Portland, OR, after an 8-month sojourn in Williamstown, MA, recovering from major back surgery, I found an ad in the magazine for workshops with Judith. On a whim, I put myself on the waiting list and then secured a spot in the very next workshop. Off I flew to Missoula in January 1999 to take a 6-day class with 9 other students, all Santa lovers like me.

Under Judith's direction, we each sculpted a Santa head in clay, complete with sparkling glass eyes. Working in clay was a struggle for me—a foreign substance to this accomplished seamstress, but I muddled my way through with Judith's guidance and returned home with a completed head—about 5" tall.

Most of the time during the week was spent with the clay, but Judith shared lots of resources and bare bones instructions for completing the body and clothes too. She also took us shopping on the last day to her favorite spots for picking up old toys, fabric, etc., to complete our Santas.

 My intention was to finish my Santa as soon as got home, but I was intimidated by the concept of creating his body. Ultimately, I tucked my Santa head away in box and until mid December 2010, that's where he was rolling around! He's always been on my mind, but finishing him just seemed too daunting.

As I was searching through my Christmas closet, where I stash gifts that I pick up during the year, I came across a kit and paints for making a small Santa designed by Julia Rueger. This Santa, named Nicholas Little by the designer, had been in his box ever since 2003. I purchased the supplies at Quilt Market in Houston, Texas that year. Of course, I also spied the box with my Santa head. "MMM, maybe if I start small, I'll get one of these done in 2010," I thought to myself. And I did! The paint kit for the resin head, boot, and gloves included good directions. I was happy with my first attempt at painting on such a small face, so I was encouraged, especially since there was plenty of paint for my larger Santa head.

I finished my small Santa, following the hand-written directions that came with the pieces and was so pleased with the results. Here's a photo of my finished Nicholas Little.

If you like him and want to make one yourself, you can order a kit and paints and other supplies from http://www.katzdollhouse.com/

To be continued!

It's About Time!

I can't believe it's over a year since I last wrote a post. No excuses other than busy with life. Since March, I've been working exclusively on my pattern line. Since I learned to design in Electric Quilt 7, I've been playing a lot with quilt designs and have developed a few new patterns. The very latest one is 'Tis the Season...A Holiday Wall Hanging. I've done it in my favorite colors--pink and green--but think it would be wonderful in a two-color theme, too, such as shades of blue and silver.. Or for a more modern twist, try teal and coral! It's quick to make because it's all done with fusible applique. I stitched around each applique after fusing using the blanket stitch on my wonderful Bernina artista 730. I've loved using it for quiltmaking this year, but embroidery is fun, too, and it does a superb job at that!

Since I last posted, I added a shopping cart to my website (www.joyofsewing.com) so you can purchase my patterns with ease. I've updated all of my older patterns and added new ones. You'll find patterns for tote bags, quilts, and placemats. Many of them are no longer available at quilt shops but they're really wonderful (at least I think so). And almost all of them are available as PDF downloads so you don't pay shipping and you can have your copy in a matter of minutes. Technology sure makes life easier! I hope you'll visit the website and go to my online store for a look at the twenty patterns that are available there!
More to come!

Quilts for Han Thomas and Hunter

My latest quilt project turned into two baby quilts, almost overnight. With the birth of my grand nephew, Han Thomas in Beijing, China, just before Christmas came the desire to make a special quilt to honor his dual heritage. And, we soon discovered another baby--grandson Hunter--would be born in May of this year. He made his debut last night at a whopping 9 pounds 11 ounces. I can't wait to see the little (big) guy! But I digress.

The inspiration for Han's quilt came from a sweet little doll quilt I bought years ago in an antique shop. The block is a simple one--somewhere I think I saw it named as Mr. Lincoln's Platform--but I'm not completely sure that it's accurate. Need to check it out.

It's really easy to make lots of these blocks in any size--just cut and piece two light or white strips to opposite sides of a colored strip and then crosscut into blocks. I used 2"-wide strips for my block and cut them from fat quarters of blue prints that I had in my stash. After stitching the 3 strips together with 1/4" seams. I cut the strip units into 5" squares that finish to 4 1/2" in the quilt.

I chose blue prints for the quilts--blue for boys, after all. For Han's quilt, I wanted to honor his bicultural heritage. His mom, Cindy, is Chinese and his dad, my nephew Tom, met her when he moved to China to teach English to toddlers. So, I used red sashing and to border Han's quilt, I chose a yellow-background juvenile print so that the red, white, and blue of the American flag and the red and yellow of the Chinese quilt would be represented in the finished quilt.

For the backing on Han's quilt, I used a blue-and-white ticking stripe, also from my stash,  and then made a really special label for the back with my favorite baby pictures of Han, plus an American and a Chinese flag. I arranged all of these photos in a Word document on my computer and then printed the page onto a piece of fabric prepared for Inkjet printing. Just follow the package directions to print and set the inks before using the printed fabric in your quilt. You can find lots of inkjet printing supplies at http://store.quilting-warehouse.com/phototransfer-fabric.html

When I finished Han's quilt, I wrapped it inside out with the label showing so that it was the first thing Tom and Cindy would see when they opened the gift. When I machine-quilted the quilt, I stitched in the ditch of all of the seams and did a serpentine stitch in the sashing and borders. Even though I was careful to prepare the quilt for machine quilting, I had a few unwanted "tucks" in the lining. I covered up the worst of them with the large page-size label! Clever me! I didn't take time to "fix" the others. They just weren't that noticeable.

I had good intentions of finishing Han's quilt after Christmas, but with work on our house taking priority, I didn't get back to it until early April. Han's quilt has a hanging sleeve on the back so that it can be used as a wall hanging.

Finishing Han's quilt and sending it off was just the encouragement I needed to make Hunter's quilt so it would be ready to welcome him when he was born. I had many blue-and-white strip units left over from making Han's quilt--more than enough to make an "all-American red-white-and-blue quilt for Hunter. (It was easy to get carried away sewing my blue strips to the white-on-white prints I had in my stash when I started Han's quilt, so most of the work was already done!)

Although the blocks were the same, I used a blue print for the sashing. I varied the border treatment and quilting.

 I made a special label for Hunter's quilt, too, using clipart for the visuals since I couldn't incorporate any photos. I'm pretty pleased with the way it turned out.

Here's a shot of both quilts together. I used the same fabric for the binding on both quilts but I cut it on the bias for Han's quilt and on the straight grain for Hunter's. Hunter's doesn't show well in this shot, but it looks just like the red-white-and-blue inner border that you see in the photo.

I'm happy to report that with the exception of the yellow print on Han's quilt and the backing for Hunter's quilt, I used only fabrics already in my stash!

I hope you're enjoying a sewing project today. If you are looking for other quilt patterns appropriate for a baby, check out my quilt patterns at http://www.shop.joyofsewing.com/  

Keep smiling and sewing!

Barbara

A Dirty Iron—On No!

I love my Velocity Iron with built-in steam generator—but not when the soleplate is gunked up with black residue from fusibles and leaves it behind on my latest project!

Dritz Iron Off Hot Iron Cleaner to the rescue. It's been my #1 favorite notions item for over 30 years—and remains so to this day—that and fusible web.They do go hand in hand--fusible web speeds up my sewing, but it often leaves behind invisible residue that eventually turns black and ends up on my project.

I'm getting ready to pack my bags for Quilt Market in Minneapolis and need to press the hems on a brand new pair of pants. When I opened the drawer where my supply of this fabulous cream should be—alas it wasn't there. Off to the store I went. I couldn't find Iron Off on the notions wall without some help—the packaging has changed since I last stocked up. Now it's in a nice soft plastic tube—easier to use! And, the price has gone up a bit, like everything else. But, no price is too high when there's a brand new pair of white pants waiting for a press!

I use a sponge to apply Iron Off to the soleplate—not too close to any smoke alarm (ask me how I know) and when the gunk is gone, I run the iron over a stack of paper towels and shoot some steam through the vents to make sure there is no residue—before I use the iron on something else. Works like a charm!! Give it a try! I buy several tubes at a time--when there's a good sale on notions or I have a coupon to use.


I'm off to Quilt Market tomorrow. I'll keep you posted on anything exciting that I find as I walk the aisles (my feet hurt already!).
Keep Sewing and Smiling!
Barbara