I love craft books but I rarely if ever make anything exactly as a tutorial shows. I think that's the case for most everyone, right?
Interestingly I have several sewing books that I rarely use but love skimming through. I finally got from looking to making with the prodding of my little C (she's pretty persistent!). So instead of getting to work on my 3D rosette idea I spent the weekend finishing a doll that I had started months ago.
The idea started with Margot a topsy-turvy doll from the awesome Wee Wonderfuls by Hillary Lang
. We made the opposite end of the doll in the yellow dress that's on the cover. But instead of making her with two heads (at the request of the now owner) I used the bottom part of the body of another doll in the book. Instead of stitching the dress on her she has a removable dress (more sewing gymnastics for me), a shorter skirt and thankfully no collar. As you can see I had no purple thread handy (we used fabric that we had on hand) and C said she didn't care as long as it "looked pretty" and pink thread fit the bill. I got in a little crochet (finally) with the shoes.So now I have a happy camper (who made a new dress today—her first semi-solo sewing project) and no rosette. Totally worth it!
When was the last time that you made anything by following a tutorial word for word? I love seeing how crafters take my ideas and just fly with them by adding their own flavor and edits/changes. That's what creativity is all about. Then again, the flip side is that sometimes following instructions is more relaxing than coming up with new ideas. I lean towards the editing part. How about you?
Your doll is absolutely adorable! I'm terrible with the sewing machine so I generally avoid it, but sometimes I am lured into using it because some project is just too great to avoid!
ReplyDeleteI'm not that fond of my sewing machine either but I make the effort every once in a while! :)
DeleteHey your doll is so cute. I like this doll. I am not comfortable with sewing machine. But i am gonna try this doll. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteLove the doll. The shoes are wonderful! It's great that you had the skills to make your daughter's dreams a reality!
ReplyDeleteI find that when I'm in a hurry, following "the plan" is easy and less stressful. But if I'm crafting as stress relief (say on those times when life just seems to be unendingly challenging) and I'm just crafting for myself, then it's better to have a little help with some kind of template but then adapt it for my own purposes. Then it's "the plan" as a starting point, not a complete solution.
Thanks for sharing!!!