Category Archives: doll & dolls & dollmaking & doll making

A tiny pair of woven pants for Rosie Recycle doll

Yesterday, a lady who had just bought my Rosie Recycle doll book (link)

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asked me a very good question. (I love good questions!) 🙂

She said that she always wears pants to work, and would like to be able to make pants for her Rosie Recycle doll, too, and how could she do that?

Using regular fabric to sew them would be a real pain, so how to do this?

Like I said: Great question!

Here’s one answer: Weave a tiny pair of pants on a 2 inch square loom.

I used a vintage Weave It loom to weave two 2 inch squares with embroidery floss:

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Stitch the 2 squares together for 1 inch to make the first body seam:

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Fold one of the squares over, and stitch the leg seam.

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Fold the other square over and stitch the second leg and the remaining body seam. Weave in the ends.

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Thread a strand of embroidery floss through the waistband, pull up to gather and tie a bow.

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And, there you have it! A pair of pants for Rosie Recycle.

Actually, they are a touch short, so for the next pair, I would either make her legs a little shorter, or crochet cuffs onto the pants.

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Vintage Weave It looms can be hard to come by (they are really pricey on eBay), but luckily, there are loom makers who are building lovely little 2 inch square looms (and other sizes, too). The one in this pic came from Dewberry Ridge looms

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I love it when people ask questions….. 😀   (Well, not ALL questions, but you know what I mean!) 😀

 

 

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Delightful dolls woven with 4 weaving sticks

Stick weaving looms are probably the easiest loom on earth to work with.

They are just little dowels with points on one end and holes in the other.
BUT this does NOT limit the incredible creative possibilities that they have!

See my Stick Weaving page on my website to order this pattern: LINK

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I have designed 13 enchanting little dolls (they are about 5 inches tall) to weave with only 4 of the weaving sticks. They are adorable!
In this PDF pattern, (16 pages), you will also learn how to carve the neatest faces from avocado pits (really!) in a tutorial with step by step photos.
Another step by step photo tutorial shows how to make Cornstarch clay and carve simple but effective faces with it.

Avocado faces end up looking like carved wood, and both they, and the cornstarch clay faces are remarkably sturdy and durable.

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There are also how to photos for faces made in unusual ways: using buttons, paper, wood veneer, found objects, stones and twig slices.

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There are many different methods shown for how to finish the heads, and as always, with Noreen’s patterns, the step by step photos showing exactly how to do each step are comprehensive and clear.

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These little woven dolls are delightful on their own, but are also great to use as embellishments on bags, pillows, throws and wall hangings.
They are a great way to use small amounts of treasured yarn, whether it’s handspun or not.
The pattern shows how to use fabric strips, handspun paper, jute, and even sewing machine thread to weave these dolls.
They are delightful!!!!
This pattern is COMPLETELY DIFFERENT than the dolls woven with the 6 stick technique.

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Wonderful woven dolls with 6 weaving sticks

I have fallen in love with weaving sticks (aka stick weaving looms), and am just releasing two new patterns for wonderful woven dolls that are made with weaving sticks. You can order them from my website: LINK

There are 2 NEW  patterns. They are each quite different from each other.

The pattern that I am featuring in this post  is for weaving dolls with 6 weaving sticks.

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I have designed 7 marvelous dolls to weave with all 6 of the weaving sticks.

They are about 8 or 9 inches tall.

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In this PDF pattern, (16 pages), you will also learn how to weave the circular skirts worn by some of the dolls in a tutorial with step by step photos.
Another step by step photo tutorial shows how to use the weaving sticks as a flower loom!

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And there are photo instructions on how to make wire glasses.
There are also how to photos for faces that are woven and for dolls that have faces made from other things: paper, wood, walnut shells and twig slices.
There are many different methods shown for how to finish the heads, and  the step by step photos showing exactly how to do each step are comprehensive and clear.

copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay

These little woven dolls are delightful on their own, but are also great to use as embellishments on bags, pillows, throws and wall hangings.
They are a great way to use small amounts of treasured yarn, whether it’s handspun or not.
The pattern shows how to weave with yarn, fabric strips and roving to weave these dolls, and how to make each doll unique with nifty hair style techniques.

In January, I released my first pattern in my new series of weaving stick patterns, the Mermaid: Link

It’s a treat to finally have finished these new patterns- Happy Weaving! 😀

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Minoan Goddess of the Bees Knitted pattern is now a pdf

Poor little Minoan Goddess of the Bees!  She wasn’t being at all well served!

This morning, I received an email, and a pm, from someone who was right ticked off with a terrible photo that was up on my website.

It was a tiny photo of my knitted Minoan Goddess of the Bees.

OOPS!

So, I spent the day, not only re-doing the photo, but building a beautiful new pdf of the knitting pattern for the Minoan Goddess of the Bees.

She looks lovely now!

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Many years ago, I was reading a book about ancient Greece.

There were a couple of tiny drawings of little figures that were engraved on pottery and furniture from Crete about 1700 BCE.

I fell in love with the tiny images and have been working with them ever since.

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They were called, ‘Minoan Dewdrop or Bee Goddesses’ sacred to the goddess, Persephone.

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They are known as ‘Melisae’.

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The pattern for the knitted Minoan Goddess of the Bees is available at: http://www.crone-findlay.com/knitteddollpatterns.html

 

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Woven Whimsical Cats

One of the joys of self publishing patterns is that I get to talk about them as soon as I finish them. (Not allowed to do that with commissioned projects! It’s up to the editors to decide when the word goes out on those).

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My most recent self published pattern is for the Woven Whimsical Cats.

You can order the pdf pattern from my website:  Link

They have been so much fun to design.

I started the designing process for them last February.

I went through several variations of them  before I settled on the two versions that are in the pattern.

There’s the sitting Whimsical Cats, who are infinitely poseable (and can be convinced to wear shoes and play musical instruments, too!)

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They have distinctly, ‘Who me?!’ expressions of feline innocence, which probably means that they are up to all manner of mischief!

Their ‘Laying Down’ cousins:

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are lovely to rest your wrist on when playing with the computer mouse.

Of course, they might take a swipe at the mouse, but that’s to be expected, isn’t it?

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Whimsical-woven-cats-by-Noreen-Crone-Findlay-(c)

The yarn is art yarn, handspun by the delightful Nancy Nagle of Nangellini: www.nangellini.com

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When I was designing and weaving the Whimsical Woven cats, I was remembering all the wonderful cats who have graced my life with their marvelous ways.

So, here’s to our Feline Friends! with love and thanks for all the blessings! 😀

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One of a kind woven art doll-Green Empress and a mini studio tour

Over the last couple of years, I have been weaving a series of tapestries and one of a kind art dolls.

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I am calling this series, ‘Woven Women’. I made a little video mini tour of one corner of my studio, showing ‘The Green Empress’.

The Green Empress brings together many of my favorite fiber techniques: Tapestry weaving, inkle weaving, small loom weaving, crochet, wire work, tatting and punch needle embroidery.

My plan is to eventually have enough ‘Woven Women’ for a one woman show. I don’t have enough of them finished yet, but I am working on it!

Here are some more photos and the video tour that shows The Green Empress:

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Her face is punch needle embroidery and her crown is tapestry weave.

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Her hands are heavy gauge wire, wrapped with cotton thread. They are cupped so they can hold small objects.

Her arms are inkle bands and 2 inch Weave it Squares, stitched and shaped and layered.

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Her feet are a combination of 2 inch squares that I wove on my vintage Weave it loom, with Inkle weaving.

I just kept stitching and shaping until I was happy with her feet.

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I crocheted wire in an open work mesh to shape her body and skirt.

They, I wove miles of inkle bands (woven on my Schacht inkle loom) through them.

I also wove in tatted lace, too. The skirt is about 24 inches wide, but is folded and stitched.

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This closeup shows a small panel of punch needle embroidery , tatting, inkle weaving and the copper wire armature.

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Close up of one eye and part of the crown.  You can see that I love Byzantine art, as there is a definite influence here.

And, here is the link to a mini studio tour, with my wonderful husband playing one of his compositions (with our small dog in his lap, as small dog insists on sitting in Jim’s lap when he plays and practices!)

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Monster dear and snuggly bunny on the Lily Speed-O-Weave loom

I am a dyed in the wool doll maker. No matter what loom or fiber arts tool I am working with, it doesn’t take long for me to wonder how I could use it to make a doll.

So, it’s no surprise, that as I was designing projects for my new book on the vintage Lily Speed-O-Weave loom, (that’s a link to my website to see more) I had to come up with some fun dolls and stuffies.

Lily-Speed-O-Weave-monster-designed by Noreen Crone-Findlay (coppyright)

Monster Dear was inspired by a book that my daughter loved when she was a very little girl.

It was about a monster who was afraid of the dark. She loved him, so of course, I had to make her one.

This is a new version of ‘Monster Dear’.  I think he’ll chase away bad dreams!

And, a ball of squishy soft yarn inspired me to make the snuggly Bunny dolly:

Lily-Speed-O-Weave-Snuggle-Bunny-designed by Noreen Crone-Findlay (coppyright)

I’ve always loved rabbits and bunnies, so I’ve designed and made countless versions of them over the years.

These two fuzzy friends delight me.  Ah, the joys of yarn- it’s endless!!!!

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Knitted Matroushka Doll Backpack, bag and keychain pattern

The Knitting Today magazine blog has just posted my pattern for darling Matroushka Doll bags for you to knit up for yourself or someone you love.

Knitting Today Matroushka Backpack designed by Noreen Crone-Findlay

Knitting Today Matroushka Small Bag designed by Noreen Crone-Findlay

Knitting Today Matroushka Keychain designed by Noreen Crone-Findlay

Matroushka bags designed by Noreen Crone-Findlay

 

Here’s the link to the pattern: Matroushkas

Happy knitting!

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My mother’s pincushion

My mother has unwillingly had to let go of her lifelong passion for needlework.

Because of health challenges, she is not able to handle independent living anymore. Reluctantly, she has moved out of her condo and into a different living situation where she gets the support and assistance that she now needs.

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Most of her possessions are now being lovingly shared out among her kids and grandkids and nieces and other kith and kin.

There were a couple of things that I really really wanted to have…..

She was a spectacularly gifted embroiderer, and so I really wanted to have some of her threads.

The other thing that I reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeelly wanted was a pincushion doll that I had given her when I was a child.

When I was a little girl, I saw the most beautiful thing I could have ever imagined…. it was a pincushion of an Elizabethan Lady….

I would go into the shop, and visit the Lady, and stroke the velvet skirt, and be filled with longing.

I decided that I HAD to buy it for my mother to show her how much I loved her.

So, I asked the lady in the store if I could pay for the Lady in stages, and she agreed to that. I don’t know if she had ever had a child make such a request, but she was so kind about it!

Every week, for weeks, and weeks, I would take my allowance in, and give it to the shopkeeper. She would then bring ‘The Lady’ out, and I would cradle her in my hands… and then sigh, and hand her back….

Eventually… the little bits of allowance added up and up, and – ‘The Lady’ was mine!!!

She was swathed in tissue, and placed carefully in a box, and I secreted her away until Mother’s Day.

I don’t know if my mother knew how much effort went into buying her ‘The Lady’, but I think she felt the love and excitement that I had in presenting her with my treasure.

And now, ‘The Lady’ has come home to me…. and some day, she will be gifted to my daughter…. with love…. always with love….

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Menopause Fairy and 5 peg spool knitting on 4 pegs

Recently, I noticed that -horror of horrors! – that there was a link to a dead file in my pdf pattern for the Spool knitted Menopause Fairy.  Here’s the link to the pattern in my etsy shop: LINK

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So, I completely re-built the pattern, and added all the information that was missing, and made it all ‘oh so pretty’.

😀

And, one of the things that I needed to do to make the Spool knitted Menopause Fairy do-able is to make a video on how to turn a 4 peg spool knitter into a 5 peg spool knitter.

So, I shot the video and here it is…. I love doing the impossible, don’t you?  LOL  😀

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