Best Friend Country Dolls

Pattern

Materials

For each doll:

- Cotton fabric scraps: appropriate color fleshtone, 10" square; calico print (for dress), 9"x16"; calico print (for apron), 5"x8"; stripe (for legs), 8" square.
- Satin ribbon, 1/8" wide, 7/8 yard.
- Doll hair, style and color of choice.
- Fiberfill stuffing.
- Acrylic paints: black and white.
- Fine-line permanent marking pens: black and red.
- Pink powder blush.

Supplies: Scissors, ruler, toothpick, pencil, glue gun and glue sticks, pinking shears, iron, sewing machine, straight pins, paintbrush.

Instructions

Finished Size: 10" tall
Skill Level: beginner
Time: less than 2 hours

1. Make the body. From fleshtone fabric, cut one 2"x9" piece for arms and one 8" square for body.

   For body, fold 8" square in half. Center body pattern on fabric; pin in place. Trace around pattern onto fabric; remove pattern. Sewing through both layers, sew on pencil line, leaving unstitched at bottom. Trim fabric 1/4" from stitching and bottom edge. Turn body right side out. Stuff firmly; pin bottom opening closed.
   For arms, fold long edges of 2"x9" piece to center; press. Fold in half lengthwise, forming a 1/2" wide strip; press. (Note: Long edges of arms are not sewn together.) For hands, tie an overhand knot at each end of strip. Cut strip into two arms of equal length. With double-folded edges facing forward, sew top of one arm to each side of body where indicated on pattern.
   For legs, cut two 3"x8" pieces from stripe fabric; be sure stripes run crosswise on pieces. Fold and press each leg in the same way as arms. For feet, tie an overhand knot at one end of each leg. With double-folded edges facing center, insert tops of legs, side by side, into bottom of body; pin in place. Stitch bottom body opening closed, catching tops of legs in stitching.

   For face, paint eyes with black; let dry. Draw eyebrows, eyelashes, and smile with black marker. For nose, draw triangle with red marker, or draw a small upside down ôUö with black marker. Using toothpick, make a highlight dot in each eye with white; let dry. Apply blush to cheek areas.

2. Make the clothes. For dress, fold 9"x16" dress fabric in half lengthwise and widthwise, forming a 4-1/2"x8" rectangle. Use dress pattern to cut dress from fabric; be sure to cut neck opening.
   With right sides facing, fold dress in half along shoulders; sew each side/underarm seam in 1/4" seam. Turn dress right side out. Trim bottoms of skirt and sleeves with pinking shears.
   Gather stitch 3/8" from edge of each sleeve. Place dress on doll. Pull up sleeve gathers tightly around each arm above hand; knot and clip thread.
   For apron, use pinking shears to cut one 4"x7" piece from apron fabric. For waist, gather stitch 3/8" from edge along one long side of apron. Pull up gathers to measure 4" across; knot and clip thread. Tack apron to dress front.
   For apron bow, cut one 12" length from ribbon. With bow at front, tie ribbon around waist, covering apron gathers; cut ribbon ends at a slant.
3. Finishing. Follow doll manufacturer's instructions for shaping hair; glue in place on head as desired. For bows, cut two 8" lengths from ribbon. Either tie each length into a small bow and glue into hair, or tie ribbon around hair, shaping hair into pigtails. Cut ribbon ends at a slant.