Dot, the creator of the Dotee Dolls, has apparently made her blog invitation only. So, unless you are invited, you won’t be able to access her page from my links. I don’t really know what is going on because I haven’t been invited. But if you know, would you leave a comment or email me?
As far as I know, everything is okay with her. It could be that she had too many visitors a day and it slowed the site down, or something like that. Still, since she is part of our lives in an interesting way, it would be nice to know that she is okay and doing well.
I would upload a pretty picture for you, but I have a new computer and no pretty pictures relating to Dot to share with you. So, ta ta for now!
This is one I sent out a while ago. She is made from a shirt sleeve and some ric-rac. I stuffed her with a grocery sack instead of polyfil. Her hair is made out of embroidery floss.
Well, I got this pretty purple dotee doll in the mail on Monday from a lovely swapper named SunnyBlueSkies. It brightened my day! I was just on my way out the door to choir practice, so I tucked her in my shirt pocket and brought her along for the adventure. We are learning Faure’s Requium. The soprano on one side and the alto on the other thought she was just perfect!
Would you believe this is only the second dotee doll this Swap-Bot friend has made?!? Incredible!I just love the details on this dotee–from the flowers in her hair to the transparent flower on the tip of her tail. And that tiny pocket is so cute with its two little roses. The hair is nice and soft. The polka dots are perfectly big and round. The beads look to be hand selected. I am so “stealing” some of these ideas to incorporate into my next dotees.
Speaking of my next dotees…I have these projects in the works: Dotee dolls for Beginners REDUX, Dotee dolls from the same cloth, and the 12 months of Dotees. I will let you see some work as I get closer to a final project.
Well, a big thank you goes out to SunnyBlueSkies for making my latest dotee doll. I really appreciate it. I love this doll named April!
I’m so proud of my new doll pattern. I just had to share. I can’t wait for this pattern to turn into 12 dotee dolls for the Months of the Year Dotee Doll Swap on Swap-Bot.
If you want to use this pattern yourself, just ask! I’ll probably say yes!
You can download the picture and use it as a pattern to make a doll. You might note that dotee dolls don’t really have seperate heads and you don’t really need a pattern. Look at the flikr page for more ideas. Or watch the dotee doll video on my blog.
Tonight I worked on my local dotee doll for a swap-bot swap. I made it out of Pendleton wool. We have a Pendleton Woolen Mills factory here, and it is pretty famous for it’s wool blankets. The company also makes wool clothing and coats. The town I live in is where Pendleton Woolen Mills started–although they now have factories and stores in other places.
This doll provided some new oppertunities to learn. I tried to make the face more realistic than some of the other dolls I’ve made. I used a picture online to inspire the shape of the face and eyebrows. The woolen material was especially thick. The pattern was different on each side, like some thick wool blankets. So it took some effort to birth the doll (in other words, to turn it inside) out after stitching. Finally, I sat there looking at the doll before I added embellishments. My dress-like free-style shape was looking more and more like a Christmas stocking. I decided to embellish it with a “tail” I pre-made last night, and some copper wire I had shaped to use as a hanger. It still needed something more, though, so I added some local Pendleton charms of a cowgirl, and American Indian, and a cow.
I’m satisfied with the doll, but it’s not a happy doll. It’s not smiling. Maybe that’s because Pendleton still doesn’t feel like home to me. I still feel like an outsider after living and working here for a year and a half. Don’t get me wrong, I’m pretty involved in the community. I just don’t feel like a local. Well, that’s all for now folks. Let ‘Er Buck!
Black and white polka dotted dottee with red accents
I couldn’t help it. I used a scrap from the lady bug doll and make a little dotee doll. It’s like a baby. If you want to adopt it, you can join this group: http://flickr.com/groups/620400@N25/pool/
I used a cotton scrap, some polyester batting, embroidery floss, and beads. Oh, and that is another sculpty molded face. I used a red ink pen and water to give it a pink wash. Then I super-glued it in place.
I was talking to a lady on Swap-Bot named Ladybug. We decided to do a private swap where we would send Dotee Dolls to each other. Since I’ve been on a big Dotee Doll kick lately, I thought it would be fun to make another one—just for her.
Well, when I was in Washington buy some fabric for my brother’s Wisteria Wedding Quilt, I “spotted” this ladybug fabric. I knew I had to grab a few inches for my doll.
Here is the Dotee doll. She was about 3” long without the tail and yarn loop for hanging. The face is one I got from Cindy (http://cindyiscrafty.wordpress.com/). At first I tried to sew it on, but it cracked where I stuck my needle through it. So I used Krazy glue instead. I added some hair to cover up her skull fracture.
Do you like her? I think Ladybug will. The doll she sent me is so special! It has music notes, a quilt, and a little reader. Since I am a quilting, singing, teacher it is perfect for me! Thanks Ladybug!
I’ve noticed that more and more people are wanting to learn how to make dotee dolls. Dotee dolls are not my original creation. But, I did want to show how to make them. So, I created my first DIY video. I posted it on You Tube, and I am posting it here for you to watch for yourself.
The dotee dolls I make are smaller than most. Most Dotee dolls are 3-7 inches before adding the tail or loop for hanging. Mine are more like 2-3 inches long. But you could easily adapt my ideas to larger dolls. I hope this video is helpful to you!
This doll is one I made as part of a Swap-Bot forum crafty tag pay it back game. As soon as Artistic convos me her address, it will be in the mail to her.
I posted this doll earlier on flickr and it was missing something. I couldn’t tell what. But it was hair! Once I added her braid and some beads to her tail, so was perfect. I think I will call her Wendy.
Once I get good at these, I am thinking about selling them on my Etsy page. I’m just not sure how Dot would feel about that.
And here is number four. I really enjoyed making this girl. I saved a little time by gluing her face instead of stiching it. And I drew on it with a super fine sharpie marker.
I then spent more time on her hair, the decorative stitching, and the tail. I think she is super cute!
This doll is going in the mail tomorrow for Robin T. I hope she likes it!
