Soft toy doll 'leah Honey'

'Leah Honey' dolly

I have been working on a dolly since before Christmas but its not proved to be easy, we have four rejects in my sewing basket.

 This little one however I'm pleased with and I have named her after my gorgeous eldest Granddaughter 'Leah Hannie', she's a teenager now so she won't want one.

Iv'e tried to keep her a little bit old fashioned I didn't want an adult doll I wanted a sweet dolly like my children had.

The beautiful fabric I purchased from my local craft store  here  in Gisborne NZ, I love the butterfly fabric which has the pink, green and yellow in it which blended with my other choices.

The little face is simple, I did it all by machine because that's my thing but hand sewing would be as good if not better, more precise.

Its the first time Iv'e used felt for features on my toys and it has been a learning curve, please don't do what I did and choose the wrong grade of felt.

Quality wool felt is the only way to go, mine shed fluff on my dollies face, actually on all my fabric.

Look at her cute pantaloons with the little lace trim and the border detail on her skirt, I love details, they build to create a great overall look.

The shoes are so simple just a layer over the foot and the little ankle strap is just ribbon.

I will be publishing this pattern shortly but I like to make at least three so I'm sure its truly tried and tested.

I often use buttons to trace for the perfect round shape for the eyes and cheeks and even plates to get a good shaped face.  If I am sewing the eyes on with my machine I set the needle in the down position so that when you stop the needle is in your work and you can pivot around the shape.

I do one stitch at a time, pivot slightly then one more stitch, leave long threads when you start and finish, pull them to the wrong side of your work and secure with several knots.

The little red one is to be a gift for a special little one, this pattern is now available on my Etsy and Felt shops.