When people ask me how long it’s taken me to make something, I usually reply in decades. That’s because my Mum taught me to sew when I was 7. It was an attempt to keep me occupied, out of trouble and out of her hair. Didn’t work, didn’t work and didn’t work but that’s Mums for you – ever optimistic. If you were following last week’s blog about making an Art Doll, you’re probably wondering where the next bit is. You’ve got as far as making your little being, she’s stuffed and has got a face (perhaps) and now you’re thinking, what happens next? The answer is you do whatever you want to finish her. Let me show you what I mean. This week I’ve been making the Coblynes yr Ardd (the companion to The Keeper of the Garden at Bryngarw Country Park. You can read more about Bryngarw here and follow the progress of The Keepers here. Coblynes yr Ardd started life in the same way as the Art Doll I showed you last week: 2 pieces of fabric stitched together and stuffed. I decided to needlefelt mine to get a soft surface.
I was using hand-blended Merino wool batts that I bought from Haulwen Crafts. You can find out more about Haulwen Crafts here or by reading my blog ‘Wool Work’ here. Once I had covered the doll in wool, I made a separate (stuffed) head for her. This was because I didn’t want her to have flat facial features. I wanted to use stitching to create eyes, a nose and a mouth. Then I oversewed the head on to the neck of the doll using linen thread.
This is the bit where practice and experience really come into play: Only practice andexperience will give you enough faith at this point to keep going because the doll looks like rubbish! She won’t if you keep working on her. Once I’d stitched the face and hair on, she started to look better. Rydw i’n dwlu ar frodwaith! I mi, mae angen Clymau Ffrengig ar bopeth. Defnyddiais i Clymau Ffrengig, Pwyth Gorwedd a Phwyth Conyn i greu gwead ychwanegol ar y ddol. Yma ac acw hefyd, gwnes i ffeltwaith nodwydd gyda ffibrau sidan. Felly dyma hi, Coblynes yr Ardd.
