Behind the scenes: the making of a bunting baby

I thought you all might enjoy a look behind the scenes - I recently made a whole bunch of bunting babies for my etsy shop, but a nice customer decided they wanted a baby with open eyes instead of my usual sleeping babies. I was delighted to make a baby like that - and I have to say that I have NO IDEA what I prefer. What do you think?

To the cutting board... errr ...table! After that, I sew the body and hat with a special, non ripping thread - not the same as the one I use for the shaping of the head, though.
The customer wanted a purple body and hat, blue eyes and brown hair. I love doing custom work because I don't have to come up with all the possible variations - and I always hope that a custom doll will end up being something really special to a customer.

The head is filled with fiber fill to make the doll washable since it is for a little baby and shaped with non ripping thread into the typical waldorf head shape. The nose gets stitched on right after this step.

After the head has been covered with skin fabric, I mark the  face with pins. I had a lot more pictures - but I didn't want to give away all of my little secrets ;-)
Also, this blogpost would  get really, really long!



Once I like what I see, I have another use for the pins - I use one to paint the doll's face. The eyes are painted in several steps with lots of drying time in between - and I love adding the final touches like freckles and the highlights in the eyes. It makes the come alive!


I fill the body and attach the head and the hands. Hair is added to the head and the little hat is stitched on - this may sound like a quick step, but it actually takes quite a long time to get everything right - especially the hair!

At the end, the doll gets a haircut and is ready for shipping! I take a last picture so I can add the doll to my gallery (I promise! I'm working on it!), the doll gets a last hug and a kiss for good luck and it's on her way to the USA.

I hope you'll arrive soon at your new home!

Hugs,
Vee
Want a custom doll, too? check out my etsy shop!