Analogous Colour Challenge Doll

Our doll club, the Cloth-a-Dollics will reveal the dolls from our recent challenge at the Victoria Quilter's Show this coming May at the Pearkes Arena in Saanich:

As always our Quilt Show Challenge organizer, the one woman dynamo, Charlotte, has arranged for the display and has given us a challenge doll to make that is in concert with the Quilters' challenge:

Make a doll using at least 3 analogous colours plus any skin tone fabric.  The doll must have some sense of motion.

I had to look up the definition for analogous colours:

I decided to use the fabrics in my stash, so I chose the following combination:

Blue-Green/Blue/Blue-Violet/Violet!  (that is four analogous colours and I was set!

I love Alice in Wonderland, as you may already know, so I chose to make the Mad Hatter using Johnny Dep's outfit as the starting point but in a different colour scheme.

I like the way he turned out! Here are his pants and home-made shoes using my colour scheme:

Here is the famous hat with violet and blues: I added buttons and hand-crocheted flowers for interest and texture:

Now for his face:

I just had to keep the orange hair as I had the perfect tibetan lamb wig for him and the orange compliments the purple (hair is exempt from the colour scheme). Notice his funky feather eyelashes in the green.

Now for the rest of the doll (he sits about 16" tall on his wicker chair.  I just had to use my sweater pieces in the colour scheme to give him a cuddle with his Chesire cat:

He is holding a porcelain tea mug.

The Chesire cat is made with a wool sweater and felt.

I am quite happy with this funky Mad Hatter and I hope that everyone enjoys him.  Oh yes, the "Motion" aspect is the scarf fluttering in the wind: I used a light layering of glue to make the silk scarf stand straight out.

If you are in the Victoria area, please visit the Quilt show and see our club's dolls.  There will be many vendors selling fabrics, trims, wool felt and patterns at the show as well. (May 6, 7, and 8 at Pearkes Arena in Saanich)

My Felt Doll

A month or so ago, I purchased a new book called "My Felt Doll" by Shelly Down. (check out her site on easy called Gingermelon)  I loved the book so much that I purchased it twice by mistake!  No problem though, as my sister in Toronto wanted a copy to make these dolls with our 5 nieces (aged 4 through 12 years old).

While in Toronto visiting with my family I had fun making some of the dolls from the book:

The Beach Babe

The Traveller

The School Girl

Bedtime

Little Fairy

Ballerina with knitted sweater

I made her a felt bunny as well.

While in Toronto, I had fun helping my nieces make a felt doll of their own.  I used acrylic felt for their dolls and buttons for eyes.  They chose the pattern they wanted and I helped them cut out the pattern and make it.  We worked on the dolls two Sunday afternoons until they were done.

Here are three of the dolls:

Girl's Night Out (made by Madison, aged 7)

Mermaid and Puppy (puppy designed by my 10 year old niece!)

My niece wanted to make a dog, not a doll! (made by Michaela, aged 10)

Mermaid with button eyes and embellished tail. (made by Emma with help from me and mom)

My last two nieces also made dolls but they left before I had a chance to take photos!

I would recommend the book to all who love hand sewing with felt.  The patterns are excellent and the dolls are adorable!