Spirit Doll Finished!

I finished the Spirit Doll for my friend. This was my first project of this kind, so there were many opportunities for learning. Most of the beads are 11/0, with some 15/0, 8/0, and a few 6/0. There are also some triangles, cubes, and bugles. It is actually somewhat greener than the photo shows, but I haven't figured out how to adjust that yet. (See the photo in the October 8 post.) The heart is a little sterling bead. It is beaded on the same fabric as the bag shown below. I used paper as a stabilizer, and that worked well. It is about 6 inches tall and 4.5 inches wide at the arms. The ribbon at the top is so that it can be hung up.

This is the back. It is a piece of cotton I painted during the summer. The doll is stuffed with fiberfill. To put it together, first I tore off the excess paper around the edges of the beaded front fabric. Then I trimmed the fabric so that it extended about 3/8 inch beyond the beading. I carefully clipped into the curves above and below the arms so the fabric would fold under. With the doll front face down on a towel, I pressed the edges under with the tip of my iron.

Since I had "cleaned up" the pattern I used, I had to make a new one for the back from the beaded front. I put the beaded front face down and put a piece of lightweight paper over it. Then I gently rubbed a pencil over the paper so the outline would show. I cut out the pattern and compared it to the doll front, trimming so it would match better. Then I drew around the pattern on the wrong side of the backing fabric. I machine stitched along that line using a small (1.8) machine stitch. I trimmed the back about 3/8 inch outside my stitching line, clipped the curves above and below the arms, and pressed the edges under along the stitching line.

I whip stitched the front and back together, leaving about an inch opening along one side for stuffing. After stuffing the doll and sewing the opening closed, I finished the edges with a beaded picot stitch.
This is the bag for the Spirit Doll. It is lined with a gold-on-white cotton fabric. There are three beads on the end of the drawstring ties.

I will deliver this in the next few days. In the meantime, on to October's BJP.