"All things bright and beautiful... all creatures great and small!" - William Henry Monk
With the crispness in the air, and the leaves all turning, Autumn is singing it's glory! The deers are frolicking in the field and the bees are busier than ever preparing for winter. What is not to love?!
The Deer Doll pattern is such a popular doll pattern and it is easy to see why. With little hoof details and fawn spots on their foreheads, they are ready for a gentle, friendly hug. The Deer Doll pattern was previously only available in Machine Embroidery version, but today we are releasing the long-awaited Deer Doll Sewing Machine version! YAY!
The fabric I used in this post is the perfectly named - Harmony fabric and is designed by Melissa Lee for Riley Blake Designs. Since I love to fussy cut (it must be the quilter in me), I get really excited when fabric designers give space between their beautiful illustrations for just that - fussy cutting! Just look at the Main print with the bee hives and the Oh Deer print with the deer faces. Both these prints are just calling out to be fussy cut!
I was inspired to get a little crafty and ironed on some Light-Fusible HeatnBond to the back of the bee hives and cut them out to fuse-applique them to the doll clothing. I just loved how it turned out.
I also fussy cut the Oh Deer print on the tummy patch of both doll bodies. I love to do this with Modern Rag Dolls, so when a child is playing with the doll and removes the clothing, the doll is still dressed and there is yet another beautiful fabric surprise!
I used the RBD Basic Shabby in opposing neutral shades for the main body of the Deer Dolls. This is one of my favorite Riley Blake Basics for Animal Doll's skin. The textured look gives the illusion of a hide of the animal with the ease of working with a quilting cotton.
Every doll deserves clothes and seeing as it is Autumn here, I thought it best to dress these Deer Dolls for the weather. The long-sleeved Doll Jumper pattern is perfect to showcase these gorgeous prints and keep the Deer Dolls warm. I added a 3" half-folded hem to trim the dress and pants. I love how the accent fabrics play together in this line.
As I mentioned at the start of today's blog post, the Bees have been very busy preparing for winter. They work so hard all summer long and I wanted to pay homage to them buy sewing up some cute and colorful bees in the 3 colorways of Harmony fabrics. The Bee Doll pattern comes in 4 sizes and is part of the Little Friends Doll Series. You can grab the pattern HERE.
Now, back to our Autumn Adventure through the woods. I can't wait to see the adorable Modern Rag Dolls you sew up and if you ever want to learn, watch tutorials and gain support, please come join our FREE Educational Doll Making Facebook Group - Inspired Doll Making. .
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