Within a few days I will have a new doll's clothing pattern out, which will be based on this stunning medieval dress pattern, which I made for a medieval banquet. It is such a simple pattern because there are no sleeves to set in. I was told by a medieval clothing expert from the SCA that the seamless sleeve was typical of that era, and it really looks effective. Watch this space closely as I will soon have this pattern available for Waldorf Dolls. The new pattern will include a cape, shoes and hair wreath!
The new pattern will be made for the 13-14" doll, but if you want to make it larger just take it to a printers, and have it enlarged by percentage.
The velour I made these dresses from has a rich look and feel about it. It has 4 way stretch and doesn't fray!! It hangs so well and doesn't crease no matter what you do. If you're in Australia, you can buy it from Spotlight in a variety of colours.
A close-up of the sleeve
Now to decide which dress to wear to the banquet;
blue or pink?? .......
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Monday, January 31, 2011
Lost And Found
We watched a movie called "Lost and Found" on Christmas eve, and my son loved it so much that he asked me to make a boy and a penguin. The story is very simple and there is no talking. It's about a penguin who befriends a boy and the boy wants to return the penguin to Antarctica, but when they get there they decide they don't want to be apart from each other. Here is the boy and penguin I made using the movie pics as a guide. I crocheted the cap and knitted the jumper.






Saturday, December 18, 2010
Gingerbread Nativity Scene
Have you always had a secret longing to "eat" Christmas? How about a gingerbread nativity scene?
I used this recipe: http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/9761/gingerbread+men It was the right amount and great tasting gingerbread. Baby Jesus is a jellybaby, the sheep are marshmallows and everthing else is made from lollies and icing sugar.
The kids couldn't wait to eat it


There .... demolished in less than 2 minutes!

The kids couldn't wait to eat it



Tuesday, October 26, 2010
TUTORIAL: Waldorf Gingerbread Men

A cookie cutter works great as a pattern template:






and trimmed the arms and feet with braid. The buttons and bow tie are made from black felt. I sewed the black bead eyes, starting my needle from the side of the head and finishing at the other side. The mouth is made from red emboidery thread and I used 2 stitches to make a smiling mouth, also starting and finishing at the side of the head. Sew some gold thread for hanging on top of the head.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
TUTORIAL: Hair Layering
I've been using this homemade tool, made by my husband, for the past few years. It makes the hair strands all the same length in layers, and saves lots of time. The hair layering tool is 22" in length, the pegs and 21" and 8" apart, and these 3 pegs can make 5 different hair lengths.
For a long haired 16" Child Doll, like my Radiance Child pattern, you would use 2 different layers for the hair. The first layer would be shorter and would be hooked into the crochet cap of the lower part of the head. To make these first hair lengths you would wrap the yarn around the 8" wide pegs.
Then you would cut one end:
Open them out:
Double them over and hook them into the back of the head of your doll's already crocheted cap:
Once the strands have come up to about half way or more up the head, you would wrap a second batch of yarn around the outside pegs:
Cut this batch at BOTH even ends, so you have a bunch of equal 18-20" strands:
The long strands are hooked into the top and crown of the head.
Once finished, use your fingers to comb her hair so that it falls nicely. And here is the finished product! And she is available for sale either on my website, or on from my Etsy site: 









Plus, if you dont' want to make one of those layering tool, then you can purchase a handmade one from me for $15.
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Friday, June 18, 2010
Who Said Boys Don't Play With Dolls?
Friday, April 9, 2010
Finishing Touches that make a difference
If you are using light colored hair, cover the embroidery thread with a small patch of tricot. You can either glue it on or sew it;
If you don't put a patch over the thread, you would see it under the hair, but this way, it is hidden and looks more professional;



Friday, April 2, 2010
Tip of the Day: Make sure your eyeline doesn't move
Symmetry and proportion of the body, and especially the face, are very important factors in making your dolls look good. Here is a tip to make sure the string eyeline doesn't move about when you pull the head covering over the sculpted head. Sew a few stitches with the string lying on the line that you drew when you measured the half way mark, before pulling the tricot cover over the inner head. 

Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Easter Market Day
I will be at the Easter Market Day at around 8.30am, on the 30th of March at the Perth Waldorf School, Bibra Lake. If you have any questions about making dolls, you are very welcome to come and have a chat with me there. I will have DVDs and dolls for sale that day. Hope to see you there!
Shipping Prices for DVD
There was an error in the shipping prices for the DVD, ie it was charging too much shipping, which has now been corrected. The price for shipping the DVD within Australia is AU$1.50, and internationally AU$4.99.
Monday, February 15, 2010
It's All Happening
Now that the school holidays have finished it's back to sewing again! I'm currently working on a couple of orders, then I plan to make more dolls for the "Buy It Now" page. Just contact me if you have any questions. I've got no idea where my Etsy widget has run off to, but I still have quite a few dolls on Etsy and the same dolls on my website; click on the page; "Dolls Ready To Go Home".
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Christmas Stars!
These stars don't look much while you're making them, but when you put them onto the window, they actually glow. Here is how to make them.
First buy some "kite paper" from your nearest Waldorf supplier. I got ours from Southern Aurora Books in Bibra Lake. If you're not in Perth, try your local Waldorf supplier, ie Willowwood Cottage or even ebay.
Fold the paper in half (to make this step faster, carefully place 4-6 pages together, making sure they don't slip and cut them all together), cut exactly down the centre, place them all together then fold again lenthways, and cut again. Repeat and cut them widthways, so you will have lots of rectangular coloured pieces of kite paper.

Fold the corners inwards on each piece as shown, then on only one end fold over again, as shown.
Once you have lots of 'uneven' dimond shapes, place a small amount of glue on the spots shown, being careful not to apply too much or your star will stick to whatever surface you're working on.
Place each 'diamond' on top of the other until
you reach the last one, which you will need to slot into place and onto a small amount of glue on the back of the starting diamond.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Cute & Goofy St Nick's Characters
It's only three weeks until St Nicholas day, so we got this St Nicholas and Black Peter pompom children's kit from Witte Engel in Holland and had fun making them up:
The kit ccomes with a pom pom maker, and my son had a ball with it. We made the little presents out of covered match boxes and the basket we found in Spotlight.

Friday, September 11, 2009
How To Choose Good Stuffing Wool

Wednesday, August 19, 2009
New looks for dolls

I now have these great new onesies in really beaut colours. So if you order a Dreamtime baby doll, you can have them dressed in one of these if you like... or stick with the old style.
And the Child Dolls with streaks in their hair, pants and tops and more interesting colours. The boy dolls remain traditional knights and Frodos, which are the most popular, and you can still order traditional girl dolls.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
The Pearl At The Centre of the Spiral
Our local Waldorf school celebrated mid winter with the interactive story of Yentz who goes off in search of the lost pearl, that is his inheritance. The children follow behind Yentz with their colourful handmade lanterns, as he stops to pass various character tests along the way around the school grounds, which is made up of bushland. Finally, he finds his way to the cavern where his lost pearl is at the centre of a beautiful spiral of fresh bouganvillia flowers. I was one of the spiral singers, so the only photos I could get were these taken during the warm ups. 



Tuesday, April 21, 2009
The "Sewn" Farmyard!


Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Da Vinci's Last Supper Waldorf Style
Jesus and the 12 disciples were made using the wood and wire dolls, with both felt and silk clothes and wool tops for hair (click on the pic for a clearer version).

Something interesting about this famous Da Vinci painting from my Foundations in Anthroposophy course a few years ago; our lecturer showed us the "wave" pattern created by the hands. Check out the pink line I've drawn on the painting below. I tried very hard to bend the little dolls hands (above) into the same "wave" pattern!



Thursday, April 2, 2009
The Rule of Six
I got this little list from this blog. It's short, powerful and easy to remember.
Six Things to Include in Your Child's Day:
• meaningful work
• imaginative play
• good books
• beauty (art, music, nature)
• ideas to ponder and discuss
• prayer
• meaningful work
• imaginative play
• good books
• beauty (art, music, nature)
• ideas to ponder and discuss
• prayer
Monday, March 9, 2009
Sculpture By The Sea
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