Etta: The Little One

This is a doll I have been wanting to make for about a year and a half, well, life does get in the way sometimes!

This is Etta, designed by Leslie Molen. She is just a very sweet doll. I had bought the hankie for her apron a year and a half ago when I went to Denver with my friend Pam, who has since moved there. We went to take a class with Leslie, her Ling Li Doll and the carry box for the doll. After the class was over Leslie took Pam and I to a few of her favorite shops. One of the shops I found the hankie with the cute lady bugs on it, then in another shop I found ribbon with lady bugs, they were made for each other. I knew immediately that I was going to use them on this doll.

The doll has a face form that is covered in felt. This was the first time that I made a felt face. Leslie painted her face but I didn't have much luck with the paint, so I finally gave up and used gel pens. For me, the pens were much easier, even though I had to keep clipping off the "fuzzies" that kept forming on the felt from the pens. Then I used chalks for her blush and I embroidered her eyebrows. Her hair was fun to make, I wound the yarn around my 2' ruler. That was a lot of yarn to work with, and trying to keep it all straight and even was a chore. All in all, she came out great and a lot of fun to make.