Household

We are on our way to our favorite apple orchard for a wagon ride, apple picking, and, of course, delicious cider and hot donuts. YUM! There is also a wonderful petting zoo and barnyard play area. Bug, Fairy and Pixie are looking forward to sharing the experience with Little Lady.

While we are off doing that, we wanted to repost a favorite activity to do with the wee ones. Although it is not specifically an autumn craft, we find the finished product makes a lovely addition to our fall/Halloween decorations. Check out our Handprint Sand Candles HERE. Enjoy!

The adage "necessity is the mother of invention" is never as obvious as when a parent is trying to fashion a toy for a child when traditional toys are unavailable. A hankie becomes a "pew doll", a piece of paper becomes an airplane or a "cooty catcher", and a handful of vines or flowers can be braided into a crown. Children are very good at creating their own toys, too. I read an article that said that most popular outside toy for a child is a STICK. Yep, just your garden variety, backyard stick. Think of the possibilities!

At one time, toys were a luxury to most children. Because of that, resourceful parents made toys from discarded items or items found in nature. Corn husks, straw and other plant fibers were often the basis for toys. Bits of fabric scraps and wood pieces were saved and fashioned into toys. Following that tradition, our dolls are made from raffia, which comes from the raffia palm, indigenous to Africa. Because raffia has very long fibers, it lends itself well to make dolls very similar to the yarn dolls we shared last year. I pulled fabric from my wee pieces stash bin. Although we are sharing our how-to, this is a very "ish" project. Follow our general directions, but delight in the fact that each and every doll will be unique.

Materials:
raffia
embroidery floss
calico scraps
large embroidery needle

Take raffia out of its wrapper and hang.

Find a lid or book for wrapping the height of the doll you wish to make. You can also cut a piece of cardboard to size. Mine is 7 1/2"

Cut off several strands of raffia, and holding it at the bottom of your lid, wrap the raffia around the lid. IMPORTANT: your ends must start and stop at the bottom of your lid. Continue wrapping strands until you are happy with the size.

Slip a thick piece of raffia under all the raffia loops at the top and tie tight and securely. This will be the top of the head. Leave the ends for now.


Using another piece of raffia, create the neck by wrapping raffia around the neck several times. Tie off the neck tight and secure. This should be about 1 1/2" from the top of the head. Thread one end of the raffia tie through a needle, and weave the ends through the neck a couple of times, and clip close to the neck.


Clip the bottom loops of the raffia.

To make the arms, again wrap raffia around your lid. The arms should be about half as thick as the body. Tie off the raffia about 1 1/2" from the bottom of the lid, and then cut through the loops at the bottom. This will give you a long rope of raffia, tied at one end.

Tape the tied end to a work surface, and braid the raffia. You will want your arms to be about 7 1/2". I find it easiest to braid farther, then tie off the end at 6 1/2" and cut through the braid at 7 1/2".




DON'T throw away your scraps! Simply take the raffia you cut off, secure it in the middle, weaving in the ends, and you have a corn stalk bundle! Also, save your little scraps. You can use these in other projects... you never know!

Separate the raffia on the body in two. Slip the braided arms between the divided raffia, and push up toward the neck. Now, tie off the waist like you did the neck.




At this point, weave in the ends on top of the head. (Not pictured.)

Any number of materials can be used for hair: dyed raffia, corn silk, yarn, etc. Staring at the forehead, tack on small amounts of hair using 6 strands of matching floss. (About 9" long.) Keep adding more strands around a center part until you get to the middle of the back of the head. Tie off. You can now "style" the dolls hair into a low ponytail, braids, a nape bun, or leave it flowing. I tied off mine to make a low ponytail. NOTE: If you would like a bun high on the head, tack on hair around the hairline instead of down the middle.


Using 6 strands of floss, add eyes and a mouth. I used straight stitches for the eyes. For the mouth, I used straight stitches, then wrapped the straight stitches several times. Your starting and finishing knots can be hidden on the back of the head.


If the bottom of the doll is uneven, clip the bottom a little to even it out. (Not pictured)

To make the bodice, ripe a piece of fabric 1" by about 15". (You can learn about ripping fabric HERE.)

Lay the piece behind the doll's neck. The wrong side of the fabric should be against the doll. Crisscross the fabric over the doll's chest. Turn the doll over and tie the ends. Clip off the extra fabric, by cutting on an angle or in Vs. 



To determine the size of the skirt, measure from the waist to the bottom of the doll. SUBTRACT 1". This will be the length. For the width, add about 3". (Remember, this is an "ish" thing :) Rip a rectangle of fabric to these measurements.

Along one long side of the fabric rectangle, sew a running stitch using 6 strands of floss. (Not pictured.) Gather the fabric around the waist and tie off securely. You can either work the ends in, or tie in a bow.


Tah dah... done :) Make one or make a whole village. I will share the directions for the boy later in the week.

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Copyright © Wee Folk Art 2008 - 2011. All rights reserved.

All photos, text and patterns are copyright protected. You may not copy, reproduce or redistribute any material found on WeeFolkArt.com without written permission. Wee Folk Art retains all rights.

This summer the son of my dear friend is getting married. I wanted to make something for a shower gift and I immediately thought of the Coiled Rag Bowl. This bowl can fit any decor depending on the colors. I went to their registry at Pottery Barn. I made a copy of the stack of their towels, then I went out and found fabrics to match. (I realize the colors you see on screen aren't necessarily accurate, but I didn't need them to match exactly... just wanted the same feel.) 
Here is the work in progress:





To get the complete directions on how to make a coiled rag bowl, check out last year's tutorial for the Rainbow Coiled Rag Bowl. Although a bit time consuming, they are fun to make and the finished bowls are so beautiful, it is worth each and every pin pricked finger :)

What special projects are you working on?

Wee Folk Art, together with Prairie Point Junction's Wool Felt Central, has a wonderful give away, just in time for your Spring gift giving and decorating!

Our dear friend, Julie, owner of Prairie Point Junction, is giving away 2 FREE kits so you can make your own Spring Bouquet... enough materials to make 18 flowers!

Each kit includes:
1/3 yard EACH of 3 colors of felt (You pick the colors)
12" X 18" Pea Soup for Leaves
8 skeins of floss to match the selected felts  (2 skeins of each color)
1/2 yard of green calico for stems

Note: You will need to provide 12" pipe cleaners and large holed beads

To enter, simply visit Prairie Point Junction's Wool Felt Central, and check out all the dreamy colors. Pick 3 colors you would like to use to make your bouquet. (We used baby blue, pink grapefruit and mellow yellow for the flowers but pick out colors that make you smile :) Then come back here, give a big thank you to Julie, and tell us what 3 colors you would like if you win. Hey, even if you don't think you want to make this bouquet, who wouldn't want more felt to add to their stash?

The contest begins today, Wednesday, April 6, and runs until Sunday, April 10 at 9:00 p.m. EST. Two winners will be drawn at random and their names will be announced and an email will be sent to them. Winners have 1 week to contact us at weefolkart@yahoo.com with their snail address or a new winner will be selected.

So, head on over to Wool Felt Central and start planning! We want to give a heartfelt thank you to Julie for once again giving our readers a chance to win a wonderful kit.

And remember, the directions for making your own Spring Bouquet can be found HERE. Good luck one and all!

If you would like to give someone special a bouquet of flowers this Spring that will last forever, considering making a bunch of these flowers in a array of beautiful colors. Whether you make a single flower or 2 dozen, they are sure to please. But remember... make some for yourself... we all deserve to give ourselves flowers every once in a while :)

MATERIALS

For single flower:
2" x 28" piece of felt for each flower
Green felt for leaf
3/4" x 40" piece of calico for stem, ripped
2 copies of pattern
bead with large hole
4 12" long pipe cleaners
2 copies of pattern

For 18 flowers:
1/3 yard EACH of 3 colors of felt
12" X 18" Pea Soup for Leaves 
8 skeins of floss to match the selected felts (2 skeins of each color)
1/2 yard of green calico for stems
18 beads with large hole
72 12" long pipe cleaners
2 copies of pattern

DIRECTIONS
Preparing pattern pieces:
The pattern piece for the flower will require taping together 3 pieces. Make 2 copies of the pattern. Cut out the 2 end pieces. Cut out 1 center piece.  Tape the 2 end pieces to the center piece, matching the 3 inch sides. You should now have 1 long piece, measuring 3" x 25", with both ends pointy.



Cut the leaf out of the 2nd center piece adding a tab 5/8" x 1". You only need to cut 1 leaf per flower. (Pattern says 2)

Preparing stem:
Using the Ripe and Tear method described HERE, for each flower ripe a strip of fabric 3/4" x 40" from the green woven fabric. Also, cut one square 1 1/2" x 1 1/2" for each flower.

Place a bead on the end of 4 pipe cleaners, and bend the pipe cleaner about 1" down. Twist the end of the pipe cleaners around the long piece of pipe cleaner so the bead is secured. Slightly twist the rest of the length of the pipe cleaners together.





Lay the pipe cleaner on the backside of the square of fabric with the bead in the center.

Wrap the fabric around the bead. Using 2 strands of matching floss, wrap the thread firmly around the bead 2 or 3 times, then tack in place. Holding the remainder of the fabric against the pipe cleaner, tightly wrap the fabric against the pipe cleaner in a spiral fashion. Tack at the bottom of the fabric.


Preparing petal:
Cut out pieces.


Using a running stitch and 3 strands of contrasting floss, blanket stitch the flat edge of the flower.

Mark a 1/4" seam allowance along the curved edge of the flower using a fading or washable marker.

Using 2 strands of floss, sew a close running stitch along the 1/4" line. Leave a long tail.Sew a 2nd running stitch an 1/8" below the first line of stitching. (It will be between the line of stitching and the raw edge.) Leave a long tail.

Holding both tails, gather the flower until it measures 8” - 9". Secure the end so the gathering does not come loose.

Preparing leaf:
Using a running stitch and 2 strands of matching floss, sew around the stem and leaf, gathering SLIGHTLY.

Using a running stitch and 2 strands of matching floss, sew a stem down the middle of the leaf, gathering SLIGHTLY. Note: You just want to give slight contours to the leaf.

Assembly:
Begin rolling the flower around the bead, tacking it with matching thread every 1/2". As you roll and tack, slightly angle the rolled flower down the stem. Continue until the flower piece is completely wrapped around the bead. Secure thread. NOTE: The angling should be slight. Before tacking the petal, practice rolling the flower around the stem, until you find the desired look. Think of a rose.




Wrap the green strip around the base of the flower. Make sure the top of the strip covers the gathering line. Stitch around the flower every 1/4" - 1/2". After the first round is complete, angle the strip so it overlaps the strip above it by half.



After you have gone around the stem a second time, add your leaf. To do this, lay the leaf against the flower, and pin the leaf tab against the pipe cleaners.

Continue wrapping the stem, catching the leaf tab as you go.

Tack about every 1/2", going through the pipe cleaner on an angle downward. At the end, leave a 1" tail that you wrap around the bottom edge and tack in place.

Copyright © Wee Folk Art 2008 - 20011.
All rights reserved. All photos, text and patterns are copyright protected. You may not copy, reproduce or redistribute any material found on WeeFolkArt.com without written permission. Wee Folk Art retains all rights.