Custom Doll- Evan

Every year, I make a custom doll for my mum and my best friend for Christmas. This doll was for my mum.

Her name is Evan. She is a tomboyish cat-like character.

Her hair and fur is made from an orange and white faux fur fabric from JustFabrics in Chatham. I bought them a while back in the hopes I could use them for a doll one day. This was my first time using faux fur- it certainly wasn't easy. When cutting the fabric, I made sure to part the fur where I needed to make my cuts, sliding the scissors through the part and staying near the roots in order to avoid trimming the length of the fur itself. The fabric that the fur is attached to made a good edge to glue down onto the doll head, making the process of adding hair slightly less time consuming. Usually when using the weft method for making doll hair, I have to go through the long process of cutting yarn to the right length, tying a knot in the top of three strands, brushing it out, straightening it with a flat iron, cutting off the knot, adding hot glue to the end, flattening it before it dries with a silicone finger protector and trimming the excess. With the fur, I simply had to cut out a rectangle of fabric.

The face was very fun, it only took a few hours.

The clothes were a lot of fun as well. I draft my own patterns and I found it very satisfying that the patterns for this outfit worked first time.

I really enjoyed making this doll, I will definitely use more faux fur in the future- tails are fun.