DIY Network

Cloth Doll: Jiliana, a 21st Century Boudoir Doll Learn how to cut the pattern, stuff, assemble and dress a unique cloth doll. From "Craft Lab" episode DCLB-118

Guest Patti Medaris Culea joins host Jennifer Perkins to create a beautiful 21st Century cloth boudoir doll in DIY's Craft Lab. She demonstrates how to use pattern pieces traced onto cotton to make the parts of the cloth doll.

She then demonstrates how to add stuffing to the doll, how to assemble it, create the face features and dress the cloth dool.

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	Guest Patti Medaris Culea, an expert doll maker, demonstrates how to create Jiliana—this unique 21st Century Boudoir Doll.
	Craft Lab's guest starts the project by drawing, cutting, sewing and stuffing the doll parts.

Project designed by Patti Medaris Culea.

Materials:

1/3 yd. 100-percent cotton fabric in a pale color
1/4 yd. silk crepe de chine in natural or white
1 yd. silk charmeuse in natural or white
3 yds. each 4mm, 7mm and 11mm silk ribbon in natural or white
machine thread to match
Fairfield Polyfil stuffing
stuffing and turning tools—a pair of hemostats work best.
fabric scissors
mechanical pencil and eraser
6 pipe cleaners
straight pins
3' doll sculpting needle
upholstery thread to attach arms and legs
Jacquards Dye Na Flow #802 Golden Yellow, #809 Magenta, # 815 Cerulean Blue, #823 Ecru, and #830 White
Jacquards Lumiere #1554 Sunset Gold, #570 Pearlescent Blue, and #573 Pearlescent Magenta
Jacquard Pearl EX Stamp Pad Essential Color/Sepia, Two-Tone Color/Gold Violet
rock or sea salt
round paintbrushes in sizes 10 and 12
containers for mixing paints and dyes and one for plain water—an ice cube tray works great
Terry Medaris Art Stamps #DO01 Southwest Doodling
Prismacolor Colored Pencils Sienna Brown, Cream, White, Carmine Red, Crimson Red, Canary Yellow, Parma Violet, Light Aqua and Mulberry.
Zig Millennium or Micron Pigma pens, nib size .005 in black, brown, white
Sakuras Gelly Roll pens—red, black
Tsukineko’s Brilliance Stamp Pad #BRI-80 Moonlight White
Tsukineko's Fantastix
Kandi Kane Hot Fix Applicator
Swarovski heat set crystals
size 11 seed beads in one color
beading needle and thread.

Note: Below are four downloadable patterns for the doll.

PDF Download the pattern for Jiliana's body.

PDF Download the pattern for Jiliana's legs.

PDF Download the pattern for Drawing the Doll Face.

PDF Download the pattern for Coloring the Doll Face.

Figure A

Cutting the Pattern, Stuffing and Assembling the Doll

1. Trace all of the pattern pieces onto the wrong side of a single piece of the pale cotton (figure A). Trace two arms and two legs. The Body and Head are only traced once. On the Head follow the arrow and place it on the grain of the fabric. Note that the leg pattern is split to fit on the page. Attach the Lower Leg to the Upper Leg as you trace. Double the fabric, with right sides together, and then pin to hold it all together.

2. Place matching thread in a sewing machine, and lower the thread length to 1.8. Most machines are set at 2.0. Sew all the pieces, leaving open where marked on the Body and Arms. On the neck, backstitch on each side as you sew. Cut out all the pieces. Clip into the curved areas on all the pieces.

3. Cut a slit in the top of the legs, where marked on the pattern piece. To guarantee that there is a right and left leg, place the legs on a flat surface with the knees facing each other and then cut the slit.

4. Turn all the pieces right side out, using turning tools.

5. The hands can have individual fingers. Pencil in the fingers, as shown on the pattern piece. Machine stitch along the drawn lines. Cut the loose threads as closely as possible.

6. Fill the Body and Head with stuffing. Fill the legs to the knees and then stop. Thread a hand-sewing needle with 1/2 yard thread and place a knot in the end. Anchor this at the back of the knee with a small stitch. Insert the needle into the leg and come out 1/4" from the knee seam. Take the needle up 1/2" and insert it into the knee and go over to the other side of the knee seam and come out. Move the needle down and insert the knee across from where you came out on the other side of the knee seam. Wrap the thread around the back of the leg and insert the needle into the stitch by the knee seam. Pull the thread and this pulls in the back of the leg, which will allow the doll to sit better. Finish filling the upper leg with stuffing. Close up the opening in the leg with a needle and thread.

7. The hands can have pipe cleaners inserted, which allows the fingers to be moved as desired.

8. Bend back just the tips of each end of the pipe cleaners using a pair of hemostats. Bend four pipe cleaners in half and leave two straight. Insert one of the bent pipe cleaners into the hand with each end going into a separate finger. Continue this with each finger. The straight pipe cleaner is inserted into the thumbs. To secure the pipe cleaners, push back the arm fabric so you can reach the pipe cleaners. Wrap the thumb pipe cleaner around the other two that were bent in half. Finish filling up the hand and arms with stuffing. If you want the elbow to bend, follow the instructions for the legs in Step 6.

9. Collect the 3" doll-sculpting needle and cut one yard of upholstery thread. Thread the needle with the thread and place a knot in the end. Anchor this at the hip where marked on the pattern piece. Push the needle through the leg, near the slit, and come out opposite the slit. Push the needle back into the leg, about 1/8" from where you came out, and into the hip. Go through the body and out the other side of the hip. Attach that leg as the first leg. Go back and forth through the body and legs two more times. Anchor the thread off under one of the legs.

10. Close up the upper part of the arms using a hand gathering stitch with the strong thread and a regular hand-sewing needle. Pull the threads to close the opening and hand-sew closed. Tuck in the raw seam as you pull and sew. Use the same needle and thread and hand-sew the arms to the shoulders, where marked.

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