The big white flower-ish design reminds me of a lotus flower for some reason....
The fabrics were a gift from the fabulous Mary Stanley:
xo
This is the whole piece I am working on....I am stitching the vintage kimono pieces on to wool.
As I am looking at this picture I see a "4" in the fabric! ;)
A little update on moon baby...
I decided in all my brillance to use a hot glue gun to attach one of the legs to the fabric and it snapped. So air dry clay is not going to work for me. Also, one of the hands fingers literally fell off!
ugh! I feel that with all the time I have put into it that I need something that will be durable, so I am going to look into using a more durable clay that must be fired. Any suggestions for a type of clay?
p.s. I did make repairs and will complete him once the new leg/hand dry.
Also, I have a small complaint: Why is it that 100% cotton stuffing is so hard to find? Corporate America has thrust upon us that yucky polyester fiber fill! Ok, I understand that some people think it is all that and a bag of chips, but I have found that the fibers literally poke through the fabric and there is nothing I really like about it.
If anyone has a suggestion where I could find 100% cotton fiber fill that is not going to cost $100 for a box...please let me know.
Thank you for listening....
:)
xo
Love your new piece!
ReplyDeleteFor really small projects -I know this sounds funny- I use organic cotton balls for stuffing. some of my friends use a bamboo stuffing for larger things like softies. I haven't found any locally but would like to try it.
xxoo
Hi Mary,
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing the cotton ball idea!!! :)
I have seen on line the bamboo. I know Jess Brown
uses a natural corn fiber. I found locally a bamboo and
poly fiber combination, which is better, but I am still not satisfied.
Will keep searching...
Thank you again xoxo
<3
would wool work? if you have a yarn/fiber shop near you, it is sold by the ounce at mine. also, would oven bake clay be stronger? we've used that at school.
ReplyDeletethe cloth is beautiful with all of its patterns.
Hi :)
DeleteWool would work, but is'nt it rather expensive? I do have a yarn shop near by. I could check in with them and see if they carry wool by the ounce. Good idea. I want the cotton or whatever natural fiber to stuff (larger) dolls.
I have used Fimo clay in the past for projects and it is somewhat durable, but again I have experienced breakage with that as well. I love that vintage kimono fabric, such fun to stitch. Thanks!
xo
there is a clay we've used at school that is brick colored & bakes, and not as expensive as fimo, I don't know the name of it, but we've found it at craft stores.
DeleteMaybe the woman at the ceramic shop, where I bought my clay will know what this type of clay is...thank you! :)
DeleteWhat beautiful fabrics to work with, dear Marie ! It must feel so soft under your fingers. I also see a 4 :) Those are really special materials.
DeleteHi Isabelle,
DeleteThe fabrics are simply divine to work with. It seems that ancient fabrics are fabrics from far away are just so lovely to work with :)
xo
Hi Marie -- have you tried wool roving for stuffing? I almost always use that -- started when my kids were in Waldorf school and have liked it ever since. The piecing is gorgeous, it must be such pleasure to stitch silk onto wool. Grounding. xo
ReplyDeleteI have not tried wool roving, but will have to look into that.
Delete"Grounding" is a good word. I like stitching with wool because it just seems so easy to use.
No worries on fraying and this particular wool is local and hand dyed...fun!
:)
xo
If you can't find wool roving locally, try Dharma. Also, depending on the effect you want, buckwheat hulls make a nice filler.
ReplyDeleteHi Deb,
ReplyDeleteIs Dharma extra fine wool?
I will have to see if I can find some wool locally and how much it is.
Thank you for your suggestions :)
xo
I'm not sure, I've never ordered any of their wool roving, as I can get it locally. Hope your search is going well.
DeleteThanks Deb! :)
Deletexo
hi marie. when i used to make teddy bears back in the 80's and early 90's, we used wool. you can usually get cleaned/processed undyed wool in "roving" or bulk pretty cheap. for larger, more firmly stuffed bears, i used excelsior (a finely shaved wood product) to good effect, too!
ReplyDeletelove what you are doing with the vintage kimono fabrics!!
Hi Joe,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tip regarding wool. I have played with excelsior a while back. I understand that it breaks down relatively quick over time??? I will look around for some wool roving.
The vintage kimono pieces are so much fun! love antique fabrics and hand dyed fabrics...I think they are somehow easier to work with. :)
xo