Tuesday, May 5, 2015

Secret Pumpkin 2015


As part of the Secret Pumpkin 2015 gift exchange, I decided to make an Edgar Allan Poe rag doll.  I actually started It last year, for the 2014 exchange, but if you recall, Lydia the Wonder Brat went missing and I spent every waking moment searching for her.  (She hasn't learned her lesson at all and still tries to make a run for the door.)

The pattern is Simplicity 9447.  I had purchased this to make matching Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls for my (ex) niece and nephew.  When I decided to make the Poe doll last year, I figured this was the perfect way to use a pattern that would probably not get used otherwise.

All the items came from my stash.  The muslin I had around for obvious reasons, the black was from last year's elf dress, the red was from the Ms Pac-Man dress, and the green buttons were from my ex-husband's grandmother's button collection.  Before I took up sewing, I was really into cross-stitch, so the face is embroidery floss leftover from those days.  I can't remember what I had the black fleece for, but the green was from the lining of a purse.

More chibi than I intended
Since this is a rag doll, I intentionally left it a little rough.  The exposed seems are finished with zig zags to stop the fraying.

The vest and coat were modified from the pattern's shirt.  The bottle of absinthe and the raven were freehanded.  I intended to do the hair as black yarn, but opted for fleece since I needed such thick coverage.

I really enjoy doing Secret Pumpkin.  If you'd like to participate next year, be sure to visit the web site and sign up.

And not like I was producing a lot for the blog, but I broke my wrist over the weekend (celebrating my birthday!), so I'll be out of commission for a while.