It's take me awhile to sew, photograph and list. Each step is fun, but I'm not the quickest at any of them. But almost everything is up on Etsy now. Click on any of the photos and it will bring you to the shop.
Sneak Peek: More dolls and clothes
I've been bust sewing dolls and clothes. I am in the process of revamping my Etsy shop. I'm going to try a different set-up so there are more options for dolls, clothing and price ranges. Here's a sneak peek at some of the dolls and clothes that are in the works.
Handmade Toy Makers: Willowynn Textile Art
First in a Series about Toy Makers
Foxes made from an upcycled cotton curtain, photos courtesy of Margeaux Davis
Bringing Nature into the Playroom
As a toy-maker, I love following the art and career paths of other toy makers. I covet glimpses into their studios and creative process. Each of our journeys is unique, yet we also often share similarities, too. My career background is an unusual mix of years as a graphic designer, years of environmental protection and doll-making. An unusual mix, I know.
This is why I was especially drawn to Willowynn Textile Arts. Owner Margeaux Davis transforms the beauty of the natural world into cloth toys that are as captivating as the real thing. Her toy collection ranges from the more traditional owls and foxes, to blue and killer whales to species rarely made into toys such as moths, snails and mushrooms. Her depictions of these fauna (and one flora) are sweet but not unrealistically cute. The toys range from soft sculpture for gentle play to bunnies that can withstand the abuse of more intense play. These toys would be perfect for children already interested in wildlife. Or they could be used to spark an interest.
Custom Killer Whale
The Willowynn Label
The Work Environment
Margeaux lives with her family in rural Australia among macadamia nut farms and cow paddocks. Before starting Willowynn Textile Art, she worked as a park ranger and environmental educator. She has always sewn, but through Willowyn she has been able to recreate the creatures that fascinate her. “Owls, snails, moths, foxes, rabbits and whales have such a gentle, serene beauty and I love trying to create that mood or feeling in them.”
Margeaux has been sewing since she was a child, “I have honed my skills through trial, error and persistence. Each design has come about after countless hours spent stitching, unpicking and stitching again.’ When she was a child she made shorts, skirts and drawstring bags for her treasures. Her designs for Willowynn are made out of repurposed materials, linen remnants, second hand fiberfill, cotton napkins, vintage blankets, upholstery remnants, Margeaux is drawn to reuse for environmental reasons and because she enjoys the story and romance of the repurposed materials.
Her boys sewing in the studio
Bringing all of her Passions Together
Although Margeaux loved her job as a ranger, she created Willowyn so that she could stay home with her two young sons while working with her favorite things--nature and cloth.
Willowynn Textile Art can be found:
and in her Etsy Shop.
And this past week at FinderKeepers in Brisbane
Bunnies for more active playtimes
A new custom boy doll
A new custom boy doll with his own set of fun summer clothes, Vineyard Vines style. More details and photos soon.
Teaching a Child to Sew: Cutting and Scissor Choice
This past week, I worked with two adorable second grade graduates who wanted to make American girl Doll dresses for their dolls. We started with the wrap dress. Watching them helped me better understand what makes cutting fabric difficult for them.
The first is cutting. Since small people have small hands, the obvious choice seems to be small scissors. But that is not the best choice. Small scissors make it difficult to cut a long smooth even line. They end up leaving choppy crooked lines. So try to have your child work with the larger scissors...
Which might bring you to your second problem, larger scissors tend be used around the house more often and can be dull. It is difficult cutting fabric with dull scissors and adult sized hands,and it is even harder with small hands. Dull scissors require greater strength. Dull scissors leave very messy edges.
1. Too short, will create choppy edges.
2. Bigger and sharper is better.
3. Old household scissors can be dull.
So sharper larger scissors, with supervision, may be better.
My favorite sewing scissors are Ginghers. They are $21 from Amazon, but in the long run, a very worthwhile investment.
See examples below.
Small scissors leave small choppy cutting lines.
Dull household scissors are the worst and hardest for kids to cut with.
Sharper larger scissors makes cutting easier and more accurate.
A bit about the name of my company
Who are Phoebe and Egg? Where did this name come from?
The short answer is Phoebe is the big sister and Egg is the baby sister.
The longer answer is they began years ago with a drawing, sketched on a whim on a date. When I was dating my husband, I drew our future children--Phoebe, Ging and Egg. Fortunately, the presumption of the sketch did not scare him because we went on to have Phoebe and Ging and adopt our sweet Egg from China. Phoebe, Ging and Egg became an incredible reality, in that exact order, but with different names.
Over the last few months I have had a few boy doll requests. The name is still just Phoebe and Egg, but Ging is definitely part of the collection.
The original Phoebe, Ging and Egg from long ago.
Here are Phoebe, Ging and Egg (not their real names and not in order) in a slightly more recent shot:
Resort wear: Item #1: A Bathing Suit
Finished up a resort wear wardrobe. Just need to block a cotton sweater, But here's the bathing suit on the model.
Three more beloved handmade doll dresses:
"I just love to see a doll dressed in a party dress. This dress uses some of my favorite party dress elements. Tulle, satin, organza and silk roses. There are also Czech glass beads and sequins." Alex
"I made this handmade doll dress for a dearly beloved doll who is a sweet Princess. This dress and it's soft color palette captures that innocence and sweetness of the doll." Susan
"Another #beloveddolldress photo! My mom made this set for my American Girl doll. We studied the catalog photos and tried to copy the real set exactly so my friends would think I got the real deal " jessica of SweetBriarSisters Patterns
More beloved dresses
More About the Contest
A very cool mermaid for a rather hot day
I've been thinking about making a mermaid doll for awhile. Possibly because my oldest daughter has wavy red hair and Ariel was a bit of obsession when she was little. Or maybe because we live just a few miles from the sea. Or maybe because they are trending. Or maybe all of the above. I am excited to say my vision is now a doll.
I started with a crushed velvet tail, and after quite a lot of fussing (you don't want to know and I don't want to quantify), I abandoned that for a much better tail. I may have not ended up here if I hadn't started out on the velvet road.
Here are a few pics with the tail, which is removable and with one of her resort wear skirts. More resort wear tomorrow.
Not sure what I should do for shoes. Any suggestions?
Three of the six Beloved Handmade Doll Dresses entries thus far
It has been a little more than 2 weeks and I have six entires in the Beloved Handmade Doill Dress Contest. All loved for different reasons and all lovely.
Here are three of the six. I will try and post the other three tonight. In the meantime, please send more! I love these!
"I made this handmade doll dress for a dearly beloved doll who is a sweet Princess. This dress and it's soft color palette captures that innocence and sweetness of the doll." Kellie
"My mom made me a handmade doll with this dress when I was little. I remember thinking the dress with all its lacy goodness, was so beautiful. Now I keep it in my living room. It brings back so many happy childhood memories I can't bear to pack it in a box!" SweetBriarSisters
"Doll dress that was lovingly made by my grandma in the 1950s for her daughter. I played dress up with it on my dolls as a child and now my daughter does with her dolls." Deborahknits