Some Dotee Dolls

I have Alice Cooper hosting a radio show blaring in the background. Old and obscure rock and roll is what Alice plays of a weeknight, every weeknight on the FIX. 

I've been sitting on my bed, getting snippets of thread everywhere making little critters to hang up somewhere. I'm not looking to hang them in my own space, but that they go live with someone else to love them! I make it and then set it free! 

Yellow Haired Blue Dotee

She's got gold colored eyelash yarn for the hair on her light blue turquoise fleece body. She has stringed pearls for legs (dotee's don't have arms) and wooden blue beads for her eyes. I made her yesterday!

There's a box in my closet full of material for whatever reason. I save velvet, silk and cordurory because I have dreams of making a quilt of each type of fabric. It is only a dream though. I don't see me cutting out 3 million squares of  material and sewing it all together by hand. I'll keep saving those three though cause they do make good dotees and stuffed animals! 

My friend Helena gave me a present for my birthday with a big marron colored ribbon attached to it. I saved the ribbon and made the following dotee 's body out of a length of that ribbon. I like how she turned out!

Brown Hair Pink Hearts Dotee

I am not overparticularly fond of the color pink, but I have had that pink silk blouse in the silk box forever! I used to wear that shirt...I cut one of the sleeves off and used the material from that sleeve to cut three dotee bodies. I've still got one to sew together. I cut hearts to cover up some boo boos with the black thread in the ribbon dotee. She has two pink buttons for eyes and black beads for her legs. She's kinda freaky looking with all that brown hair and her ghostly appearance from the ribbon being see through netting with glittery swirls. I kinda like her though! Not a good picture of her, sorry. I made this one today.

Some more pink to nauseate us that don't like pink all that well. 

LOL

The Pink Ballerina Dotee

Someone sent me the varigated version of her eyelash yarn hair. I cut all I had, about three or four yards, thinking there wasn't going to be enough hair... I still have about a dozen strands left for another dotee. Her tutu was found in the ribbon drawer already a nice little circle of lace. She has stringed pearls for legs and wooden beads for her eyes. On her chest is a length of novelty yarn sewn on in a coil with pink embroidery thread. There's a ribbon beside a red sequin sewed on with pink embroidery thread also. I sewed this one today.

I dug around in the ribbon drawer to find some more embellishments for these dotees. That was quite the adventure as the ribbon drawer is filled to overflowing. The ribbon drawer contains strings and fibers of all kinds, not just ribbon. Yesterday was yellow hair day. I still have enough of that blue turquoise fleece fabric to make a dozen or more dotees from.

Yellow Hair Pink legs Dotee

I sewed eyes from fabric in yesterday's experiments. I like the look of them this way, but today I took the easy route and used beads. She is made from fleece with eyelash yarn. There's bound to more yellow haired dotees in the future. I have whole skein of it! Her legs are pink novelty yarn, chenille like. The swirl on her tummy is a cotton string in white with green wrapped round sewn on with pink embroidery thread. The swirls wraps around to her back where a circle is formed. Her eyes are light green cashmere and dark green velvet sewn on with black sewing thread. I made this one yesterday.

I am not a good seamstress. Part of these little guys' character comes from the fact it looks like a five year old sewed them.

There is no glue involved when making dotees. Everything is sewn by hand.

Cotton Hair White Rose Dotee Angel

She's made from pink silk, cotton string for her hair (this stuff was originally intended to be used in making rugs). She has stringed plastic pearls for her legs. Across her chest is a red ribbon sash. On her tummy is a white ribbon rose atop a little round fabric thingamabob quilters make. I have no idea what that thing is called. They're generally about 2 inches across. This one is about 3/4 inch across, made of cotton fabric. She has blue wooden beads for eyes. She has two goldtone metal wings also.

Striped Owl Dotee

I made this ugly critter yesterday. His eyes are way too big! He's made from some striped cotton fabric I yanked off a canvas some time back. It was glued around the edge of a gallery canvas. Nothing on the canvas beneath. Useless with this fabric on it! His eyes are turquoise blue fleece, dark green velvet and natural color wooden beads. I have a good bit of that dark green velvet on hand too. It used to be a little girl's dress. This guy's feet are made of light green cashmere. His beak is velvet. His hair, eyelash yarn. He wasn't any easier to sew together than the green owl I showed you all in yesterday's post.
I still have another owl to sew together though as I cut three of them at the same time.

things I've learned in sewing these dotees:

hand sewing silk is a pain in the ass

wooden beads make great eyes

eyelash yarn makes great hair

eyelash yarn isn't as much of a pain as I thought it might be

I figured out what to do with all those stringed necklaces I've been hoarding

fleece is easy to sew by hand

cotton is easy to sew 

dotees don't always need mouths

I don't want to collect dotee dolls, I just want to make them

You will see more Dotees in the future. Count on it!

I've been too under the weather to go out to the artroom to work on the cane or the box. The can needs a bit of sanding on the snake to make it nice and smooth so it will take the acrylic paint well. 

The box is still drying. Should be quite dry by now! 

My plans for the box are some relief pictures on at least one side of the box, probably three sides though. I've never done relief pictures in paper mache. I've no idea what I am getting into here. The snake on the cane was an experiment. I'd never done anything of the kind ever in my life before I put that snake on the cane. No fear though! LOL

Let the muse run wild! You might end up with something you hadn't even dreamt!

I should have progress pictures of the cane and the box for the next post. I really need to do some more ATCs also!

You all behave yourselves!

Go get some hugs! Go give some hugs!

Peace

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