Why is my doll head elongated when using your pattern?
The way the head is stuffed makes a big difference in my patterns. I run into this problem occasionally in hands on classess. Her are some solutions and options to solve that problem.
Always make sure that you stuff the head with tiny amounts of stuffing. Begin at the nose area, work a tiny amount of stuffing into the nose area, then concentrate on the back of the head. After each addition tamp the stuffing gently into the head with a stuffing stick, shaping as you stuff. Stuff the head to the consistency of a ripe orange, not too hard, it is a hard habit to break, but really a very hard head, in my dolls, causes lots of problems.. After all, art imitates its creator!
If the head begins to get long on you, use your palms and fingers to shape it and form it into the shape you like. Most of the time, this will solve the proble like magic. Take the time to do this before cutting and sewing a new head. If this does not solve the problem, check the fabric you are using. Sometimes doe suede has a one way stretch, sometimes it has more stretch one way than the other. If the fabric has a one way stretch, try placing the template across the grain at a bias, or straight against the grain. It is a good idea to have a box of heads anyway...that way you can guage your progress as you learn, get the feel of different ways to use the fabric, and to practice the sculpting techniques, which if we are lucky, we will never master. If we master a technique, we fall into a rut of not trying different ways of doing it... Everyone has a different manner of sewing also, some of us sew almost on the line, some of us sew exactly on the line and I sew wherever the machine takes me , because I am not a skilled seamstress. I sometimes stop before the dot, sometimes after to dot, and sometimes on the dot. All of this can effect the shape and size of the doll head. Even the tension on the machine.
Stuff gently, firmly but not hard, mold the head with your hands, and check the fabric before cutting, all of this will give you an idea of how the head will look, and remember there are no mistakes only options...and opportunities to re create!
How do you get the stuffing to stay in the nose?
Once again, I have to repeat, it is a matter of the amount of stuffing used at one time, and the way a nose is stuffed. First, I do not stuff rock hard. When stuffing the head, I begin by filling in the nose area with a tiny bit of stuffing. I really work that in well to the nose area. Then, I fill in around the nose and chin area with more stuffing. Then, as I work on stuffing the entire head, from back to front, I continue to work the stuffing toward the nose, with my stuffing stick with each addition of stuffing. If you can push down on the nose and it does not wrinkle badly around the mouth and nostril area, or collapse the chin, then you have enough stuffing to hold it's shape without stuffing hard. When the head is stuffed, then it is up to you to be sure and catch the stuffing under the thread when sculpting. Enter the needle, gather a good amount of the underlying stuffing in your needle before you exit. At the nostril area, work deep, pulling up stuffing and using the tip of the needle to shape as you sculpt. Also, please, please, create a large enough nostril for the nose, this is one of the major mistakes in sculpting a nose. If the nostril is too small, the nose will look unnatural. Check out your nostrils, and the nostrils of the people around you. You will see that they are not needlepoints. Don't fight with the sculpting, often times, it does not take even a tug, just a stitch to get the nose shape.
Practice this, and soon you will have great noses. Not too big, not too small and not to far up on the forehead, another big mistake. Always check out the hair line before beginning to sculpt. Make a mark with an air soluble pen if you have to to indicate where the hair will be placed before you begin to sculpt the nose.
