Makin' toys for my babes

While Lily was unwell she took to flicking through my 'Softies' sewing book and asking me to make her some of the toys that she found in it. I was happy to do it too, because the process of choosing the toy and the fabrics and the process of helping me to trace the patterns and stuff the toys transformed her briefly from a listless little thing into an excited and happy girl.

The first toy that she chose was "Mabel Monkey" and I took the opportunity to make a second one for Charlie. I was really happy with the way they turned out too. It's a really simple and straightforward pattern.

As soon as "Mabel" was finished, Lily gave her a big cuddle, threw a birthday party for her and then picked up the book again to choose another toy. When I thought about it, I could understand why. When I was a child, if I could have made pictures in a book come to life within a day or two, I would have been all about it too.

I was also pretty happy with her next choice. I have always liked the look of "Polly" and I thought that Lily's choice of fabrics was lots of fun. Again, it was a pretty simple pattern to make and I loved how Polly turned out.

Finally, I have been intending to make Lily a Steiner doll to give her after the birth as a sort of "Big Sister" present. I got my lovely sister-in-law to help me get started quite some time ago and then it sat in my study/studio for a long time... Well, I finally bought the book "Making Waldorf Dolls" a few weeks ago and it gave me to courage to finish the doll.

I have to say that, unlike the softies, this was not an easy project. I found it pretty challenging actually and won't be jumping to make another one for quite a while. My sister-in-law makes these dolls for her business and only charges $145 for each doll (which comes with two complete outfits, including gorgeous hand-knitted cardigans!). Once you consider the considerable cost of the materials that go into making them, plus the time that it takes to put them together, I would have to charge upwards of $500 to even make a profit. I am in awe of her!

That said, in the end I was really happy with how Lil's doll turned out (especially if you look back at my first attempt at making a Steiner doll!) and I am kind of excited to give it to her after Charlie is born.


What do you think of them?