Penny turned 2 on the 21st. (part of the reason for the wonderful blogging break we just took) Christmas time birthdays are hard. Everyone gave me the list of “what not to do” when she was born. Don’t wrap her gifts in Christmas wrapping paper (I totally did) Don’t decorate her party with Christmas decorations (guilty) Most important of all don’t combine Christmas and birthday presents together. Well we had only planned a small family gathering (mostly adults and 1 infant cousin) since she is two so besides making sure we ate her favorite foods and invited her favorite people I wasn’t going overboard here. Then a few short days before the party I realized I forgot to get her a birthday present! I considered just grabbing one from under the tree and calling it good but then I was haunted by the “what not to do list” so I decided I would make her something. Since she is both a Frozen fanatic, and doll lover making “frozen” dolls just made sense. I printed out my super hero doll pattern and made a few simple modifications and then bam a few hours later I had a set of dolls.
You could easily make any princess your little one loves, or any super hero, or really any character you could possibly dream up.
You will need:
Fleece or knit fabric in an assortment of colors
Stuffing
Needle and thread
Buttons (optional for eyes or other embellishments I left them off these dolls since my 2 year old would likely sleep with them)
To make the princesses I cut the doll shape following the pattern but instead of cutting out the legs I made it a skirt shape. Then just like with the super hero dolls you will layer on the details. I started with the the shirt and skirt and then, for Anna I added the black bodice piece with gold trim, and I used my sewing machine to embroider on some of the green detail and I tied some french knots for the flowers. You can of course be as detailed or as simple and basic as you want.
Then I added the front cape pieced and the hair. For all of these pieces I just cut out hair free hand, mimicking two braids.
I stitched details into the hair on my machine and then cut the ends into strips so it was like “real hair”
Then for the back I added the cape, skirt and shirt and hair. Just remember to copy the front clothing to the back and you should be good. Sew the front and back together and stuff just like the instructions have you do.
Here are more “up close” shots of the characters to give you an idea. Elsa had white hair which I created in layers so it would have more details. The dress was kept fairly simple with a sweetheart bodice over a glitter felt that I used for the white part. Then I added lace trim for some of the details. I also added a back cape for her.
Anna, was made as shown above the only details I added at the end was a small tie for the cape and I used silver puff paint to add the streak in her hair.
Kristoff was made following the original super hero design. I skipped any fur details but added the maroon trim to his vest and of course the hair 🙂
Olaf was a little challenging. I actually made 2, the first one I made eyes and his whole face, but, well he looked super creepy, and out of place since the others didn’t have faces and looked more simple. My husband suggested leaving off the face all together but the key to the dolls is capturing the defining characteristics of the characters and I feel like for Olaf he needs his mouth, and his nose. So he got that, and I cut out an entirely different shape for him, but made him essentially the same way as the others. I did’t love him but Penny sure did so I guess it’s a win.
So there is the whole crew, who made one particular birthday girl extremely happy.
If super heroes are more your thing than you can always make those as well.
Anne
Cute!!! I’ve got a Craft Gossip post that links to your free pattern here:
http://sewing.craftgossip.com/free-pattern-frozen-character-softies/2015/01/03/
–Anne
K
I disagree on some of the don’ts. Ours was the week before Christmas. We always did both BD and Christmas presents. Plus a bigger gift that would be a both gift. Child loved it. was something bigger than would have gotten at either. Sort of a makeup for having both so close together.
We found it was more difficult that we thought to have BD party that close to Christmas. Some parents were to busy to bring some. Seems like they would like to have a free afternoon that close to Christmas.:-)
Becky Jorgensen
I love these Frozen softies! They’re super cute and adorable! Thank you for sharing!
You’ve been featured at http://www.plushiepatterns.com! We love your tutorial. Feel free to submit any plushie or doll tutorials to be featured again. http://www.plushiepatterns.com/elsa-doll-frozen-movie/