Free Pattern!

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Baby Bows About 18" to 20" long A SUPER SIMPLE AND FUN PATTERN! by Judi Ward/Judi's Dolls ©2006

You will need:

• Two Baby Bows can be made from one yard of Craft Velour or other 54" to 60" wide, firm knit fabric. You can put the pattern on the fabric in either direction. With the "stretch" up and down, the Baby will be a bit longer and slimmer…With the "stretch" side to side; the Baby will be a bit plumper and shorter. This doll is not stuffed hard, so the difference will be very minor.
  
• A pound or so of polyester stuffing.
  
• About 2 1/2 yards/meters of 1/4" wide ribbon to tie the joints with. Another piece of ribbon to tie in the "hair".
  
• Cut four, 15" pieces for the legs and arms, and a 24" piece for the neck .
  
• Some scrap yarn…You only need about 30 strands 10" long.
  
• A pair of Preemie or Newborn "Foot Jammies" and a knit baby cap.
  
• A newborn diaper if you have one.
  
• Sewing supplies and thread to match your doll's skin.
  
• A 1" Styrofoam or wooden ball.
  NOTE>>>Do not use wood for a small child's doll, in case they might somehow get it out of the head and swallow it, even though it is encased in yarn and would be REALLY hard to swallow!….
  Another NOTE>>> You could also use a couple of cotton balls to tie the hair around.
  
• Freezer Paper or card stock or whatever you would like, to make the whole pattern from. I use Freezer paper; iron it to the fabric and draw around it. For this large doll, sewing around the Freezer Paper is quite difficult, because of all the turns, and it comes loose, that is why I do the draw around method for Baby Bows.
  
• 2 yards of very strong nylon cord. I use my Jointing Cord. The cord you use needs to be able to be put through the eye of a big needle and strong enough that you can not even come close to breaking 2 strands, it if you pull as hard as you can. (See if an adult Guy can break it. That is an even better test.)

Pattern: Click on Each Page Below to View and Print Pattern.

• Pattern Page 1
• Pattern Page 2
• Pattern Page 3

Directions:

This doll is so simple that the directions are very brief…When you overlap the paper by the 1/2 ", you will need to complete some little spaces… Line up the FOLD line, and complete the little spots that don't print. They are VERY small and easy.

1. Make a whole pattern on Freezer Paper or card stock….or….whatever you desire.

2. Draw around the whole pattern on your doubled fabric.

3. Pin the fabric together in a few spots…cut away some of the excess fabric to make the whole thing easier to handle, and then sew all around the form using a very small stitch and leaving the top of the head open. (For extra strength sew the whole doll twice. (Or at least sew the V s and U s a second time.)

4. Cut the sewn form out about ¼" from your sewing, and clip at all V s and U s.

5. Turn right side out, and top stitch inside the ears.

6. Stuff the feet and legs, then when you get to the hips, tie a ribbon around the area, making a double knot first, then tie a bow, and then tie the loops of the bow in a knot. This will hopefully keep little fingers from un-tying the ribbons. You can also sew the knots to secure them better…NOTE>>> you can also stitch across theses areas if desired. But, I made Baby Bows with the tied joints, so my little neighbor girls could do all of the "dollmaking", except for the machine sewing of the form. This is a really fun Kid Project, with adult help and supervision… Baby Bows is also a wonderful "lovey" doll, or play doll that is soft, warm, and wears real baby clothes.

7. Stuff the hands and arms to the shoulders, and tie the shoulders off like you did the legs.

8. Stuff the tummy nice and round, and up into the neck and head, making them quite firm.

9. Tie a ribbon around the neck, like you did for the hips and shoulders, but don't make the neck too small.

10. Thread a big needle with 2 strands of jointing cord or 6-8 strands of dental floss, and run a gather stitch around the head where marked. (not at the edge) That extra fabric makes tucking it into the head easier.

11. Lay out about 30 strands of yarn, about 10" long, and tie them in the center. Pull the yarn down over a ball and tie below the ball.

12. As you pull the gather stitches up tight, add stuffing to form the head better , then poke all of the excess fabric to the inside of the head, push the ball into the opening and tie the gathering cords really tight! The ball keeps the yarn inside of the head, and makes a cute top knot hairdo. Trim the yarn shorter. NOTE>>>Children will need help here.

13. Tie a pretty ribbon around the "hair" for a girl doll.

14. For the faces, you can use Gel Pens or embroidery….Glue on simple felt circles about 1/2'" in diameter for the awake eyes. Make little black lines at the sides for eyelashes. Make little eyebrows with Gel Pen too.

15. Draw along the edge of a fifty cent piece or freehand a curved line for the asleep eyes. Make curved lines for the mouths. The noses are also just a little curved line. Be sure to make the faces low on the heads. The eyes will be located at about the lower half of the ears. The eyebrows at about the top edge of the ears.

14. Dress your baby in real baby clothes. If you have a disposable diaper that is cool!

[288x217] Stuff the feet and legs and tie the hips.

[282x212] Stuff hands and arms and tie the shoulders. Stuff into the tummy now too.

[311x234] Stuff the tummy full and then fill the head pretty well.

[306x230] Tie the neck.

[368x232] Prepare the yarn…I have used the wooden ball.

[313x319] Tie the ball into the center of the yarn.

Remember making "yarn dolls" as a child!

[335x360] Gather the top of the head along the line shown in the pattern. The excess fabric pushes into the head. Be sure to look at your Baby and add stuffing into the head to make it nice and plump.

[341x356] Pop the yarn and ball into the opening and tie REALLY tight!

[320x286] Make the eyes low on the head.

[290x386] An Awake face of felt and little curved lines.

Remember, this is a 2 faced Baby. The asleep face will be on the other side. Just turn the PJs and cap around.

[266x412] An Asleep face all made of little curved lines.

[273x412] All ready for bed. The cap covers the awake face.

[268x356] The awake face made of little curved lines and felt.

[247x364] All ready for play. The asleep face is covered by the cap. I added little white dots in the eyes too.

This little Baby can be added to in many ways too.

If you do needle sculpture, cute dimples, creases, and a belly button and bottom are cute.

If you do portrait type faces, or any other type of face work, please do so for your Baby Bows if desired. Embroidering the simple face is especially nice for a play or hospital doll.

For this simple, free pattern, I am not going into detail for any needle sculpture or other painting. Baby Bows is meant to be a very simple, quick, baby to make as gifts, for hospitals, as club projects, and to make with children.

HAVE FUN!!! Make a bunch, they are quite addicting! Gives you a reason to buy baby clothes from a thrift store too!

Dolly Hugs, Judi

http://www.judisdolls.com For patterns for all sorts of cloth dolls, dolls for sale, and classes.

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http://thedollnet.com For all sorts of Dolly and Crafty stuff including dollmaking supplies.

http://www.craftycollege.com For classes of all sorts, including my 8 classes.

Directions and Pattern also Available in the following 2 Formats...

• PDF Format - Click HERE
• MS Word Format - Click HERE