THE "SISTER" DOLLS

Some time ago I decided to make some "sister" dolls as a gift for my Mother. I am the oldest of five girls. We live all over the country and it seems we never all get together. The birthday party next month will be just such an occasion!

To create these dolls I drew a template for the basic shape of the doll. Then I located five photographs of the sisters and printed them off on fabric sheets. ( my face is not here in the photo as it was already on a doll) If you look closely you will notice that the photos on either end of the row look remarkably similar. Yes, they are twins!

For continuity I manipulated them in my photo program to all be in sepia tones. They are pictures from our grade school days! I cut out fronts and backs for the dolls using the template and some assorted scraps of fabrics I had. These were machine stitched together around the edges using a satin stitch and leaving an opening in the bottom for stuffing with some polyester fiberfill. The bottom was hand stitched closed and then the fun began!

I collected on my work table an assortment of fabrics, trims, laces and old doilies as well as all my many jars of buttons and beads. I hand stitched the pieces on in pleasing designs and added lots of beads. The last step was to remove the paper backing from the photographs and carefully glue them to the dolls with Mod Podge. After the faces dried, I added head shawls made from dyed cheesecloth. This was a good way to disguise the odd head shapes and the backs of the heads.

From left to right we are: Judith Eileen (me), Carol Marie, Christine Margaret, Suzanne Elizabeth and Kathleen Nancy. This was a great project that allowed me some quiet time to reflect on each of my sisters as I created their dolls. We are all good friends and I miss them a lot.