I'm participating in a Dotee doll exchange on Mary Jane's Farm. I'd never heard of Store dolls before. It seems they were created originally by a woman named Dot Christian. The doll body and head is from 3-5 inches long, it has a "tail", usually made of beads, and is usually made of beads. There is a ribbon loop sewn into the top for hanging. Usually the face is blanket-stitch appliqued to the body. The face can be drawn, painted, embroidered, or printed. The key to success for this doll is embellishment. You can see a whole slideshow of dolls at Flickr in the Dotee dolls group, or google For Dotee doll images.
Embroidering the doll's face was something that I could do on my embroidery machine. I've been wanting to learn how to use the PE-Design software for a while to do something other than import and change existing designs.
After only about 6 hours, I have figured out the software and created several in-the-hoop designs for Dotee dolls. They require some refinement, since I need to change the order of sewing.
Moving my laptop closer to the sewing machine might also help, I really got a workout yesterday going up and down the stairs... But at the same time, I am also converting my cassette tape collection to MP3s, and the stereo is downstairs.
I've made a few cloth bodies for the dolls, but I also want to do some knitted dolls. Maybe make the tails out of I-cord. I'll post photos here when done.
