The Final Post (originally posted 9/28/16, edited 4/19/22)

Although this blog has been discontinued, I have synthesized and reorganized the most popular original content to make it easier to use. Posts covering similar topics have been condensed, but all important information, diagrams and photos have been retained. When a book (from a posted review) has stood the test of time for me, I've moved that information to the Bibliography. I have removed most of the descriptive tags, and searching by topic (see the sidebar) is much easier

I hope the blog continues to be a resource for textile artists and doll enthusiasts. As always, if you have questions, let me know. Thanks for visiting!

Over the past year, online visitation to Agosia Arts resources has changed considerably. Although hundreds of people visit the blog every month, many more visit the website, Facebook page and YouTube channel. When I began the blog, my goal was to share my techniques with others and provide behind the scenes insight into my design process. Videos have quickly replaced blog posts in popularity. People don't have as much time to read and pour over diagrams, and prefer quick visuals shared occasionally on Facebook, and (now) daily on Instagram.

It's time to say goodbye to the blog. I am committed to sharing my techniques and inspirations, but will shift my emphasis to other sources. As always, if you have questions, send them my way!

Creating the Basic Agosia Arts Doll Body: A Video Synopsis

I've discussed drafting patterns and sewing bodies previously in the blog: New in the Studio: Small Rodents - a description of trying out new patterns ; The Basics - a description of button joints from way back in 2008. Since I've been posting on YouTube, I've received a few requests for a video about making cloth bodies. Well, here it is!  As always, I welcome questions.

What To Do When Your Roadrunner Needs To Lose Weight: Altering the Body Size of A Cloth Figure

When making bodies for my cloth figures, I prefer using wool. There are many reasons for this; it has visual weight, is easy to sew by hand and provides wonderful texture. All fabrics have been prewashed and I purposefully try to felt wool to increase its density. Most fabrics are stable, but sometimes they behave in an unexpected manner.

This pair of roadrunners provides an example of a fabric surprise. Both birds are made from a variety of wools. The plaid used for the body of the right-hand bird is quite firm, with zero movement, but the brown herringbone on the left-hand bird stretched quite a bit during stuffing. As a result, the body and the neck are wider than they should be (see arrows at left)  I could live with the body, but the neck needs to be altered. The head looks out of proportion on top of the thick neck. The heads are only pinned on at this point, so a fix is still an option.

What to do? I have already strung the joints and don't want to take the body apart or start over. Thankfully, the solution is simple - sew an afterthought dart directly into the stuffed body. The first step is to determine where to place the dart. In this case, I decided to run it up the back and neck, but it could go anywhere. I could have placed a few on either side of the neck and down the shoulders, which wouldn't be visible, but I decided to take in the body and neck at the same time.

The dart can be sewn at this point, but it is much easier to pin the dart in place first. You need strong pins and I prefer to use glass-headed pins, not T-pins, because they won't tangle in my thread. With your pin, take a tiny bite of fabric along one side of the dart. Reach across with the point of the pin and dig into the other side of the dart. Pivot the point down into the stuffing. This action will catch the fabric and pin the fold of fabric down.

Continue on with the pinning until the entire dart is in place. In this case, I took out about an inch of fabric. Slip stitch the seam with a strong thread. I use button thread. The dart slimmed the body a small amount but made a considerable difference in the appearance of the neck.

The head is pinned onto the neck again and the proportions look much better. Although the afterthought dart can solve many body shape problems, it is used to best affect when the body parts are made of firm fabrics.

Stay tuned...

Beadwork On A Completed Garment

I've been using this garment as an example for the past few posts because it features a variety of embellishments. This post will cover the basics of beading (a video tutorial is in the works). I use beads on just about every figure I make and this post will cover my two more common techniques. The jacket is completed and beadwork is the last thing I add. Some people might add beads first, but I think this interferes too much with sewing on the machine. 

The garment sections are lined and the lining (in this case, silk) is attached around the perimeter of each section. Any stitches attaching beads will be hidden by the lining, but I have to be careful to not catch the lining. Its kind a dance between fingers and fabric. With each change in position, I have to take care that the lining hangs loose behind the area I'm working.

For beads that are going to cover an area, like the center of these flowers, I will add beads no more than three at a time using a backstitch. I use either waxed upholstery thread (for larger beads) or Nymo (for small seed beads). I knot in the fabric after every other stitch of beadwork. I am not fond of couching because I think it is a perfect way to lose a lot of beads at once.

I like to add picots of beads (small clusters of three beads) along the edge of garments. I use the same thread and stitches mentioned above, but often knot after each picot. On edges, I don't have to worry about stitches showing through to the back because I have for layers of fabric here (this includes the seam allowances).  A common question is how to evenly space the beads. Everyone has a built-in ruler - their thumb! You can attach beads a thumbnail apart (easiest), but if you want a smaller distance, mark it on your thumbnail with a fine marker.

Next time I'll share a book review. Stay tuned...

Sewing Doll Sleeves For Maximal Movement

Adding sleeves to doll clothing requires some thought. If your dolls are not designed to move, sleeves can be sewn to the bodice as normal. If your doll has arms that are jointed at the shoulder, you probably want some level of movement to the sleeve. The problem with small garments is that they don't behave quite the same way as normal sized ones. Functional sleeves require more fabric than you would expect around the armscye and this extra fabric creates unattractive bulk on small bodices.The following technique is useful for dolls that are designed for different poses, but are still mainly display items. Dolls that are destined to become playthings require traditional clothing.

I never sew sleeves to the rest of the garment because this almost always leads to a decrease in the range of movement for the arm. Usually a sewn-in sleeve restricts the arm to being raised only halfway, both front and back.  To address this issue, I separate the sleeve from the bodice completely. I've altered my patterns to include a bit of extra fabric along the shoulder and armsyce of the bodice - this creates a tiny extension into the arm. The sleeve pattern has a larger than normal cap head to create a bit more fabric around the shoulder joint. Neither of these changes is detectable visually (visit my Pinterest gallery for a look at some of the garments), but provides necessary coverage to hide the seam area. The two garment sections are sewn and lined in my usual manner (see previous post).

To complete the garment, I sew a running stitch along the  finished sleeve with upholstery thread, slide the sleeve onto the arm and draw up the stitches until the fit looks good. The sleeve is gathered around the shoulder joint, and ideally, the edges are tucked into the groove of the joint between the arm and body. The thread is tied off and buried in the arm. The arm is now covered, but able to move a full 360 degrees. The extra fabric along the armscye of the bodice covers the puckers from the gathering and it appears to be attached to the garment.

Some artists use this type of sleeve, but choose to add it to the arm before it is attached to the body. The joint connection of choice (often a button) is then visible on the outside of the sleeve. This look is quite appropriate for cloth figures leaning toward a folk style or where the artist wants to emphasize the joint.

As you can see, full range of movement is available in the shoulder. Usually, the sleeve moves along with the arm, and if the tension of the gathers is correct, there is no additional friction because of the extra layers of fabric between body parts.

An added benefit of this technique is that you don't need to fuss with sewing the small curves of the armscye. You can design your jackets and shirts to have separate sleeves with gentle curves. Less hassle and faster to sew.

Give the technique a try and let me know how it works.

Next post, beadwork!  Stay tuned...