Take a pipe cleaner about 10cm long. Thread on a bead for a head and twist pipe cleaner over it to secure.
Take a second pipe cleaner and twist it around the first, just below the bead. The closer to the bead, the better to later hide the 'neck'.
Trim arms to a natural looking size, plus a few millimetres to bend over to secure the fleece in the next step.
Take a 1cm wide strip of natural coloured fleece sliver. Place it about 1cm from the end.
(Spotlight sells Merino lengths which will be fine for a small project)
Contact me if you have any difficulty sourcing fleece in your area and I'll point you in the right direction.
Wind the fleece towards the tip, trying to keep the sliver as wide as possible to prevent wiry threads appearing.
At the end, turn over the tip to secure the fleece for long term longevity of the doll then wind back towards the body.
Any excess fleece can be wound around the body in a diagonal, either way, as this will be hidden under the dress.
Follow the same instructions to wrap the other arm.
Loop up the bottom pipe cleaner for safe keeping.
Take a long length of green fleece, about 25cm long.
Split into two, long ways.
Place it over the 'shoulders' of the fairy.
Cross the lengths over, both at the front and the back and gently pull it down to make the bust of the dress firm, and not puffy.
Take a small sliver of yellow fleece. Wrap it around body under bust to secure the dress.
Gently shape the 'dress' into a pointed shape.
Give her a 'shampoo' of glue
Then attach a 8cm length of gold fleece for her hair.
Embellish as you wish!
I have used small yellow beads as the wattle flower, and a golden thread for her crown.
I also threaded a fine cotton thread up through the back of the head where the pipe cleaner holds the bead, so she can hang above the nature table.
The actual paper 'invitation' hangs on this thread.
It is a simple 'fire', signifying the light of the winter candle that burns through the dark nights.
Happy Creating!
11 thoughtful sentiments from YOU!:
Thank you for such a great tutorial!!! I think I might make some of these in bright sunny colours, as we're about to celebrate summer solstice here!
:) maureen
great tute Amber! I love how you draw local elements into your seasonal crafting/celebrations.
thanks for sharing that! she's gorgeous :)
Thanks for dropping by! I love reading your comments. Good luck with making your very own wattle fairies! I saw a load of wattle today, so must pick a big bunch tomorrow.
Nice fill someone in on and this enter helped me alot in my college assignement. Say thank you you seeking your information.
Thank you for these great instructions, I'm going to use this as a base for my angel for my Advent calendar.
I LOVE it! Thank you so much for posting this. I've been wanting to try to make a fairy/angel felt doll and I actually think I might be able to make one now!
Great. I'm just looking at the pics again and know I must stop taking them at night!! Daytime pics in natural light are so much better.
Thank you for posting this tutorial. I helped my 2.5-year-old make some today and posted pictures at http://craftymomsshare.blogspot.com/2011/09/fairies-fairies.html. Thank you again!
My name is Maggie and I am helping to run a parenting program.I do the story and craft.your blog is so inspirational,thank you so much for taking the time to put up your "how to's". I have tried ro make your spring fairy for my kids,it turned out ok,I'm going to try it again,I wasn't overall happy with the hair.next week I am going to make your banksia buzzy bees.your playgroup and kinder look amazing,there needs to be more Steiner Kinders,thanks again Maggie
hi i love your tutorials! thanks so much for being so generous with the information. would you happen to know how to make the ends of the fairy all curly as i've seen on other dolls like these? how do they get those curls to stay?
thanks again,
carla
Post a Comment