Clothespin dolls tutorial

I was about to link to the tutorials I followed to make my dolls, only to realize that I followed more than 3 to finally make my own stuff, and that none explained how to paint the faces in a satisfying way. So I put everything together in my very own tutorial so you can make cuties all by yourself.  

This tutorial isfor personal use only. If you want to sell some dolls, please invent your very own model.

Enjoy!

I can't remember where I got the closthespins, probably at Blicks. You can find them easily, just look for traditional wood clothespins. 

I used fabrics from a quilting bundle I found a while ago at SuperBuzzy. It was unexpensive, but they don't sell samples for the moment. Any quilting fabric will do. Fabric lighter than quilting will fray, and heavier are impossible to drape on such a small object. Pinking shears are a must. I tried to make the skirts with bands of fabric , but the dolls having no waist at all makes it an impossible challenge.

For the paint I used Holbein's Acryla gouache, which is quite expensive. But the palette is very nice and girly, so I can buy my favorite colors and paint right out of the tube, and fix any problem later. The finish is the same soft finish as gouache, but water resistant enough for that kind of project. I could forgo the varnish process altogether, which I hate because it changes the colors and I'm messy and impatient. It dries a bit lighter than painted just like gouache, and is very much forgiving for color blocks, much more than classic acrylic. So it was really perfect for my little project. I bought half a dozen of my favorite colors (shell pink, mustard, leaf green,pale aqua, etc) and was perfectly happy with my purchase.

Il est possible de trouver ces pinces à linge en France. J'en ai trouvé ches Perigot, mais il ya surement d'autres endroits. Je n'ai pas traduit ce tutoriel, mais si vous n'arrivez pas à comprendre demandez dans les coms, je serais ravie de vous aider. Pinking shears, par exemple, ce sont des ciseaux cranteurs. Et quilt weight fabric, c'est de la bete toile de coton pas trop epaisse, le genre qu'on utilise pour le patchwork.