Hi and welcome back to my blog! Today I'm finishing up a spontaneous project I began the other day using real, dyed leather scraps that I had left over from a previous job for a client. I didn't plan anything on paper, I just sort of imagined it and have been mapping out the logistics as I go along. That's why I haven't posted any sketches and you may feel as though you are just jumping right into the middle of the process. Let me walk you through it quickly.....
The basic materials I had lying around...2 kinds of pink leather....(unseen materials include thread, needles, and really sharp scissors)
I began with cutting out panels to design the nose and overall head. Then I used brown thread to place the eyes. On to the ears (I love their floppiness!) which are just folded layers of leather but have a great realistic movement quality. From there I imagined what kind of legs and feet they have and made four circles and stumbled through several sizes of perpendicular leather cut outs. Finally I sewed all four of them together and they are ready for attachment to the torso.
I used regular old batting to stuff the legs and then went about pinning where they should be placed on the torso. This is as far as I've gotten because it takes a loooooooong time to sew leather, in the round, by hand, while you make it up as you go along. I wanted this to be unique however so of course I'll continue the hard way.
After I attach both back legs (and create a tail) I plan on doing two important things: including a metal wire skeleton so this doll will take on puppet capabilities for stop motion film and filling the bottoms of the feet with seeds to weigh it down. If I don't, then the elephant could easily tip over, and I'd like to have a little more control over the positioning.
Finally! At long last I built up enough calluses on my fingers and braved the difficult final stitches to finish this project. Here are the finished product shots.
In the end I gave it as a baptism gift to a relative. I'm happy she got a good home. Thanks for following!
