So I finally finished my orders yesterday... no more orders waiting currently... a time to relax, a time to reflect on the past dolls I've made, and a time to do something just for ME. Well, in this case, it wasn't exactly for me... it was a little goldfish for my boyfriend's mom.. But it wasn't an order.. it was a celebration for all orders finished! (Well, at least until the next batch comes..)
I thought I'd start the celebration with a step-by-step making-of Monsieur GoldFish~
Materials: 1 toddler sock, matching coloured threads, polyester fill stuffing, 2 buttons, 2 eye beads, fabric scissor, seamstress scissor
** You can make a bigger fish if you like with a bigger sock.. I wanted to make a goldfish key-chain so I wanted to make a smaller one. Remember, once you stuff the sock, it will become bigger, so keep in mind what size sock to use. **
Start off by taking a large handful of stuffing and rolling into a tight fist-size ball. Push the stuffing into the sock to the coloured-toe area and make it tight and dense by grabbing the outside of the sock and pushing the stuffing down to the toe. Hold on to the neck and start rolling the sock into a fat oval. Then cut off the sock along with the curve of the oval, as you will need to close the opening with the "slip stitch". Don't throw away the sock! The rest of the sock will become the coloured body, tail fin, side fins, and top dorsal fin!
To start the slip stitch, take about 3-4mm of the sock fabric with the needle and pull the thread through. Then take the same mount of fabric in the same area below your first stitch. You will keep on making a stitch on the top, then bottom, then top, and then bottom until you reach the very end of the opening. Pull your stitches tight so that the opening is snug and closed up, but not so tight that it bunches up.
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| First top stitch made. Making second bottom stitch. |
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| Pulling the top and bottom stitch together. |
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| Several top and bottom slip stitches being done. Pull it tight along the way. |
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| Cut opening is now closed up with the slip stitch. It will have a zig-zag look. |
Take the leftover sock and cover over the oval ball - the neck of the sock should act like the body for the fish. Pinch the remainder of the sock close to the edge of the oval. Make a straight cut. The leftover sock will now be used for the fins.
You will now have to close off the back end of the body cover. To do this, a simple "straight stitch" will be used to seal off the gap. As this is a smaller doll, you will need to stitch closer to the opening edge (approximately 3-4mm away from the edge).
The stitch length should be about 3-4mm long as well. Use the straight stitch (with the needle feeding through the sock fabric over and under) around the gap in a circle. Once you have done so, pull the straight stitch so the fabric will bunch up. Push the excess fabric in the center and then pull the stitch tight so it has a clean finish. Make criss-crossing stitches over the closed off area to finish it off to make it tighter and secure.
I wanted to make a goldfish, and in this case, I wanted the tail fin shape to be a bit loud. So I cut the shape of the fin almost in a star-like manner. You can cut different shapes of fin to your liking. If you would like a really big tail fin, you can use another sock as well.
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| Flip the fin inside out. |
You will now need to close off most of the tail fin with the "backstitch", leaving one side open to turn the fin back out again and to put stuffing in. Make sure to stitch as straight as possible.
Run the needle through the sock fabric about 3-4mm in length. Pull the thread all the way through. Re-enter the needle at the spot just a bit before where the previous stitch came out. You will have stitch back (hence this is called the backstitch). The front will look like a dotted line, whereas the back will look like long stitches are made.
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| Making the first stitch. |
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| Re-entering the needle before previous stitch to make backstitch. |
Leaving only one side of the fin open, knot the backstitch. Flip the fin back out. You may need to push the corners out with a long-tip tweezer. Once the fin is turned back out fully, stuff with stuffing. Do not stuff too full as the fin should be more flat than bulgy. Close off the remaining opening with the slip stitch.
Attaching the tail fin to the body is done by using the "ladder stitch". This is essentially like the slip stitch, except the top stitch will be taking in fabric from the tail, and the bottom stitch will be taking fabric from the body.
You will need to do this all around the fin. Each stitch should be close to each other so it will be a solid attachment to the body. Once the ladder stitch is done, knot it off and your tail is fully attached!
I hope you haven't thrown away the rest of the sock scraps because that is what you will use to make the side and dorsal fins for the goldfish!
Attach the side fins using the ladder stitch. Make sure they are both equal and leveled on both sides of the body. Fishies can't swim properly if one fin is up, while the other one is down~
Now, add the eyes. Start from inside of the neck of the sock and pick up material from the underside of the body. Push the needle through so this will attach the outer sock and inner sock. Thread in a button and a black eye bead. Sew the eye on by looping through the holes of the button/bead a few times for security and do the same on the other side of the head.
Turn the fish to face you... Look where the center of the fish is to mark where the top dorsal fin will go. Sew the dorsal fin on with the ladder stitch. Finish the attachment with a knot and you are done!
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| Monsieur GoldFish is done! |
