Apes and Animals

Saggy Critters

Apes and Animals, Techniques

This past fall, I really wanted to play with a new body style. I wanted it to be floppy and droopy and a bit simpler than my regular patterns. I also wanted it to be a pattern that is sewn completely on machine and is ready to turn and stuff once sewn (with the exception of the eyes and face features). I thought it would be nice to have a simpler pattern that could have more sensory features, like silky minky fabric and more weight, and also be less involved in terms of facial features.

The very first doll I made in this style is below: I kept for myself and I’m proud to say I sleep with it like a teddy bear!

I then made an actual teddy bear version which was sold just after the New Year.

And the kitten you see at the top of this post is the most recent iteration. I ended up making a special liner to go in the lower two thirds of the body, including the legs, so that I could fill it almost completely with pellets rather than my usual method which is to put pellets in a sack and position that inside of the belly. The result is heavy, saggy, sloshy goodness!

Even though I love making creatures, their heads are generally inspired or start out as patterns that resemble some kind of animal head. Recently I got very excited about making actual animal heads to go on the saggy body and I drafted a mole, elephant, hippo and rodent in addition to the kitten and bear heads! I don’t generally love doing straight-up animals anymore because I can get hung up on realism, but I think with this pattern I can keep it fun. I can’t wait to sew some more!

Maurice Gorilla ready for adoption

Apes and Animals

Maurice the Gorilla is a handmade art doll intended for adult collectors. He is now ready for adoption both at http://www.Bearpile.com/preciousprimates as well as in my Etsy shop.

I had so much fun doing his photos yesterday!

Maurice the Gorilla: work in progress

Apes and Animals

I’ve been working on this sweet baby mountain gorilla. He’s made in the same basic style as my other needle felted and plush apes, but with fabric hands and feet. I also put a new kind of armature in him that I’ve not used before. It makes him totally pose-able which is ever so fun! He’s not quite finished, but I couldn’t wait to share.

He is about 18-20″ tall from head to foot. When he is finished and available to purchase, I will send updated photos and purchase information to the mailing list. I am not taking reserves or pre-orders for him, but subscribers will be the first ones given an opportunity to buy!

Next on my list after this gorilla baby is another ape in the same style–either an albino gorilla, albino chimp or albino orangutan–I can’t decide!

An earlier progress shot next to a photo of the inspirational photo of a real gorilla baby

Natural Fiber Mini Ape Doll

Apes and Animals, Uncategorized

I have two main styles of ape dolls that I’ve been focusing on: those made with faux fur and needle felted faces, and those made in the natural fiber art doll style like the picture. This style is adapted from the classic Waldorf-style dolls and I have used it to make ape babies. Typically, I add “fur” by way of brushable mohair (visit my gallery for examples).

The gorilla head being formed from wool before getting covered

I wanted to try a natural fiber ape baby that was tiny rather than life-sized. Because of the small size, I was able to give this baby string-jointed legs which makes him so fun and pose-able. His arms are flappy/floppy which just adds to the fun.

I haven’t added any fur to this gorilla baby yet because I haven’t found something that looks just right. Stay tuned!

Realistic baby chimpanzee doll

Apes and Animals

I wanted to take a moment to highlight one of my favorite dolls which was made to order for a lovely customer back in the spring. This is my chimpanzee baby doll, made with luxurious faux fur fabric and a highly detailed face made by hand with the needle felting technique.

The ears, hands and feet are also made with wool. The baby is the same size as a real baby chimp and is lightly weighted with floppy arms.

This is the kind of ape doll I dreamed of owning as a child. It is so fun to hold and cuddle. The techniques I use result in a doll that is not fragile and even though I don’t make these dolls for children, I feel that as an adult collector, the lack of fragility still really improves the appeal of the doll. While you won’t be dragging it around or throwing it across the room (I hope!) it’s really amazing to be able to hold and pose these dolls and not have to worry about them breaking or coming apart.

This style of doll is available in any ape species. If you’d like one of your own, make sure you’re signed up for my mailing list. Subscribers get first dibs when new babies are available and are the first notified if/when I have made to order slots available.