I have this compulsion to buy books on Amazon. Ok, let’s face it, I have a lot of “compulsions” and not a lot of self control. But I digress – I wanted to tell you about a purchase I made on Amazon – a book called Growing up Sew Liberated by Meg McElwee, and show you one of the projects I made out of the book, a Waldorf doll called “the little Amigo doll.”

Of all the sewing books for baby I bought, I think this is one of the better ones. It goes further than just the diaper bag, bibs and crib bumpers that so many other books limit themselves to (no bumpers or diaper bags in this book, by the way, but there is a jersey bib that goes over the head). Even now I feel inspired as I flip through the pages and stick a few more projects into the mental pile of “to do later,” such as the hideaway play tent (shown on the cover), and the kimono style reversible baby sweatshirt that looks so comfortable. I love that all the patterns are full size and come in an envelope at the back of the book, and there are sidebars that give sewing tips or ideas for creative play that are fantastic.

So here is my first project made from this book, the little Amigo doll. It was a Christmas present for Serena, my niece, who was 18months at the time.

The instructions are fairly straight-forward, and although stuffing it and attaching the head was a bit fiddly, it was do-able. The most time-consuming part was attaching the hair. I could not believe how much hair she has!! There seems to be some instructions missing for the crocheted doll wig, but there is a great tutorial on the author’s blog, here, for a braided  doll wig that needs no crocheting ability!

I tried at least 3 times to shape the foot the way she suggested but had no luck. After picking out the stitches the third time I decided that Serena’s Amigo doll was going to go footless.

The little overalls are so cute, and fit perfectly (if a little short… but I imagine if my doll had feet they would probably be the right size). The shirt was actually quite difficult to do because of the fiddly nature of the teeny-tiny clothes. The neckline is just folded over and top-stitched. I would skip this part altogether if I were to do it again and instead just do a facing. I’m definitely not skilled enough to topstitch a neckline that small.

All in all though, I think for my first doll-making experience this one was positive. I really enjoyed watching her come to life. I think Serena eventually warmed to her too, and it was especially nice to put her in a good home.