Embroidery Techniques for Doll and Softie Faces

As you all know I am a big fan of painting when it comes to dolls and softie faces for kiddie winks under 3, but I also love embroidery.

As my sewing machine was given to me by my lovely grandmother-in-law before she passed away, and was made circa 1960-70’s I haven’t had the courage to try its embroidery settings. If only she were here to give me a little guidance!!

So I have been calling on the years I spent at school (for ‘young ladies’ back in the UK) embroidering my stitch sampler tea-towel.

I was thrilled when I found this book, The Needlework Book by Wanda Passadore, in my local thrift store. All the simple stitches are there and some more complex ones too…..

I use a Backstitch for simple mouths.

You can add more than one color to your mouths too.  Simply outline your mouth in one color and fill in with another, or blend the threads together like this:



From The Needlework Book by Wanda Passadore

For doll and softie eyes you can use a simple Satin Stitch to fill them in.

Or get a more 3D effect using the Padded Satin Stitch. 
I like this stitch for dolly cheeks too :)



From The Needlework Book by Wanda Passadore



For small eyes I love French Knots

But there are so many different stitches to try!!


From the Needle n Thread 

I just started using the Stem Stitch for my Babushka dolls and I have to say I am loving it!!

It’s a lot bolder than the back stitch and works very well on curves, I really think this is now my favorite stitch for faces. If you haven’t tried it, give it a go, it’s a lot easier than you think.

Funny, I forgot how relaxing hand embroidery was …. I love to sit with the sun streaming in the window, music in the back ground watching my little girl as I stitch on a cute little dolly mouth.

Don’t have the book, can’t remember your stitches, don’t worry, I found the Needle n Thread  a wonderful website by Mary Corbet with online videos to teach you the stitches again!