DIY Fabric Nutcracker Doll

 My 2 1/2 year old is somewhat obsessed with ballet. Mainly Swan Lake, Petrouchka and the Nutcracker. In the nutcracker, she is particularly concerned with, and talks often of, the moment the nutcracker is broken. I don't think she's even processed that there is a land filled with candy or a doll that comes to life- she just talks about the broken toy.

We considered taking her to the montreal ballet nutcracker for christmas- but for $100 or more, it would be nice if she would remember it, or if we could somehow guarantee she would sit still for the whole show! We decided to wait until she is a little older.

In the meantime, we really wanted to give her some part of the nutcracker for christmas, and thought of buying her a nutcracker ornament or toy. The cheap-tacky mass produced ones held no appeal to me- plus being decorative means they are not held up to toddler friendly or earth friendly standards. The beautiful handmade german ones would be nice- except they cost as much as going to the show.

Trying to spend as little as possible on christmas gifts can be challenging when you have something specific in mind. I have no woodworking experience, so what's a crafty mom to do?

SEW! Why of course! I can't believe it took me this long to consider!

I couldn't find any sort of pattern online, so I decided to wing it. I took a doll of hers (Amber doll), and loosely traced each body part separately. I then traced that on to each piece of fabric adding stuffing room and seam allowance. I looked at a few tutorials online on basic doll construction, and put this little number together!

I had some hilarious mishaps (never hilarious in the moment, only after), like sewing the arm in and then noticing I hadn't stuffed it- then doing it again the second side! I also make the legs slightly different sizes- we'll say he is post-break but pre-becoming real. I had some tacky gold and black string, like shoe lace, which I braided to decorate his military outfit.

Hey girl.

One of the things I love about sewing things like this myself, is although it may not be as perfect as store bought, I can use incredible materials. I have bags and bags of italian wool samples, so this doll is made of those, instead of cheap polyester. What better doll to cuddle than fine fabrics? I guess L will grow up to be a bit of a fabric snob :)