The Usable Unused : How to create soft toys with waste materials

A very belated  Happy New Year to all of you and my sincerest apologies for being away for quite a long long time. I took this sabbatical to finish my few pending projects before I took to blogging. Now here I am fresh and rejuvenated to start sharing ideas again. During this long pause I inadvertently indulged in few experiments of converting the home wastes to usable things like dolls and soft toys of various animal characters. I did it for my younger one and found it interesting to share with you also. So bear with me folks. 
    

This year I have thought of making new toys  for the kids of my family. Something completely by myself and using all non toxic materials available at home. We all know how much we used to love our big cute dolls and different soft toys of various animals when we were kids. 

The Requirements 

• Any old cloth in light colour like peach shade, light pink , skin colour or off white colour
• Wool or any kind of natural fiber like jute to make hair
• Colored threads
• Fabric colours or permanent marker pens in blue and black colours

The Start

• I started with an old silk cloth in skin colour which was lying unused in my waste box. 
• I customized it by cutting according to the need and requirements. 
• Next stage was to visualize the dolls and various animal shaped toys I was trying to create. 
• Then I made a rough sketch of it.
• Drawing the sketch of the dolls and various animal shaped characters needs a little imagination, focus and creativity.  
• It is always better to  draw the hands and the body of the dolls and animals  in one piece of cloth  and the legs in another piece of cloth.  

Little Precautions

• The sketch of the characters  should match your visualization
• The outline of the sketch should be such that it matches the body parts of the intended character
• The length and width should be drawn according to the size and shape of the character 
• You can draw the facial features with a little more focus and ensure that it looks as intended

The Stitching 

• After the sketching part the stitching is the next stage.  
• On the outline you can use machine stitching or hand stitching also according to your taste
• After stitching, you can stuff the body of the doll and other toys  with cotton from one of your old or discarded pillows
• You can make the facial features with fabric colours or hand embroidery 

Rest of the Things 

• It is advisable to use old wool to make the hair of the doll
• You can very well use old clothes of your children which are lying unproductively  
• I particularly used the old unused clothes of my son as a dress for the doll 
• The dressing part is entirely left to you as per your taste and availability of the old unused clothes. 
• Dress the doll and other character toys in such a way that it looks new and classy. children love to play with seemingly new dolls 

The Outcome

My son loved ️️️it the moment I presented to him. I have been making this soft toys without his knowledge when he went to school. Pleasant surprises specially gifts are one way of making others happy and yourself too. My son felt so pampered and delighted after hearing that it was all homemade and handmade for him only. My happiness knew no bounds when he promised that in return gift he too will make a handmade gift for me. 

I realized that one way to bond with your children is to create something for them from your own skills. I hope the same magic is recreated for you all also. Just try it for your children and loved ones. I promise you wont regret.