If you want to knit fantastic, fashionable, glamorous dolls, for children or adults - this is the book for you!
To be honest, I was never really a ‘doll’ person, but Fiona McDonald's Babes in the Wool has changed all that. I am now a convert! These dolls really are ‘babes’! They are trendy, attractive, up-to-date and - most importantly- really easy to knit!
Looking at the pictures you might think they are quite difficult to construct - but actually, this isn’t so. The author makes everything easy to understand, going through the construction of the body parts bit by bit with easy-to-follow, clear instructions.
Isn’t the hair fabulous? Well - it’s easily done! There’s a rooted method which involves the simple use of a crochet hook with spectacular results, or the use of fake hair by stitching. And the clothes are stylish but again, simple to knit.
But what about the eyes and the mouth, I hear my fellow creative knitters moan? Don’t worry - Fiona provides templates which you can trace, and she also include eyebrows - and she gives instructions on how to paint them too. She shows you how to needle-sculpt the face and nose to give depth to the facial features.
There are two sections in the book - the first is for smaller dolls (19 ¾”, 50cm high) with a simple nose structure, whilst the second gives more complex instructions for sculpting a more life-like nose and these dolls stand at 23 ¼”, 59cms high. The front is different to the back in these larger dolls, giving a more sculptured appearance to the body and they also have a thumb! (Handy for when they have to apply their nailpolish!)
The beauty of these dolls is that you can use the basic elements to create your own dolls. I was devastated when The Killing (the Danish TV series) ended, but I comforted myself by knitting my own Sarah Lund doll using the basic small body doll parts from the book and adapting the clothing. I wanted this doll to look like a specific, recognisable person so I took a picture of Sarah Lund from a copy of the Radio Times and cut out the eyes, mouth and eyebrows and carefully glued them onto the face, then varnished them. Obviously this is a doll for an adult!
The dolls are quick to knit up - I suppose it took me about two days to produce the finished object in my limited spare time. A quick knitter could make one in a day. I used inexpensive double knitting wool and ordered the polyester fibrefill from the internet - about £6 for a large bag.
This is a brilliant book which I would highly recommend to all knitters who want to knit unusual, quirky items. And unlike many knitting projects - there’s never a dull moment with these babes in the wool!