HOW TO MAKE: fabric printed mini dolls

I've been wanting to play around with printing on fabric, and decided to have a go after watching this video.  Making these stylised dolls looked fun, and as they were unlikely to be washed then using acrylic paint instead of specific fabric paint would be good enough.  They're also not intended to be put in the hands of young children because of the beads (dangers of choking).  So, like the birds I sewed the other day, they're meant to be decorative rather than functional.  

I started out by finding pieces of plain white cotton in my stash.  I gell printed on them in mainly yellow, orange and red, then used stencils to add more detail and colour.  

After letting the fabric dry overnight, I cut out two squares using a quilt ruler as a guide. 

I added a loop of ribbon, pinning that in place at what'll be the top centre of the front of the doll.  Then folded the square in half lengthways.  So now you've got a long thin rectangle,  

I machine sewed the side seam together.  Then keeping the fabric wrong sides out I moved the fabric so the seam ran down the centre of what'll be the doll's back.  Then - after a couple of attempts that didn't quite work - I used a lip balm tin to mark a semi circle, and machine-sewed that.  

I trimmed the edges around the dolls shoulders, and turned the fabric right side out.  

The doll was lightly padded out with polyester wadding.  

I used a strong thread to string several beads, as well as pieces of a broken necklace and part of an earring.  Tucking them into the gap at the base of the doll, I turned the fabric's raw edges under and machine sewed the gap closed.  

That was fiddly and I didn't do a great job.  On one of the dolls my stitching was so dodgy I covered it over with a strip of gold coloured washi tape! 

Creating the doll's face was done with a circle of white felt.  I drew on it with gel pens, then used a little acrylic paint to stencil on what's meant to be the doll's hair.  The face is attached with a generous amount of decoupage medium, though I'm sure PVA would do just as well.  

These are the finished dolls, and as first attempts they're not too bad.  

If I was making these dolls again, I'd embroider the face instead of drawing it on, doing that first of all, before the step where you add the ribbon loop.  I might still use white felt, but once I'd embroidered the doll's features I'd hand-sew the circle in place on the square of fabric instead of gluing it.  

I'd also prefer to have the gap through which you add the stuffing on the back seam, instead of at the base.  Maybe I'll have a fiddle about and make a third doll to get things exactly how I'd want 'em.  

Let me know if you have a go at these yourself.  I'd love to see them.