© 1999 Not For Sale, for personal use only
| Instructions: 1) Trace around the pattern on the wrong side of the fabric folded the 2 layers - right sides together. |
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Doll Hands -trace twice |
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 Wearable Art Pin |
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2) Sew on that line. For a wearable pin, leave an opening at the side of the palm for turning and stuffing (note marks on the pattern). |
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| * As you sew along the curves, keep your hand on the pressure foot lever so you can sew a few stitches , stop with the needle down through the fabric, lift the foot to turn the fabric, then lower the foot to sew a few more stitches. Take your time to get smooth lines in the stitching.
* In any size of these patterns, always make one or two stitches when sewing into the corners between the finger tips so that you can clip the seam allowance and have enough space to have it lay flat after it is turned right side out. 3) Cut out the hand, leaving 1/4" seam allowance on the larger sizes and a scant 1/8" on the smaller ones. Cut clips up to the stitching line in the deep curves between the fingers as shown here: |
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4) Turn right side out using the tube turner. Push the tube inside to the finger tip. With the rod, tuck a bit of fabric into the tube to grip it. Hold tight, start the turn and push the fabric onto the rod. Work it to get the finger pushed to the inside of the hand. Try not to push so hard that the fabric tears. If it does get a minor rip, it can be repaired later with stitches, a bit of glue or paint. Use the rod to push the points and seams to the outside of the shape, then finger press to flatten. |
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5) Top stitch the lines between the fingers with matching thread. Mark it first with pencil or tool of choice and back stitch at the beginning and end of that line of sewing. 6) Stuff each finger individually by wrapping a small amount of fiber-fill around the tip of a wire stuffing tool - like spinning a cocoon that is the same width as the finger. The stuffing that feels like cotton (Mountain Mist) holds the shape better than the more slippery polyesters. Don't over fill the fingers that are to be bent as marked. Test the finger to see if it will bend at these places as you stuff. Firmly stuff the unmarked fingers and the rest of the palm, but not to bulging. |
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7) Needle sculpting will give dimension to the hands and make bends in the fingers. Close the side seam on the wearable pin with a ladder stitch. Using needle with double thread to match fabric, start by going in at the base of a finger where the knot will be hidden (or on "live long" at base of topstitching). Come out at one of the dots on the palm shown here. Take a tiny stitch and come out on the back of the hand, take a tiny stitch, then out the palm at the next dot. Keep going from back to front, pulling the palm in at these dots to shape it. End at the base of a finger and knot. |
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Bend the finger at its base by folding the fabric inside and sew it down tight to the palm with hidden stitches from side to side of the finger until it stays in place. Go on to the next bend in the finger and do the same.
On "yoga mudra", sew 3 bends to curve the index finger toward the thumb and then tack it to the thumb. |
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| 8) Embellishments are the last step for the wearable pin and your imagination is the tool here! Acrylic paints and beads can be used to add more symbols to the finger tips. You can paint a star or spiral or eye in the palm. Water color paints work as well, but should be sealed with a krylon matte sealer after it is dry.
A dimensional eye can be added by sewing on a bead or shank button, or a cloth covered marble with an iris and pupil painted on it (made shiny with clear fingernail polish ). Or a flat backed doll eye can be glued on with gem-tak or a bit of epoxy. A small strip of fabric or ribbon can be sewn on in folds for eyelids above and below the eye. The sky is the limit! To wear the hand as a pin, sew a jewelry pin back onto the back of the hand at the base of the fingers. To make it a hanging ornament, sew a loop of cord to the top of a finger. |
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