Ms. Bunny is here!

After two solid days of drawing, cutting, and stitching, I can now introduce Ms. Bunny!

Yes, it took 5 dolls and multiple tweeks of the pattern to reach the perfect sized body with proportional arms and legs and pretty ears. And I finally managed to stitch her legs on the right way on the last doll. Yay!

I’m still playing with the right amount of stuffing to stick into her arms and torso. Too little and she flops around like a fish. Too much and her arms stick out like she’s tightrope walking.

All in all, I’ve learned so much about doll making from this experience. It is VERY different from flat quilt designing, but just as rewarding.

Who is Ms. Bunny?

Ms. Bunny is a key character in my new book Mally the Maker and the Queen in the Quilt (preorder coming soon!) and she was based on the very special doll I was given for Christmas when I was around 4 years old. Almost overnight she became my special stuffed animal that I couldn’t sleep without. She was quite simply my best friend.

Sadly, I lost Ms. Bunny on a scout camping trip when I was around 7 or 8. I’m not exaggerating when I say that was devastating. I was given tons of other bunny dolls, but none of them were the exact right size or shape as Ms. Bunny.

When I began outlining Mally the Maker, I knew I wanted to give Mally, the main character, a special friend to help her along the way. And it didn’t take me more than a second to think of my lost friend. Ms. Bunny is a central character in Mally the Maker and will always play a special role in this book series.

So part of what has made this doll making process more challenging has been the fact that I’m trying to recreate something I haven’t seen in 26 years. I’m actually surprised I managed to make this with only 5 versions of the doll.

Now that she’s stitched it’s time to design her dresses! I can’t wait!

Let’s go sew,

Leah Day