Matryoshka Doll Microwavable Bed Warmer

This craft was designed for our local 2009 Christmas craft fair, I made 10 of these little dolls and they ended up being my best seller. This pattern is great for crafters like myself who have loads of leftover scraps of fabric. Just find three different bits that go well together. Amy Buttler fabrics are my favorite, and she has lots of beautiful designs that use the same colours.

I'd made simple rectangular neck warmers before but I thought it would be fun to give them a little more character.

The shape of the little Russian nesting
doll is perfect. I started by sketching
out a simple design.

should you not have time to make your own Matryoshka Doll Microwavable Bed Warmer you can buy one from my Etsy Store.

List of Tools:

• Sewing machine
• Sharp Scissors
  
• funnel
  
• chopstick
• Sewing Needle
• Iron
• Dressmaker's carbon or embroidery-transfer pencil
  

List of Materials: * tips

• 3 different corresponding pieces of cotton fabric 2 x 23cm x 23cm, 1 x 13cm x 10cm (2 - 9"x 9", 1 - 5"x 4")
  
• 1 piece of low-loft (thin) quilt batting, either cotton or poly will work, I used polyester because I had some on hand
• corresponding thread
• 3 cups of Oat Groats for filler *I found organic oat groats in the bulk section of whole foods (see other filler option bellow)
  
• Lavender oil * optional
  
• 2 corresponding pieces of felt for felt flowers *use real fool felt whenever possible
• 1 piece of skin coloured felt for her face
• 1 piece of felt for hair *I usually use chocolate brown for contrast
• Pink embroidery floss for lips
• Black or brown embroidery floss for eyes

Other Filler Options:

• Uncooked rice
• Barley
• Flax seed (this is a lighter option)
  
• Cherry pits
• Fennel seed
  
• Buckwheat hulls

* I've always used the oat groats because they hold the heat for a long time and they don't give off as much of a scent as other options.



MatryoshkaDollBedWarmerPattern -

or download the pattern here

Instructions:

1. With the right sides together, machine-sew the head to the body using the edge of foot as your guide with the needle in the right hand position in order to get the correct seam allowance, to avoid puckering. In other words you want to sew close to the edge leaving approximately a 3mm seam allowance.




2. Iron seams flat and top stitch on both sides of the seam.







3. Pin the back to the front, right sides together with one layer of batting on each side, machine-sew around edge leaving the bottom open for stuffing.





4. Clip curves and trim corners with sharp scissors, make small cuts at intervals around curves, snipping almost to but not through the seam. On curves that will be turned inward, clip wedges. Also trim down the batting to further reduce the bulk.






5. Turn doll right side out using the end of a chopstick.
* do not iron






6. Stuff doll with your choice of filler, using a funnel and the chopstick to get rid of any air spaces.
* if you are using a scented oil, mix it with the filler in a bowl prior to filling the doll.





7. Pin, then hand sew bottom of doll using a ladder stitch






8. Hand stitch face to body using a whip stitch.



9. Transfer the embroidery design of the eyes and lips onto the face. Because the face is felt you can use one of two methods.

• Using dressmaker's carbon lay the carbon sheet carbon side down on felt, and then lay the template design on top, and trace the design with a ballpoint pen
• Or using an embroidery-transfer pencil trace design onto a piece of tracing paper. Then iron the tracing directly onto the fabric

*personally I freehand the design using a pigma micron 01 (.25mm) pen which you can find at any art supply store (I got mine at loomis)


10. Embroider Face using a satin stitch, long smooth stitches will provide a shimmery finish. Stitches should be laid close together so that no fabric is showing through.
* embroidering felt can be challenging, I find it helps to go through to the layer of cotton underneath for stability. You could also use fabric paints if you wanted more control or detail.



11. Hand stitch hair, cheeks (optional) and flowers using the whip stitch.





Voila! Congratulations you have made your very own Matryoshka Doll Microwavable Bed Warmer.


or buy one from my Etsy store


It's time to try out your doll in the microwave. Because every one's micro is different, try heating it one minute at a time until you get the desired heat.