Rag Doll

I mentioned a few posts back that this summer my daughter would be working on some projects from the Keepers at Home Handbook.
She picked her first one and I'm sure you won't be surprised to find out that she wants to make a rag doll.
I've been teaching my daughter to sew for several years now, so while this is a big project for her, I know that she's capable. This will however test her endurance as she likes to start these projects and then give up half-way through. I intend to help her along with encouragement and make sure she accomplishes this goal.
I have lots and lots of fabric scraps, so she picked out her desired piece and got started. We found a free pattern for the doll online, which is always a blessing.... who likes to pay for patterns? She cut out the pattern and then pinned it to the fabric to be cut.
Next, she drew the face on with pencil and then went over that again with special markers that won't bleed or wash out of the fabric. We had thought about embroidering the face on, but I don't think she's quite ready for that yet. I have a great picture of her doing this, but it shows too much of her face, so you'll just have to imagine it ;)
The next step is sewing! For some reason so many people have an aversion to sewing by hand. They almost cringe whenever you mention it. Personally, I find hand sewing very relaxing and rewarding; but that's just me. Didn't anyone else read the Little House On The Prairie books and long to sew a dress by hand? Anyway, whenever I teach someone to sew I always stress the fact that you need to know how to sew at least some basic stitches with a good old hand needle and thread. Even when sewing something by machine, many times you still need to finish things with hand stitches to make it look professional. For this reason I decided to teach my daughter to sew by hand before I let her near a machine. She's mastered the running stitch and backstitch techniques, but she does still need to work on consistent length; but that will come with practice. After she's stuffed the doll she will learn the slipstitch to close the holes invisibly. She would like to make a dress or two and other accessories, but we'll see how ambitious she is when she's finished with the doll itself.
I'll keep you updated on her progress!