Thistle Complete

Thistle is finished at last!

My favorite part of this little character doll was making her clothing.  The fabrics are so beautiful, from the dark purple silk pantaloons to the satin ribbon points at the bottom of the bodice and sleeves.  The ribbon ruffle around her neck is a pretty sheer ribbon with satin edges which adds beautiful texture.

The ribbon roses don't really go with the thistle theme, but having just recently acquired the skill of making them, I couldn't resist.  I especially like the green one on her bodice.

Her shoes were a challenge.  I came up with several ideas, but rejected them all until I thought of these little sandals.  I made them on her feet, first gluing the ribbon pieces in place on the bottoms of her feet.  Then I cut ultrasuede soles.  Each sole is a double thickness of ultrasuede with a piece of index card sandwiched in between and sewn all around with a whip stitch.  The final step was making polymer clay heels and gluing the soles and heels in place.  I discovered that I had some lavender opalescent milk glass flower beads that made the perfect accent for the sandals.