Frida Kahlo is done!!! I am so excited to finish her!

Here she is in many, many photos!

1. Frida’s face, 2. Yarn Braids, 3. Hair, 4. Frida in the sun

1. Frida!, 2. Shawl and Skirt, back, 3. Swatch Sweater Vest, front, 4. Swatch Sweater Vest, back

Pattern: Purl Girl from the Purl Bee, designed my Mimi Kirchner

Materials: Wool felt (body and base of hair), cotton yarn (black hair and eyebrow), silky wool yarn (red hair and roses), embroidery floss (to assemble body and make the face), jersey knit (shawl), cotton herringbone (skirt), cotton eyelet (underskirt), cotton trim and lace, two buttons for the leg join and poly fill stuffing.

I followed Mimi’s pattern faithfully (the way the legs are attached is GENIUS but I feel like my arms are weak) with the exception of the arms, which I accidentally did not crease the correct way.

For her hair I cut lengths of red and black yarn, braided them together, pinned the braid in the arrangement I wanted and sewed it down. For her roses, I crocheted tiny circles and attached them to her braid using the tails. I just tied them off and snipped carefully.

For her eyebrow, I pinned a piece of the black yarn down in the arrangement that I wanted and embroidered across it. The face was the most difficult part. I am not skilled at embroidering on a stuffed face and I was afraid to do the face first and then distort it when I stuffed the doll. I think it looks pretty okay though.

For her clothing I used the dress that comes with the pattern and cut it off at the waist. I cut two layers of material, one longer than the other, stitched the white lace to the waist band, hemmed the top skirt, attached the lace to the bottom skirt and then seamed the whole thing up the back. It slips on and stays up with the waist tied. I cut her triangle shawl from a scrap of fabric and her little vest is a swatch I knit for a design that never was.

I am SO HAPPY with her! I have a whole series of inspiring (to me) women I want to make (Pearl Cleage, Jhumpa Lahiri) Now, I just need a little shelf over my sewing table so she can inspire me daily.