Working in Miniature

My sewing machine packed up this week, after months of annoying inefficiencies, so I have been forced to cash in my meagre savings and buy a new one. I've never had a new sewing machine, so I am very excited. However, it is Easter weekend, so it will not arrive until Tuesday! I don't think I can go that long without making something, so I looked around for something small I could make by hand.
Some time ago I built a Fairytale Castle. I use the term "fairytale" loosely because it has dark turrets, gargoyles and sinister sigils on the walls, so it does have a certain "dark" feel to it. I was looking at it and thinking that one of the towers needed a princess inside.

 (All good castles need a princess in the tower...)

Rapunzel came to mind first, but to be honest, nothing so wholesome and "nice" stands a chance at Castle Cobweb and anyway, I like my princesses a little more exotic, so I set about creating a 3 inch princess to guard the tower, lest any wayward princes should happen to wander by.
I began by collecting materials. I had some scraps of fabric, pipe cleaners and a bit of very old polymer clay which remarkable had not gone completely hard (I always get the kind that needs baking, so I can work it soft if it's been in the cupboard for a while.)
I had a head which I made a long time ago and fitted it onto the end of a pipecleaner. I used the rest of the pipe cleaner to make the rest of her frame.

Already, I was getting an idea of what she would be like - a certain Eastern flavour was coming through...)

I then made some feet and hands from tiny balls of polymer clay and used a needle to make holes.

I fitted them, then baked the hands and feet according to the manufacturers instructions. Then I padded her body with a bit of wadding and glued some strips of old stocking material over the top.

When the hands and feet were "cooked" I glued them onto the wire frame.







Next, I made her undergarments out of some blue lining fabric, stitched criss-cross to resemble breeches "laced-on" in the ancient style. To be honest, her underthings won't really show, this is mostly for stability. The more I stitch onto and through the body, the stronger it is. Her clothes won't come off; they are part of the figure.

I used some purple lining to make the skirt; one tube for the skirt and two more for the sleeves, all stitched in place. For a figure this tiny, lining fabric is perfect as it is nice and thin and drapes well. It looks like thick taffeta.

Having made her under dress I added some gold braid around the wrists and a piece of gold organza for an over-tunic.

I decided to cut some of this away as it seemed too much and embellished her clothes with thin gold ribbon.

Then I painted her face with acrylic paints.

And painted her feet in black, for shoes.


Then glued some black acrylic hair on in layers.

Here she is finished. A much more feisty princess than those Disney lasses. This one won't be pining over handsome princes. She's far too busy!

I made her a telescope so she can stand lookout, and I'm thinking of possibly creating a bow and arrow. A girl can't be too careful...