A 6-inch Needle Felted Kili Doll

I finally made a Kili doll! Despite the fact that he's definitely one of the most popular characters, it seems like we had never gotten around to making a doll of that particular dwarf. I'm holding off on Kili and Fili in the large set of needle-felted dolls until last, because they have challenging faces --- and I want to make sure that we get the perfect materials for them.

So, when I got a request to make a 6" Kili doll a few weeks ago, Elizabeth and I were pretty excited! His outfit really lends itself to felting, so that was no problem and actually a lot of fun to make. His beard is definitely the challenging thing, but well worth the finished doll. Elizabeth's favorite part is the right-hand glove with three gloved fingers for archery.

These 6" dolls are fun to make. It can be challenging to get the details small enough for this size, but using Merino makes the clothes fine enough to add wrinkles, layers, etc. To see more photos of Kili and the others, CLICK HERE.

This makes the eighth different Hobbit character that I've made in the 6" size, and they really look fabulous. Here is a Photoshopped group of them (I've never actually had more than three of them in the house at one time.):

I've got another order for Oin the Dwarf in this size, so I hope to have it finished in a few weeks.
More later.

Bilbo & Fili Large Plush Dolls

Almost every Middle Earth character seems to lend themselves to at least one style of handmade doll. Many of them seem to have endless possibilities. I mean, Bilbo and Samwise seem like they are perfect for every type of doll. Maybe it depends on your love of dolls . . . but I've always loved dolls, so they seem like a natural combination with Tolkien's fabulous characters. Between the two of us, we've made a variety of dolls (cloth, wool, wire, etc.) over the years, but today's spotlight falls on some of the neatest creative endeavours that we've gotten to see personally (based on Middle Earth characters). These dolls were given to us by one of our best friends, Olivia. She and her sister are artists, but they are so creative that they can make just about anything you could think of!

Imagine how thrilled we were to receive these two large plush dolls for Christmas! She made Fili for Elizabeth and Bilbo for me (having made Thorin for her sister). In the picture above, you see the pair seated happily in their new home . . . and having donned a scarf and some socks!

Olivia watched a few YouTube tutorials about making plush dolls, and she read up on different needle-sculpting techniques online. To make the hands, she actually traced her own hand and then sized it down on the computer to the different sizes for a dwarf and a hobbit.

The dolls are made of anti-pill fleece and measure 30" (Bilbo) and 36" (Fili) tall. The Hobbit hair on both his head and feet is made of a special faux fur material, as is Fili's beard. Fili's braids and hair are made of two different types of yarn.

What's really fun about making dolls this large, is the fact that the door is opened for a vast amount of creativity in dressing and accessorizing them.

Here is little Bilbo wearing size 6-months Baby Osh Kosh pants and an 18-24 months onesie top. We're going to sew a vest and jacket for him, but that's a future project!

Accessories are a lot of fun, too. My Dad carved this wooden Sting for Bilbo. I think that I'm just going to polyurethane it once it's warmer outside. That would give it a kind of cool toy-like look while still protecting the wood.

Old purses can be turned into great backpacks for these dolls, too!

We've posted more info and pictures about these dolls and their accessories on our website here:
http://sarahbethonline.com/middleearth/bilboandfili.html
We'll also continue to update with more creative ideas to do with Bilbo and Fili on this blog!