Boy Sock Rag Doll Pattern and Tutorial

Julian, this little boy sock rag doll, reminds me of the first boy I ever liked in second or third grade. His name was Elijah. I don’t remember his last name. When I think back, it was very very  innocent. I didn’t fantasize about marrying him or being intimate with him in any way—but I liked him in a way that I couldn’t find words for at the time. 

This the first time in my life that I realized that there was a fundamental difference between boys and girls. I am the older of two brothers—but they were my brothers—I love my brothers but I didn’t notice that they were different psychologically. I knew they looked physically different but it wasn’t significant in my understanding of male and females and how they coexisted in the world.  

For me, making male dolls carry a different energy than my female dolls. Maybe I don’t understand their language—but I find them to be quiet. They are not talkative like my female dolls. They don’t want to play with me like my female dolls. I tried to think of various poses for Julian but he wanted to get the photo shoot over with quickly.

For many doll makers their male dolls look very feminine.  I think the basic ideology of a modern day doll for most people is a girl doll. We say things like, “getting all dolled up,” or “she is pretty as a doll,” to convey quintessential femininity.

So for many of us female doll makers, I think when we make a male doll we try to capture the bare bones of masculine gender physical traits—but we rarely capture the  collective male soul energy.  As a matter fact, we call male dolls action figures. 

I don’t understand why a male doll is called an action figure even though he is made just like a female doll in terms of materials. Male Barbie dolls—called Ken dolls-- do not sell as well as female dolls. I think they discontinued Ken but I am not one hundred percent sure.

My son and I had a huge argument about the way I made DeMatter’s Beard. (He is the father of the Jungle Beauty Goddesses) My son said , Ma no man wears his beard like this—what man have you ever seen with a beard like this? I told him that I have a right to make a male doll look any way my imagination chooses to do so.

DeMatter (Father of the Jungle Beauty Goddesses)

Long story short—capturing masculinity beyond clothes and hair can be very difficult because the collective energy of doll making is for dolls to be cute, cuddly, inanimate girlfriends to tell our secrets to, play dress up, and have tea.

Julian feels like a little boy to me. His girlfriend, Jewel asked me to make her best friend Julian. I hope Julian doesn’t become angry with Jewel for requesting his presence in doll form. If Julian appears to be unhappy, I think we should all agree to call him an action figure.

I hope you enjoy this little boy sock rag doll tutorial. Do you think he holds the energy of a little boy?

 Cassandra George Sturges

" I know there is a doll inside of you who is just dying to come to life--but only you can bring him to life. Thank you so much for listening."

Make a doll come to life 

 

Greetings Dollings, in this Julian handmade sock rag doll Tutorial, I am going to show you how to trace and stuff the pattern, attach the bead nose, and attach the ears to your little boy sock rag. This is part 1 on how to make Julian the sock rag doll. To make this handmade sock  rag doll you will need  a single pair of knit men’s socks, Mountain Mist or Morning Glory Fiberfill, a doll needle, upholstery  thread, gesso, paint, yarn,  buttons, felt, and sewing machine or sewing needle.

Sock Rag Doll Free Pattern - Doll Maker Story Time - Meet Jewel

Doll Maker Story Time -  Jewel Sock Rag Doll Free Pattern

By, Cassandra George Sturges

Hello dollings, a doll is never just a doll. It is the embodiment of an emotion seeking the right words. Every doll and doll maker is a storyteller. I am sharing my Jewel Sock Rag Doll Pattern with you for free -- but she comes with a heavy spiritual price for me as a doll maker.

Ever since I started making dolls, in my mid-late forties,  I worked tirelessly to make my dolls as close to human as possible. My dolls have beautifully constructed lady-parts, areolas, butts, buxoms, with hand-sculpted nipples, navels, and wire armatures. Even my male dolls are anatomically correct. My dolls have poseable fingers and toes with fake polished nails. I glued on fake eyelashes and spent hours making eyes that take 24 to 48 hours to dry. I sculpt my doll’s noses, and sew their lips separately before sewing them to my doll’s face. Let’s not even begin to discuss the 8-10 hair weave job for my life size dolls.

 I have cried myself to sleep like a 2-year-old because I couldn’t get their fingers perfect. People say they like my dolls. Some people say they love my dolls. However, no one has ever asked me how much my life size dolls cost or asked me if I could make one for them. I mean I don’t know where they would place the doll in their home—or what they would do with it--but that is not the point of this rant.

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I used to make fun of people why cry on those cooking competition shows who cakes fall or meals fail to turn out right when they lose a cooking competition. I realized one day that the shows wouldn’t be nearly as interesting if they didn’t care passionately about what they were doing. Why would anyone bother to watch a show where people were nonchalant about their craft? Right? 

I guess the point is that we shouldn’t  bother doing something if we can’t muster up the energy to do it with all of our heart or not at all. I love it when Iyanla Vazant says on her show Fix my life,  “Just let your heart break.” Now I know these people have way more serious issues than over cooked chickens, and doll patterns that rip just as you make your last stitch. Nevertheless, the point is to be passionate about your life because this is what makes your life rich and juicy and worth living.

~~~

Back to my original story…

I posted a picture of Jewel - this simply made, easy, inexpensive Sock Rag Doll and people want to purchase her. Why? You can make her yourself if you’ve got 30 minutes to spare. I don’t understand why people like this sock rag doll?  My daughter –in-law, saw the prototype for the Jewel Sock Rag Doll with the upside down  T shaped  felt nose, and fell in love with her. She said that she loved how unique and whimsical the doll look. She has never said how much she likes any of my other dolls. Did she not see the Jungle Beauty Goddesses sitting in the living room, huh?

I am feeling…hurt…insulted … embarrassed.. . Misunderstood? I don’t know the word—I don’t think I have ever felt like this before. Let me first tell you why I created Jewel.

One night, I was wondering aloud to God, if I should continue to make cloth doll patterns, DIYs, and Tutorials for my Authentik Beauty Handmade Dolls and Crafts YouTube Channel. I surmised that no one cares and it takes a lot more energy to make dolls on camera than in bed or while watching television. Feeling disappointed, I had decided that I would make cloth dolls only for myself. As I was turning my computer off, I received a notification that Blessed Jewel—a subscriber on my YouTube channel had commented. “Cassandra, You got me checking in everyday looking…” I took a picture of her message with my phone…yes …and cried like a 2-year-old.

Her timing could not have been more perfect. I said to myself;  if I have an opportunity, I want to let her know how much she inspired me to keep making doll tutorials.  When she asked me if I could make a pattern for a sock rag doll for children in the hospital—I promised I would after I finished making the Geraldine the Sock Mermaid doll tutorials.

It took everything inside of me not to give Jewel sculpted fingers, wire armature, or sculpt her nose. I kept thinking make it child friendly and easy to make. It will be over before you know it. I drew basic doll eyes for her and decided to make her pupils with felt. Jewel has felt lips, and I decided to use the bead that was sitting next to my computer from my Shaka Bead Jointed Doll Tutorials. Why not it’s sitting right here. I liked it better that the felt upside down T nose. While I am finishing Jewel—she tells me that she is lonely without her boyfriend Julian who wears an Afro. I am like… girl how old are you?

To my surprise more and more sock rag dolls used this as an opportunity to manifest on the earth plane. Wisdom and Timeless Beauty came through. Other sock rag dolls want me to teach people how to use gemstones, herbs, and oils for various types of healing and personal development dolls. I don’t know if I am going to make these type of videos yet. My head is still spinning.

My ego is deeply bruised lamenting, “the masses like McDonald’s not fine dining. People want hotdogs not caviar. Open yourself up to simplicity. Open yourself up to whimsical. Let go. Being a doll maker is not about making the perfect doll. Perfection is not in the execution of the doll—but the emotional and psychological feelings that inspire joy, ease, and grace. People want to smile.

Okay. Well then! While making Jewel the Sock Rag Dolls, I was listening to Khalid’s song , “Location,” heard it for the first time while driving to Walmart at 3:15 AM in the morning looking for a pair of men’s socks. I have been addicted to this song ever since. I didn’t know the song was so old.

Any who, while you are making sock rag dolls using Jewel’s pattern—listen to this song. It has such an old school groove. It reminds me of when I was a size seven, braless, goddess. I really wanted to say Scarlett… I have always been a little bit of a bad girl (;

I hope you enjoy this Jewel Sock Rag Doll pattern and if you so feel inspired make some dolls for your local hospital.

“I know there is a doll inside of you who is just dying to come to life—but only you can breathe life into her. Thank you so much for listening.”

~~~

Greetings Dollings, in this sock rag doll tutorial, I am going to show you how to make my Jewel Sock Rag Doll pattern step by step.  In the YouTube videos,  I am going to show you how to trace the sock rag doll pattern onto the socks, and how to stuff the doll pattern pieces  step by step. To make this handmade sock  rag doll you will need  a single pair of knit men’s socks, Mountain Mist or Morning Glory Fiberfill, a doll needle, upholstery  thread, gesso, paint, yarn,  buttons, felt, and sewing machine or sewing needle.

Cassandra George Sturges

How to be Beautiful - Doll Maker Secrets

Most women want to know the secret on how to be beautiful. I will tell you my secret-- but first lets discuss what is means to be beautiful.

 

When did the concept of physical attractiveness in terms of the social construct of beauty become an important characteristic in mate selection and as a useful, valuable commodity that human beings honor and cherish?  Have you ever noticed that the more absolutely, gorgeous, and stylish your shoes are the more they hurt your feet?  Have you ever worn a dress that was so drop dead gorgeous, that you could barely walk or breathe in it?  I am sure that this is how the phrase “drop-dead-gorgeous “originated.  A fancy, expensive car such as the Lamborghini is nice to look at; but is it possible to pack your children and their bikes in it to take them around the corner to the park? The exquisitely, beautiful items in my home are not to be used or touched without permission because they are too fragile and delicate to be handled.  The expensive, beautiful things that I own are only to be appreciated and admired from a distance. Beauty becomes more significant when a person or an object is not needed but desired. Eye candy is beautiful. Oatmeal not so much, but it is healthy and filling. Take a moment, go back in time 10,000 years ago and imagine yourself as a hunter and gatherer. Remember, you don’t have to get all dressed up to go to the market—you will hunt animals and  collect plants such as berries, fruits, nuts or whatever you are lucky enough to find for dinner. Close your eyes and think about what you are wearing.  Is your outfit comfortable?  Do you look fat in your pants? Does your blouse bring out the blue in your eyes? Can you run after a buffalo comfortably in your heels? What about your hair? Is it in a fancy up-do, bouffant hairstyle, finger waves or a sassy short Bob cut?  What about your eye shadow, lip-stick, and mascara did you remember to apply it perfectly before preparing dinner? The evolution of beauty in terms of the comparison of physical attractiveness between humans is a byproduct of a surplus of goods and resources and massive amounts of free time that led to gender inequality between men and women. When men and women truly needed and depended upon each other for survival, it didn’t matter what the other person looked like.  When humans were no longer preoccupied with the task of daily survival they stopped living through their bodies; but over thinking everyday life through their heads. As hunters and gatherers, they were lucky to have a mate. They didn’t think about where the relationship was going or how much money that person made. Each person was expected to contribute to the well-being of the group. They didn’t have to live in their heads and toil over what to eat for dinner.  They didn’t have to worry about what to cook for dinner because they knew that dinner would be whatever they were lucky enough to kill or collect – and it would be delicious.  Once humans became domesticated and they no longer needed to spend their time seeking shelter and food; they had the free time to create beauty. They had the luxury of carving beautiful designs on their bows.   Beauty evolved from the reality of living in the moment, enjoying life, being present with real people; to the illusion of creating perfection in the future with selfies and posting images of one self onto social media to impress "friends" we have never met. In my opinion the secret to being beautiful is to find a hobby that causes you to lose a sense of time and space. Become a doll maker, make doll clothes, and sip whatever beverage that makes you happy. Greetings Dollings, in this cloth doll DIY I am going to show you how to make a bra and panties set for your Josephine Sock doll. To make this quick and easy doll bra and knickers set you will need the fabric of your choice, a sewing machine or needle and thread, stretchy lace, hooks, and rosettes for decorations. Thank you so much for watching.  Greetings Dollings, in this DIY I am going to show you how to make a pair of doll slippers and a doll bath robe for your Josephine Sock doll. I am also including a doll morning routine stop motion using my Josephine sock doll. This is a very simple and easy no sewing required project. To make the doll robe you are going to need a bath towel and a hot glue gun. To make the doll slippers, I call them house shoes, you will need a bath towel, a fabric to cover the sole of the shoe, cardboard, thick foam and a hot glue gun.  “Make a doll come to Life”

How to Make a Sock Doll Mermaid DIY - Fabric Mermaid Paint Doll Eyes Step by Step - Part 2

Greetings Dollings, in this Mermaid sock doll DIY, I am going to show you how to make my Geraldine Mermaid Sock Doll step by step.  

This is part (2) two in the mermaid sock doll tutorial series. In this video, I am going to show you how I sew and attach the ears to my cloth dolls and how I paint my cloth doll eyes step by step. 

To make this fashion mermaid sock doll you will need  a single pair of knit fabric socks, Mountain Mist or Morning Glory Fiberfill, a doll needle, upholstery  thread, gesso, paint, hair weave,  performance stretch fabric, tulle, 16 gauge wire, plastic doll joints.

 

“Make a doll come to Life”