Folk Art Lamb Soft Sculpture - Completed (Part 12)

Today I have pictures of my lamb soft sculpture.  I am very happy with how it came out.  It is always satisfying when something that I have put so much work into comes out looking so nice.

  This project literally started with a flat piece of paper.  I drew a sketch of a lamb after looking at photos of real lambs online.  I created my own pattern based on my sketch.  Lets just say that the pattern needed several adjustments before it became something that worked.  I made the torso twice and the legs three times before I had everything looking like it was supposed to be on the same animal.  I learned that translating curves and planes from flat to three dimensions was a little more complicated than I had though.  But preserverence paid off in the end.  After a number of reconstructions, things worked out.

My first lamb attempt was for a very small lamb.  But the limbs were so narrow that they ripped to pieces while I was trying to turn them right side out after sewing them.  Also, they were so small that they would not have support the weight of the body without bending out awkwardly.  It was back to the drawing board to create a larger lamb.  The small size was just too small to work with easily.

The next attempt at the lamb had the torso out of proportion.  It was too long in relation to the legs and looked too long to be a sheep's body.  I actually saved that torso in case I want to make another stuffed animal.  I will have to do a lot of adjusting on the leg patterns, but it might be workable for some other type of animal such as a horse or cow.. Then I had to rethink how I was attaching the legs to the body.

When I started this project, I had thought I would attach the legs to the torso using the button method.  I tried, but when the back legs were attached to the body, it made the rear end look ridiculously oversized.  I just had to laugh at it.  Once it was clear that my plan was not going to work, I started thinking in terms of sewing the legs directly to the body.  I started with the same pair of legs, but the shape was wrong, so I had to remake the legs for a third time.

I also had to remake the neck.  I originally had it a little long.  It made the piece look more like a pony than a lamb.  

Once I had my animal stuffed and sewn together, I started adding wool roving.  I did not just needle felt it on.  Each individual strand is hand knotted onto the body.  Then I used a needle felting tool to felt each knot.  Every time I had a few rows finished, I would use the felting tool to felt the wool into the lamb.  The process was time consuming, but I found the needle felting to be very relaxing.  It is repetitive, but you also have to stay very focused on it because otherwise, you are going to be poking your fingers.

Before the wool was added.

As I had blogged earlier, I was thinking of this lamb as a female because she does not have any horns.  It may be that some male sheep do not have horns, but I was unsure about that.  So this lamb was dubbed a female.  I finally came up with a name for her:  Miss Daisy.  The name is not very original, but it seems to fit.  She looks like a very sweet lamb.

My original sketch

Anyway, once the lamb was made, I started thinking about accessories.  When I make something, I like to embellish it.  The addition of embellishments helps to draw the viewer in as he or she takes a little more time to view the embellishments.  Embellishments also add a little bit of a story and gives detail about the character.  In this case, Miss Daisy has a flowered and be-ribboned hat saucily perched on her head and a pink bow on her tail.  Before the hat and ribbon were added, she just looked like a farm animal.   Once she had the accessories, it seems that she is a dainty character with a dash of style.

Pattern before revisions.

At the moment, the hat and bow on her tail are removable.  As I had mentioned in a previous blog post, I have concerns about safety.  Once my work has moved out into the world, I have no way of knowing how someone may use or abuse my creation.  I am leery of having small parts on a toy because they could be a choking hazard for a small child.  By making the accessories removable, they can be safely stowed away in case a small child is around.   Although I had not thought of it until now, I can also make other accessories and change them out seasonally or for holidays.  It is just a thought, I doubt that I will ever do that.

So my lamb soft sculpture is completed.  I already have a number of projects that I would like to explore.  I will be beginning a new project soon.  But first, I really need to take a break and play around for a little bit.  I have completed a few long involved projects in a row and I need to do something quick an fun to clear my head and get my creativity going in other directions. Looking back through the blog, I realize that I have only worked on three project this year.  I began working on a Victorian Belsnickel doll on January 10.  After that, I worked on creating a sphere mold that I could use for making other projects.  That project started on March 17th.  I did not begin working on the folk art lamb soft sculpture until April 1st.  Each of those projects called for meticulous work.  (Well, maybe not so meticulous on the sphere mold, but it has its own story.)  No wonder I need to take a play break and just a fun for a bit.

I will be posting my creative play on the blog.  Just because the projects are simple does not mean that they are going to be boring.  Check back on Thursday for the next blog post.