Bobó, the Babó

[wiseheart]

The truth is, I originally planned to type up all the stuff I wrote for Kansas 2 lately. But then I felt the insane urge to give that particular felt doll I mentioned an entry or two ago a try, and the next eight to nine hours were spent with excessive sewing, save for a short lunch break.

Here is the result - Bobó, the Babó:



Babós are mythical little creatures that supposedly live in holes in the earth, much like Hobbits. So much so that the first Hungarian translation of The Hobbit was titled A Babó, and Hobbits were called Babós all through the book. Until LotR found its way to Hungary in a much more serious translation; then they changed the terms in the next edition of The Hobbit, too.

Anyway, since my felt doll didn't turn out as doll-like as the original, I decided that it was a Babó and named it Bobó, just for the fun of it. In reality its face isn't that crooked as on the photo, but I couldn't get a better angle with the illumination and all that. I'm a crap photographer, I'm afraid.

I'm planning to make a few more of these dolls, but with actual textile coats instead of the wildly coloured felt one Bobó has. I'll try my luck with gluing on a few parts with textile glue to spare my poor fingertips some of the abuse. Stitching through four or five layers of felt isn't the fun people try to make you believe.

This was the original I found on Pinterest. I'm afraid mine doesn't even come close. But it's hard to work without a proper template.

Comments

[adafrog.livejournal.com]

Neat little dolls.

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

Even if mine has more in common with a garden gnome? ;))

[adafrog.livejournal.com]

lol But I like garden gnomes, too, so that's not a bad thing.

[mirasaui.livejournal.com]

Your doll is cute, more so than the original, IMO. The original looks too perfect, like something mass produced. Yours, to me, has more personality and charm.

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

Thank you. Perhaps it is the perfectionist in me that I am rarely happy with the results.

[lindahoyland.livejournal.com]

She's very cute.

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

Sí, you think it's a girl, too? I couldn't quite decide, but everyone seem to think it's a girl, so I bow to the majority. ;)

[meathiel]

She does look a bit like a Hobbit ... *lol*

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

She does, doesn't she? Like a very posh hobbit, with all the frills and lace and stuff. :)

[akane42me.livejournal.com]

I love your Bobo doll! Adorable. And I love the idea of using textile glue to save on the painful sewing. Many, many years ago I made felt Christmas wall decorations for my mom and for my mother-in-law. Uncountable hours of stitching through layers of felt. Ouch! Painful and frustrating. Sucks the joy out of the whole thing!

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

Well, I'm afraid the textile glue idea backfired, big time! It makes fixing the applications easier, but when I had to sew the second ball together, pushing the needle through two layers of fabric and a layer of gum-like glue was a real pain in the... well, in the fingertips, actually.

Pictures of the new - and IMO much better - doll in the next entry!