Here We Go!

 The urge hit me late yesterday afternoon and I got going before it passed. Lol I started my Uncle Sam by drawing a pattern. I think I have mentioned before that this is definitely not my forte! There is so much to take into consideration when you do this...usually it is only that your final project will be smaller than the pattern because you have to take in the extra size for the sewing lines. But, when you are making something that will be stuffed, you also have to consider the fact that the stuffing will make it 3D so it won't be the same size as a flat piece. I know I've told you that I am not the most patient person with things like this. I just want to get going and, regretfully, I many times end up having to do things more than once. Luckily on this project, I am looking for "primitive so perfection is not necessary. And, somehow, I think I lucked out with my guesses as to the size of the pieces...we shall see when it all goes together.

In any case, I drew, cut and sewed an upper body and one each of the leg and arm. I really wasn't sure how the leg and arm would work so I just did one of each in case I had to change the size. I will say that stuffing that skinny arm was almost impossible until I came up with the idea of making a card stock funnel that would hold the tiny top open just enough for me to squeeze in the PolyFil. It would have been so much easier to make the arms and legs larger but then I think this would look more like a "doll" than I want. I am not a doll fan but the primitive 4th of July figures read a bit differently to me and I'm OK with them.

I decided that I want him to sit rather than having to mess with making him stand so I am going to figure out how long I want his legs and then catch them into the seam on the bottom of the torso. The arms will just get tacked to the back of his shoulders.

So, what I thought would be easy turned out not to be...just closing up the bottom of the body and catching the legs in the seam proved to be a nightmare! It took longer than I thought and it isn't pretty but luckily Uncle Sam will have on some pants so it's all good. I also gave him a bit of a sculpted nose. I'm hoping his beard will hide a bit of that as well. Lol

And then to accentuate the fact that he's supposed to be primitive, I gave him a nice bath with coffee water.

It's getting pretty late and I think I am just going to put Sam in front of a window and let him air dry overnight. Tomorrow I will tackle his clothes. I really have no idea how to even start but I'm thinking if I just trace around his body for a jacket and pants I can get a good jumping off point. We shall see. Remember, it is supposed to look primitive. Lol Stay safe and stay tuned.