Beanie Saints

Theresa asked...

Ooooh! I love the little St Francis doll! Where ever did you get that!?!

Little Francis, as he is called on his tag, has been a beloved member of our family since The Professor was a toddler. If you look at him closely, you will see how "well loved" he is. He came to us from the Franciscan Missionaries along with his sister in Christ, Little Clare. They were accepting donations in exchange for these "Beanie Saints" as someone in my husband's family dubbed them. I looked on the Franciscans' website and while there were many "Little Francis" items in their store there were no dolls. So I called the number on their contact page and the woman I spoke with said that the dolls are still available. For a $20 donation, they will be happy to send you a Little Francis or a Little Clare doll. I assume they are the same kind we have but don't know for sure since I couldn't see one online.

Before I called and found out they were still available, I thought maybe I might try to make one of my own using the one we have as a guide. I don't know if I would call it a tutorial since I'm going to be figuring it out as I go. How about a chronicle of the steps I take in trying to make my own version of Little Francis? If you want to come along for the ride, hop in. First I am going to start with a list of supplies I think I might need:

brown felt for the habit/body and hood
black felt for the bottom of the feet/sandals and straps
skin colored felt for the head, hands and top of the feet
1 white round shoelace for the belt
scraps of fabric for the patches
black embroidery floss for the face
scrap of black low pile faux fur for the tonsure
stuffing (I have some wool stuffing left over from the Magic Cabin doll I made for Sunshine)

Now, I will probably use my machine for the sewing, but I don't see why you can't hand sew them. They aren't very big. Maybe 6 or 7 inches when sitting up. So give me some time to gather up the supplies and I will keep you posted on my progress. : )