u/DBSeamZ

I didn’t expect the hardest part of this plushie to be the bobbed hair curled under at the ends, but everything else was pieces I’ve done before: vest, pants, shirt, boots, coat. Acrylic hair shapes nicely with heat, but the shape of the wig and the shape of my flatiron made it awkward—I wish they made miniature curling irons the size of a straw (with adjustable heat so I don’t just melt the hair).

Even the familiar pieces used a couple of new techniques, like covering the boots with cloth instead of paper so I could sew in “laces” with thread. And Drift’s monocle doesn’t have a visible frame, so I just cut it from plastic packaging and threaded the nose piece and chain through holes I punched with a tack.

Specs:
Size: About 5 1/2” or 14cm tall. Body proportions based on OB11 dolls.
Hair: Acrylic yarn, brushed and flatironed.
Body and face: Needle felted from wool roving over leftover acrylic from making the hair. Pipe cleaner armature.
Clothes: Hand sewn from fabric scraps.
Boots: Paper mache with craft foam soles, covered with fabric.

It’s actually a murder-mystery map called Harpy Express.

Well, two more in the main cast. I would like to make plushies of the “plus ones” (Cherri and Louis, since they were based on real CCs who made MC skins for them) as well. Anyway, Ren’s outfit was one of the easier ones for me to make in terms of complexity, except for handling the leather pieces. And I’m glad I did the doctor’s monocle before attempting Ren’s glasses, because I learned a few things about how that glue behaves.

I also discovered that one jumbo popsicle stick, cut in half with the round ends removed, is the perfect size to make a shield for one of these plushies! So now the Militia are all together! (I miss them)

Specs:
Made of wire, “Craft Glaze” 3D glue, and gold paper.
Specifications for the rest of the plushie:
Size: About 5 1/2” or 14cm tall. Body proportions based on OB11 dolls.
Hair: Acrylic yarn, brushed and flatironed.
Body and face: Needle felted from wool roving over leftover acrylic from making the hair. Pipe cleaner armature.
Clothes: Hand sewn from fabric scraps.
Boots: Paper mache, painted and varnished.
Shield: Jumbo popsicle stick cut in half and glued together along the long edge. Gray seam binding around the edge, colored paper “banner”, wire hook on the back for holding.

This one holds the record for “most new techniques I’ve tried for one plushie”. V!Legundo’s hair is short enough that I didn’t think a wig would work, so I just felted it straight onto his head. I can put a wig over it if I ever make outfits for longer-haired characters of his. Then I wanted the fake eye to be removable. I considered making an entire eye from wool that would slot in, but after a closer look at Legs’ level 3 skin I decided just adding green wool to the head of a short pin was the easiest way to get the effect I wanted without risking tiny pieces falling off and getting lost.
The monocle was fun—I tied some really skinny wire to a jump ring for the nose piece, then set the ring on a piece of plastic wrap stretched flat and filled it with this 3D glue called “Craft Glaze” that dries really hard. I was prepared to cut around the plastic wrap and leave it as part of the lens, but when the glue dried it just peeled off and I didn’t have to.
And I won’t be making his level 2 skin. That would mean sewing a third entire gown and a third pair of boot covers, just to put a tiny bit of marker ink on them for a skin that was seen in a few seconds of footage. The red wool I added for level 3 is really loosely attached, so it’s removable.

Specs:
Size: About 5 1/4” or 14cm tall. Body proportions based on OB11 dolls.
Body, face, and hair: Needle felted from wool roving over leftover acrylic from making other plushies’ hair. Pipe cleaner armature.
Clothes: Hand sewn from fabric scraps.
Boots: Paper mache with craft foam heels, painted and varnished.
Accessories: False eye made from wool and a short pin. Monocle made from a jump ring, clear glue, and thin wire.

A lot of the plushie making process is waiting for glue to dry. Making the shoes and wig bases takes a lot of glue, and attaching the hair has to be done one row at a time. So since I already had vamp Cleo started, I decided to work on level 3 Sausage at the same time and switch plushies whenever one of them had glue drying. I did NOT start and finish Sausage in the time since I posted Cleo, as much as I’d like to work that fast!

Since I’m running low on gold beads and need to save some for a few vampires’ vests, I decided to use knots of gold braid for his buttons. The braid was made from two strands of amber embroidery floss and one strand of narrow gold ribbon, and I used more of it for his fob chain.

Specs:
Size: About 5 1/2” or 14cm tall. Body proportions based on OB11 dolls.
Hair: Acrylic yarn, brushed and flatironed.
Body and face: Needle felted from wool roving over leftover acrylic from making the hair. Pipe cleaner armature.
Clothes: Hand sewn from fabric scraps.
Boots: Paper mache with craft foam heels, covered with colored paper.

I started this one at the same time as my human Cleo plushie so I could make their base layer outfits identical. They could theoretically share a single outfit because I took extra effort to make them the same size, but I want to be able to photograph all my plushies at once when they’re all done and have them all dressed.
The decision to line the robe was pretty last-minute, after I put it on the plushie and realized the back of all the embroidery showed behind her feet. Fortunately it’s a pretty flat piece apart from the sleeves, so it was easy enough to retroactively add a lining.

Specs:
Size: About 5 1/2” or 14cm tall. Body proportions slightly wider than an OB11 doll’s.
Hair: Acrylic yarn, brushed and flatironed.
Body and face: Needle felted from wool roving over leftover acrylic from making the hair. Pipe cleaner armature.
Clothes: Hand sewn from fabric scraps.
Boots: Paper mache with craft foam heels, painted and varnished and embellished with colored paper.
Accessories: Crown made of paper and cardstock, with felt leaves sewn on. Necklace is a piece of ribbon.

Color matching was definitely the hardest part of this one. V!Pyro has kind of sallow (yellowish) skin, which I had to blend two colors of wool for. Then for the shirt and pants I colored beige marker over pale green (for the shirt) and dusty pink (for the pants) until I got the right shades of not-quite-brown. I was lucky to already have the right colors of fabric for his neck kerchief and coat, though.
Pretty sure this was also my first time making a mini buckle from wire. It mostly works, but the ribbon belt keeps sliding because it was too small to add the pin part of the buckle. I might end up stitching the belt to the clothes so it doesn’t keep sliding off.

Specs:
Size: About 5 1/2” or 14cm tall. Body proportions based on OB11 dolls.
Hair: Acrylic yarn, brushed and flatironed.
Body and face: Needle felted from wool roving over leftover acrylic from making the hair. Pipe cleaner armature.
Clothes: Hand sewn from fabric scraps.
Shoes: Paper mache with craft foam heels, painted and varnished.