#30 Soft-Sculpture Kritters & Outfits Pattern

Similar to Koosas®

Available on etsy as paper pattern and digital, and eBay.

Introduction

Inspired by the 1980s Koosas^® dolls from Wakoosa Valley, these are Kritters from the Treasure Valley. Includes patterns to make two types of animals, dress, romper, and collars. Animals have sculpted face and body. Dress has a ribbon tie in back and is trimmed with lace. Romper has an opening in back for the tail, pocket in front, and cute paw prints in front. Collar has a tag that can be customized to have your Kritter’s name.

About Koosas®

Looking at countless Koosas^® dolls from the 1980s, there are many variations. Some have ankle stitches while others have knee dimples instead. Some have eyes that look like human eyes while others have eyes with no white in them. Some have dimples and others do not. Some have a philtrum (the line between the nose and mouth), while others do not. Some have painted whiskers. Some have a “thumb” and three sculpted “fingers” while others just have four sculpted “fingers.” They all seem to have four sculpted “toes.” Some have a long skinny tail while others have a fat curved tail.

Although none of them say whether they are a cat or dog or some other animal, they seem to resemble cats, dogs, and lions. In 1984 Sears and Montgomery Ward catalogs, they are simply referred to as “cuddly critters,” “animals,” and “mysterious bundles” that you don’t get to pick out, but you get to be surprised.

There are three headmolds (on the back it will say A-1, A-2, or A-3.)

A-1 resembles a lion with human-like blue eyes, small nose, two dimples, a tiny tongue, and small ears that stand straight up. They have a full head of hair with a contrasting streak down the center and across the back.

A-2 resembles a cat with molded fur on the lower sides of the face that stick out, hazel-brown eyes that are slanted and have a point at each side, and a tuff of hair between the ears.

A-3 resembles a dog, with slightly protruding snout, long folded down ears. Some have a tuff between the ears and others have a full head of hair. Eyes are hazel-brown, blue, or bright turquoise. Some have a patch around one eye.

Outfits consisted of a dress, shorts, terry shirt, knit shirt, or bib rompers. The Dress was gathered (no bodice) with small straps and lace on bottom. It came in many prints and plaids. The corduroy shorts had multicolored straps with an appliqué (a duck, elephant, or giraffe) on the lower right leg. The terry shirt came in various pastel colors with a kitty or bear appliqué. The knit shirt came in multi-colored stripes of teal, blue, tan, and mauve with a bear appliqué. The rompers came in a variety of colors and some (very rare) had large footprints across the middle front.

They all came with a brown plastic collar with a round I.D. tag. The body was made from three choices of fabric and different colors:

1) Stretch velour in brown, yellow, peach, or pink

2) Plush in peach, pink, or brown

3) Cotton/polyester knit in an orange and white striped pattern.

There were also prototypes with different colored bodies and variations than the ones mentioned above, as well as some with soft-sculpture heads.

Some Tips on Soft-Sculpture

Every little variation makes a difference in how the end creation will look.

HOW you stuff makes a difference.

HOW MUCH you stuff makes a difference.

WHERE you place your needle, HOW FAR apart, in WHAT ORDER, HOW DEEP you go under the stuffing, HOW TIGHT you pull, etc. makes a difference. This is what makes each one, one-of-a-kind.

When you stuff, you want to make sure it is stuffed FULL! If it is too loose, the sculpting will not turn out right. It should be almost hard to squeeze because it’s stuffed so full. If you have another soft-sculpture doll to feel to compare, it is helpful. Like tearing off little pieces of bread when feeding ducks, tear off little pieces of stuffing from a large piece. The smaller pieces will make it smoother, less lumpy.

Practice, practice, practice! Use small scrap pieces and stuff them to practice with. You won’t know what your ending stitch will look like until after you’ve stitched it and it is extremely hard, if possible at all, to take the stitch out once you’ve pulled tight.

Also keep in mind that when you pull tight (which is what you want to do), the original placement of your marking will move ¼ to ½ inch so give yourself plenty of space. For instance, the eyes may look an inch apart, but once you’ve pulled and tugged back and forth on the nose bridge, the eyes are now only a half inch apart. You may draw your mouth markings two inches wide, but after you’ve pulled and tugged on the thread, the mouth is now an inch wide.

Also, once you’ve started sculpting, you may notice the head needs more stuffing. It is possible to add more stuffing even after you’ve tied it. Use a hemostat and stuff a tiny bit inside the opening. The hemostat can go deep, then release the stuffing where you want it. You can even continue to mold the head like clay as you go. You may see a spot where the stuffing is sticking out a bit more than you’d like. Just press it with your thumb and smooth it out. When you’re molding the head, there’s lot of pressing with your hands and twisting and pulling the tail of the fabric. It may hurt after a while if you have arthritis or similar condition.

Although my pattern is a step-by-step guide, feel free to be creative and change it up a bit. You may want to paint the eyes differently than how I do or change the location of the needle, or change the order of steps. In any case, I love to see your creations! Please share your photos when you leave feedback on my etsy page, post them on my facebook page (facebook.com/cpkdiana) or tag me on Instagram @cpkdiana.

Materials Needed

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Dolls

· 1/3 Yard (60” wide) or 1/2 Yard (44” wide) fabric for the body. Use Soft & Minky Fleece, Faux Fur, Knit, Terry Cloth, Stretch Knit, Velour, etc. (I used a faux fur I found on etsy, called, "Pink Stripe Minky Faux Fur Knit, Fabric By The Yard." It was more faux fur than minky. The stripes were the opposite direction that I needed them, but there wasn’t too much stretch in the fabric, so it was ok.)

· 1/2 yard Windsor Comfort Fabric for Head (I used Light Pink)

· Airtex Polyfill Stuffing (12oz.)

· Gesso

· Acrylic Paint for eyes and nose (white, black, brown, color of choice for eyes)

· Glossy varnish such as Glossy Accents

· Tiny paint brushes (size 5/0, 0)

· Thick Thread, such as embroidery floss, upholstery, button thread, etc.

· Yarn for hair

· 5” Long Doll Sculpting Needle and smaller needles

· Jumbo Size (12mm) Chenille Stems (Pipe Cleaners) for ears

· 1/8” cording/string