We had a request to make some House Elves for a little boy's birthday. He and his brother are big fans of Harry Potter. Being very difficult to find house elves in stores, his mom had an even more difficult task of finding one that could be played with safely. And, his mother wanted two to have an extra just in case. (Smart mom!) We couldn't say no to her request, so mom got busy making some like our own Dobby and Kreacher with a more suitable fabric for the rougher play of a young child. We were worried about having the two elves turn out completely different. Mom decided to make three for her to choose two from. Besides, it should be fairly easy to find a home for the third. :)
Well, of course they turned out completely different in expression and/or personality. So here are the three:
The Angry Elf - Must be a long lost descendant of Kreacher. Grumpy and persnickety as can be, he's the leader of the group, and he's the oldest.
The Sad Elf - As a middle child, he always gets overlooked. But, he's eager to prove himself as a good servant.
The Shy Elf - We think this one is a girl. But, it's tough to tell with house elves. She seems to be afraid of crowds, which is odd coming from such a large family. But, once she warms up to you, she's very friendly and helpful.
Mom put these elves together pretty much all by herself. I was very impressed. I love her toes. I helped her with the eyes, which turned out to be the least successful part of these dolls. As I mentioned, we used a different fabric, and it was difficult to get the eyes just right.
Mom also made two other house elves of other remnants she found while at the fabric store. One is thin and vinyl-like with a wrinkled texture, while the other is faux suede with a thin layer of padded backing. They're the top middle two in the pic below. They turned out really cute. She's still working on their outfits. Please excuse the left ones nakedness and the right one's chef design (It was the leftover part of the towel she used to make the other outfits).
Above are all the house elves we have here at the moment (minus one that's living in Kansas with my sis and her daughter) including the one that elwynceltic made for us in our Harry Potter Holiday Potter Craft Swap (right end on the top row) . He's the one that started this all for us.
If mom keeps this house elf making up, soon we should have enough to fill the staff in the kitchen at Hogwart's! Thanks for stopping by!
18 comments:
These are sweet mieljolie! I like all your different eyes. Your mom is ridiculously talented eh? Guess the apple didn't fall far from the tree. :)
These are perfect - any HP fan should love them!
Hi, Michele! Yes, mom is more talented than she gives herself credit for. She can be really hard on herself about her work.
Mieljolie
Thanks, Juliet! Coming from a house of HP fans, we can definitely say WE love them. :D
I know the boy will mostly likely name one "Dobby" or other name of choice, but we already picked our own names for the triplets while we worked on them. We've been calling them "Wynken", "Blynken" and "Nod" from a children's poem of the same name. They we pretty fitting names, mainly 'cuz of the troubles with the eyes, and Nod's head was kinda loose there for a bit. But, it's all been fixed and better now. :)
Mieljolie
Hi,
These house elves are the best one I have seen out there. Very well done.
I'm planning to make a similar one, but would really like to know how the eyelids are made. Do you think you could give me some pointers.
Thanks a lot,
Jannice
Thank you so much, Janice! Glad you like them. I'd be happy to share some pointers. The eyes were a bit tricky. I've tried many different ideas. For these three, We double layered the faces and slashed through the outer layer. Success really depends on the fabric you use. A little, and I mean LITTLE, bit of fabric glue can help keep the eyelids in place.
Hope that helps.
Mieljolie
Are you still making these? I'd love to have one! Unfortunately I have no sewing skills of my own!
Hi, Chelsea. We plan to make a few more probably in November. However, we may change the eyes a bit due to the fact we are having difficlutly getting them this large. If you'd like us to make an extra, we'd be happy to. Just contacting me by email (in my profile) or fb message.
Mieljolie
Is it possible to order one I have a one year old niece who is obsessed!! If so please contact me strickler04@live.com
Hello, Ashley. We will try to have a House Elf or two finished by mid December in time for Christmas. At the moment our focus has been on Pixies and Gnomes for a party we're hosting, but we are also thinking of a trying a life-sized House Elf. We'll see how that one turns out, too. :)
Mieljolie
I LOVE these! We are having a Harry Potter birthday party soon and I'd love to know if there is a pattern or something we could use to make them or if you sell them along with the pixies. They are adorable!!!!! kendrad.goodrich@gmail.com
Hi, Kendra! I'm still working on the instructions for the pattern. I hope to have a listing available on Etsy that will include gnomes, pixies, fairies/doxies, and house elves all based on similar instruction. Hoping to have it finished by fall. Hope your party is a huge success!!
Please, how may I acquire a Dobby?
Hi there wBiK. Sorry, we just can't seem to keep the elves around. We hope to have more made by June. We're working on some custom requests and swaps for pixies, nifflers and a grindyow at the moment. Once those are finished, we are focusing our attention on the elves.
Thank you for the interest in our work,
Tiffany
I randomly searched my old user name - elwynceltic and found this post. So many wonderful house elves! Glad the one I made you has a happy family :)
Erica, so glad you stopped by! :) The one you made for us is cherished. He has a place of honor in the top of our HP book shelf. Can not say enough how grateful we are to you for making him for us. And, who knew you would inspire my mom to start sewing again, and I'm afraid she just won't stop now. LOL It's been a long and amazing ride. :) Would love to know if you still do craft swaps and Harry Potter. :)
Do either or all of you make any of the house elves to sell?
Anon, yes, we do occasionally my mom and I make house elves for sale. Contact us to see what we have or what we are working on.
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