They're cute and slammable...they're dammit dolls!

So I've decided my next project will be a t-shirt rug. And I'm working on it. But it's gonna take some time, and like any good, red-blooded American, I need me some instant gratification! And this rug isn't gonna be finished for a while. A long, long while. So, I needed a quick project. As I was scrolling through all the DIY pages I like on Facebook (which is quite a few, which is probably why my project list is so long), I saw a tutorial for a dammit doll. What is a dammit doll? It's a stuffed doll that you grab by the legs and slam on any available surface while screaming "DAMMIT"! I immediately thought of a friend of mine who could use a little stress relief, so I thought I would make one for her. She could really use it. And so could I after making it.

The tutorial I found used plain fabric and real doll hair. It looked like a voodoo doll. It was kinda freaky. I started out looking for some funky fabric in my craft stash and found an old pillow case with some pom pom fringe that had seen better days. I also found a scrap of flannel that I decided to use to make another one. Then I made a pattern. Which took a couple tries and some obscenities, but I did it.

So then I pinned the pattern to the fabric and cut it out. So far, pretty easy. Except maybe the pattern part.

Aren't they cute? But as I was to discover, sewing the little *&%*s! wasn't as easy as I assumed.

As you can see, I pinned the two pieces together with the right sides inside, as well as the pom pom trim for hair (also on the inside). You're probably thinking, "Thanks for the tip, Obvious Man" but I have sewn things together before with the right sides out. Then swore when I realized I had to rip all those stitches out and redo it. That bites, believe me! ANYWAY, to get back on the subject, I then took it to my sewing machine and stitched all the way around and, luckily, remembered to leave an opening so I could turn it inside out and stuff it. My problem was sewing all the tiny little curves of the hands and feet. I took it slow and easy, but the material bunched up when I tried to turn the corners. I kept stopping to fix it. It was annoying, to say the least. And the flannel kept shredding when I turned the corners, so I pitched that one.

So, here she is, after I turned her inside out and embroidered her face. Which I wish I had thought to do before I sewed her together. Live and learn. I was gonna give her button eyes, but then I thought they would scratch surfaces as she's being slammed, so I went with embroidery. My embroidery skills are not awesome (obviously), so I went with x's for eyes and a straight mouth. I figured anyone would be knocked out after having his head slammed against a hard surface, so x's seemed appropriate.

Then I stuffed the doll with fiberfill from my craft stash, using the eraser end of a pencil to push the fiberfill into the arms and legs. I stitched her closed with a simple whipstitch. I printed out a card explaining how to use her.

Viola! She is done and ready to be savagely slammed against any hard surface in an effort to relieve your rage and stress!



Her little card reads:

"When you want to kick the wall and throw the phone and shout'
Here's a little dammit doll you cannot do without,
Just grab it firmly by the legs and find a place to slam it,
And as you beat its stuffing out, yell DAMMIT, DAMMIT, DAMMIT!




I made two more, a little yellow guy out of an old t-shirt and a a puppy print from a scrap piece of fabric. The t-shirt guy looks a little distorted cuz I forgot how it stretches when you try to stuff it. And it kinda looks like a voodoo doll. Freaky. 

It made think that I should make one out of a Raven's shirt to stick pins in during Ravens games. I hate the Ravens :)

So now that I've finished my instant gratification project, I guess I'll get back to work on my t-shirt rug. 

Chris :)