Tutorial - Making the IE Voodoo Doll
I’ve posted up my Internet Explorer voodoo doll in a few places and have gotten such a great response! It’s beautiful to see how many of us are united in our hate for this browser T-T
I’ve also had quite a few requests to sell them, but for several reasons this probably isn’t a good idea. So instead I’ve made a nice easy tutorial for you to make one of your own. This pattern is very easily and doesn’t have to be neat, so if you’re thinking making your own IE plush to stab is too meduch work just think of how satisfied you will feel maiming it when it’s done!
Difficulty: Easy!
Time: ~30-60mins, depending on how fast you can hand-stitch
File: download pattern (pdf)
Size ~8×8cm
You will need:
- The pattern, printed and cut out
- Some blue felt (I got some cheap-and-nasty felt for this purpose from Crazy Clarks for 60 cents, for all you Perthies)
- Threads - blue and a contrasting colour
- A needle
- Reasonably sharp scissors
- Something to draw on the felt with
- Something to stuff the voodoo doll with (I’m just using felt scraps)
Trace the pattern onto the felt using a marker, then cut it out. If you’re lazy like me just trace on the pattern once then fold the material and cut both sides out at once.
The middle bit is a bit hard (well I thought it was anyway), but its easiest to just fold the material in half and cut it out that way, then tidy up as necessary.
If you’re like me and just like to put faces on everything, this is the time to do it. Grab the needle and white thread and sew on a nice dead face. To do this, I just bring through the needle from behind so that the knot will be hidden later, and stitch the eyes in two big crosses, going over them twice so they’re nice and bold. The mouth is just a big line with some smaller stitches on each side to emphasis the sad face. Obviously you don’t have to follow the same facial expression as mine, just make sure you don’t make it too cute to stab or it will defeat the purpose!
Now for the main stitching. Start with the inner part of the ‘e’ first, so you can do the rest in a continuous thread after. This type of stitching (which probably has a name, I just don’t know what it is) is really easy and fast to do. Just bring the thread through both pieces from behind, then bring it through again a few millimeters further across and pull it through, so it creates a loop over the edge of both pieces. Ideally the stitches should all be parallel to each other like |||| or \\\\, but since you’re making this guy to stab and maim it doesn’t matter too much. Personally I think that the dodgey construction simply enhances the metaphor.
After you’ve done the middle part, get a nice long thread and stitch the outside. Start somewhere along the left side of the ‘e’ and go almost all the way around. When you get to about 5cm from where you started, stop.
Now for the stuffing. I’m just using leftover felt scraps, but it is a bit tedious to cut up so if you’re stretched for time it might be best to just get some stuffing wool. If you are using felt scraps remember to cut up the pieces quite small or it will be hard to stuff and will end up really lumpy rather than nice and fat and stab-able. Some parts are a bit hard to get to so use something thin like a pencil or the back of a paintbrush to get it in.
Once you’re finished stuffing just sew up the gap using the same stitching method, and you’re done!
And because by the time I finished it was too dark to take a decent photo, here’s one I made earlier:
Good luck! And if anyone actually does this tutorial I’d love to see photos of how it turned out :)
[...] Muñeco Voodoo de intenet explorerwww.chigarden.com/2007/10/tutorial-making-the-ie-voodoo-doll/ enviado por Masiosare - Su benevolo dictador… [...]
Hello Teresa,
I have added an image and 2 paragraphs regarding your tutorial into my IE 7 bugs webpage. It’s right after bug #117.
Best regards, Gérard
Haha nice :)
I never thought I could get even with IE6 :P
Nice comment form too.
All links to the original image (finished product) return a 404 :(
http://chigarden.com/index.php/chibits/comments/internet_explorer_plush_voodoo_doll/ is a dead link.
[...] again, a lot of people seem to be coming through Core77’s gift guide from last year for my Internet Explorer Voodoo Doll Tutorial. It’s incredible to see people still liking my silly little creation over a year after [...]
hahahahaha! nice one! i love your site. ;)
“hate me, stab me” hehe… I love this. Must make myself one asap. :)
[...] bit over a year go I posted instructions for creating an Internet Explorer Voodoo Doll, and was amazed at the huge response from web designers and developers all over the world. I [...]
I really want it *_*
Hello webmaster
I would like to share with you a link to your site
write me here preonrelt@mail.ru
[...] have as much dispute with IE6 as the next guy - there’s no denying that it’s holding us back and we’d be better off without it - and I fully [...]
[...] ie”: http://www.catswhocode.com/blog/6-html-and-javascript-codes-to-crash-ie6 and a lovely IE6 voodoo doll. I don’t approve of using the crash code, but it shows how messed up the rendering engine [...]
[...] out to show the extent to which developers hate IE6 and frankly I dont blame them for that. Link: http://www.chigarden.com/2007/10/tutorial-making-the-ie-voodoo-doll/ [...]
hmm. thanks :)
[...] Make yourself a voodo-doll and start stabbing! (The photo on top is borrowed from this article.) [...]
This is absolutely fantastic. Now when I tell IE6 to die in a fire, I’ll have some more vindication by sticking a pin in the bloody thing.
[...] think I’m going to make one of these just for the fun of [...]
[...] from chigarden.com : Making the IE Voodo doll Share and [...]
[...] TUTORIAL - MAKING THE IE VOODOO DOLL IE in all its versions and forms constantly proves to add to my work load when developing a new website. However I think it’s only fair to “give the Devil his due” and just highlight how IE saved me a bucket of time!!! [...]
Je n’aurai jamais assez d’aiguilles !!