It is the end of August, and I have finally finished my wild Egyptian dream: an AI assisted soft sculpture camel. Creating this little beauty was an absolute blast, but let me tell you, getting her just right was no desert oasis!

Here is the story of how my sweet camel came to be, bumps and all.

A Trip Down Memory Lane

My love for camels actually comes from my wonderful dad. He was stationed in Egypt back in 1963, and I remember receiving leather camels and lovely photos from his time there. I even still have a little purse with a camel on the front that he brought back for me! I have always been very fond of them, but looking at real pictures, I realised they can be just a tiny bit ugly. I wanted my project to be absolutely adorable.

Her name is Silky, inspired by my dreams of travelling the ancient Silk Road through places like Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, admiring the ornate spices and beautiful history. This whole project is a heartfelt tribute to my dad, who has been gone for 35 years now, and those wonderful travel memories.

Teaming Up with Gemini AI

To get started, I browsed Google for images of cartoon camels to capture that cute factor. Then, I took those inspiration pictures and fed them into the Gemini AI to help me develop a proper 3D soft sculpture pattern.

The first pattern the AI gave me looked a bit flat. The legs and head were very 2D. So, I popped back onto Gemini and asked for gussets to be inserted in the head and foot pads for the legs. The AI did a smashing job! I printed out the body (she is a single hump camel), the ears, and the updated head sections, enlarged them, and cut all the pieces out.

The Construction and The Head Hurdle

Putting the base of the body, the underbelly gusset, and the padded legs together was an absolute dream. They went together like a charm. But then I hit a major roadblock with the head!

For the life of me, I could not figure out how to attach the side neck pieces and the muzzle the AI had generated. Looking back, I probably could have figured it out, but sometimes the brain just does not want to cooperate. I had a camel with no nose!

After a failed attempt at making a flipper style mouth out of double felt, I had to do some real problem solving. I designed my own muzzle using a top piece and two side inserts, stuffed it with polyester fibre, and blanket stitched it directly onto the head. It might be a tiny bit out of proportion, but camel heads are delightfully funny anyway. I gave her cute button nostrils, proper teddy bear eyes, and blanket stitched ears. She turned out so sweet!

Embellishing Silky

Decorating Silky was the most fun part of the whole process. If you know anything about the old Silk Road, you know the camels were always ornately adorned. I gave Silky fancy reins, little bells, and beautifully blanket stitched hearts on her legs.

For her saddle, I used a piece of heavy duty tubing covered in a pretty ruffle, glued it down, and added a little stuffed circular cushion inside. Her tail is simple but elegant: a button base with a touch of satin ribbon and a small bead on the back.

What is Next for Fran’s Friends?

Crafting is all about facing problems and finding solutions, and I am thrilled with how Silky turned out. Up next, I am finishing a rocking chair using some beautiful pale green silk fabric printed with pharaohs that my dad gave me in 1963. I will be using it for the piping, which ties all these wonderful memories together.

September is shaping up to be an incredibly exciting month. We have the Vancouver Island exhibition to look forward to, and I have already finished a new bear pattern for the occasion. There are so many fun ventures on the horizon!

Thank you so much for reading along and sharing in my crafting journey. Happy crafting, and bye for now!