Dolly

 I like dolls. I like making them and dressing them, almost as much as I used to like playing with them. During the last third of 2022, Charitable Crafting was making - among other things - some comfort dolls for the Rio Grande Cancer Foundation. We wanted something fairly easy, and of course it had to be cute! I suggested this pattern, which I've had for a while, waiting on the perfect time to make her:

Cloth doll with clothes, and carrying case (not pictured)

We thought it was a good choice, and we could make it serve as either male or female, and we found a small checked fabric in the stash at Cruces Creatives that we liked, so we cut out several dolls, each with an outfit, which we decided to sew on to each doll. 

I sewed up three of them, and once the construction questions were answered, they went pretty smoothly. They have embroidered faces, and looped yarn hair, instead of the longer braided hair that the pattern shows. I thought they were very cute, and the clothes went together pretty well. They are kind of reminiscent of a Raggedy Ann doll. Yes, I'm old enough to have one of those.

Once upon a time, long ago, I found some in my mom's sewing room, that she had cut out and started embroidering, but then got busy with other stuff... like kids. So I sewed them up and dressed them and shared them. One for me, one for each of my brothers and one for a friend of mine. There may have been one or two more, I'm not sure. It was a long time ago!

So anyway, I like this pattern, and its friendly, soft feel, and the leggy doll (which is an oops I'll talk about later). I also wanted to try out the doll carrier that the pattern includes, which has pockets to hold dolly clothes or other belongings, and a bed to tuck the doll into. The only thing is, I wanted to make the doll and accessories, but I didn't want to keep the doll forever myself. So, I had to think about who would get this project. Well, I found a suitable candidate and approached their parent about whether it would be OK. I mean, not every kid wants a dolly! How do I know that? Mine never did. Sigh.

So the project began again. This time, I worked on the carrier first. Since I have been working on bowl cozies for Christmas, I felt like this was a continuation of that, sort of and I like to call it a doll cozy. I think it turned out pretty well, although I'm debating the addition of fasteners for the pockets and for the overall carrier. I used denim for the outside of the carrier, and a stripe that seemed sort of wall paper-y for the inside. The bed covers are flannel on the top layer (blanket) and the green spotted cotton for the pillowcase and sheet. I had a flowered fence fabric that made up the smaller pocket and the flap for the bigger pocket.

Doll Cozy!!

Now, here's the thing. The bed is SHORT! When I tried to put the doll in, her legs had to fold up for her to fit. WHAT??? 

Cozy doll!

So I looked back at the pattern cover, and at the pattern pieces, and at the pictures of the earlier dolls, and at the doll I had just sewn up. Yes, the legs looked longer than on the pattern. But the pattern included two "leg" pieces. I think there was one for each leg? Maybe? Anyway, I ALSO liked the cute leggy look of the doll as I had made it, so I kept it. Yep, dolls don't mind having to curl up to fit in their beds! 

So, onward to the outfits! First of all, the child who will receive this doll is about two and a half. Some simple clothes for them to manipulate are in order. But also I wanted to make some outfits for a variety of clothes for the doll. One of the things I like on a doll is undies. Mom agreed that undies could stay on the doll as well. I used small double fold bias tape to trim many of the pieces I made. I though it worked particularly well on the camisole. The pattern called for non removable socks and shoes, and I sewed the camisole and shorts/undies to the doll.

Shorts for undies with a camisole and socks to match.

One of the ideas I had was to make some of the pieces reversable. My first reversable piece was a simple elastic waist skirt. This wasn't even included in the pattern, but so simple that I didn't need one. I was hoping that I could make the overalls reversable as well, and that turned out pretty easy as well. The final reversable piece was the sleeveless jumper dress. I tried to coordinate the palette to make things a very interchangeable mix and match. Here are some of the pieces:

Reversable skirt, orange shirt

Orange shirt again, with flowery overalls that are reversable to blue

Jumper dress has an orange reverse side

Over all, I made 5 shirts, a skirt, overalls, the jumper dress, a pair of shorts, and a long sleeved dress, which may - or may not - become her nightgown. I think the idea of the pattern may be that the clothes should fit in the pockets of the carrier, but...

The wardrobe

Finally, I finished the doll's hair and face. I really like the look of the looped yarn as hair. it is fun and happy, and a little messy, like a busy kid. 

Ready to play!

I'll suggest to Mom that they start off with a few pieces, and as the child grows and becomes more able to dress the doll, and more interested in having more outfits, they can be shared then. I know I didn't include a party type outfit, but would be willing to work on that in the future if the doll becomes a favorite, and maybe even some other pieces, like the coat that was included in the pattern. But for now, I think she's ready to have someone to play with! I would recommend this pattern!