Making cute things for an Imda 1.7 sized doll.

 I worked on some cute felt elf clothes for my dolls these past few days. I still need to put some type of buttons on the outfit. I made the tiny doll a puppet of his own. I don't have a wig to fit it but that's on the list to do. This was harder than the other 1/8 th scale dolls. The doll is tinier in some ways than the other dolls I have for my log cabin doll house. 

Hurricane Florence and Dolls

I got this cute little recast doll a while back. I noticed while looking at other dolls like her she had a gap in her mouth that was wider than the factory doll. I decided she needed some teeth. I used my art supplies to make her some teeth, freckles, blush her nails and furnish a little wig for her. I think she is supposed to be a littlefee Ante, or was? I can't seal her yet due to the hurricane weather here in NC where I live.

I was almost about to let go of this doll, because she was just another cute doll. I like to see what makes for a good doll and see how they work. Then after that, if I don't see anything else about the doll that's a keeper, I sell it.

I was pleasantly surprised that she had all her magnets, which is not always the case with recast dolls. Her head cap started getting loose but I put a super tiny thin magnet in between the two head cap magnets to shim it up a little. This helped a lot. It turns out the part that inserts into the back of her head is a mm too short to reach all the way to the other magnet.

At first I couldn't get her head to pose upward but I adjusted the hook inside her head to the front of the head instead of the back, pulled some of the stringing out as far as I could and it worked. The stringing was too tight in the upper body, so when I adjusted it, the legs started holding poses better too. The little cog things in her legs I thought were worn down, fit just perfect when the stringing is adjusted.

The wig I crocheted during the hurricane, because I couldn't sleep. I then sewed eyelash chenille around and around till I reached the very top peak. It is quite tedious but it seemed to suit the little doll better than anything I had to fit her. She looks boyish and will probably transform into a little Ante boy. To make the wig cap, I used black #10 thread and a 2.5 mm aluminum hook. I began a chain of 46 stitches. My crochet is pretty tight, so it could possibly be more or less stitches for different people, even using the same threads and hooks.

Ante has a 6.5 in. wig size, which would be a size 6-7 doll wig. I have read that Ante has a slightly larger head than other Littlefee dolls. I don't know I only have this one.  

The next row was 46 sc (single crochet). Then I went around 3 rows of dc (double crochet) After that I continue to double crochet, and decrease every 4th stitch. Decreasing "excessively" works with dolls because they are so small, and no one is going to see the extra decreases underneath the wig.

Note: I taught myself how to crochet when I was around 12 years old. So later in my life I found out there are rules to decrease every other row or something. 

I try the wig on the doll every round or so, because I don't want it to peak like a witches hat. As soon as it covers the head sufficiently I seam across the top of the wig from side to side of the rows to keep it flat to the head. Tie off the string, and weave in the ends. I start sewing at the bottom where I used the single crochet around. I like having the stitches a little more dense where I am going to start the first row of hair or yarn. These rows will overlap tightly, so no one will see the wig cap. I don't sew very straight lines. I go with what is the most intuitive. I noticed the wig seems fuller and more natural if it is a bit wavy going around and around.

I think I should rename this doll Andy. I love him now and want to keep him and make him an elf outfit for Christmas.

I was really happy to see the doll fits with Barbie furniture better than my 5stardoll Mia. This gave me another reason to keep the doll. I really love dollhouse sized dolls. Mia is going to be pretty upset. I hope she doesn't pull a Robert the Doll on me.

I tried the same outfit on all of my 1/8 scale dolls.

The hat is tight on Secretdoll and the sleeves too long. The shoes are also too big, but her feet are a bit smaller about 7/8" long and narrow.

 The hat fit Lati Yellow doll with her wig. The clothes were a bit too big also.

Impldoll Verne fits the hat well with his wig on. His paws are a bit large and had to be worked down into the sleeves carefully. The shoes fit well also.  Verne is my best poser right out of the box. 

The sleeves are long on Tyltyl but I discovered I could roll them up a little. The shoes fit well enough they don't repeatedly fall off the doll. 

 The same situation happened with my PongPong doll. The sleeves are long. The top is big enough to be a dress. The hat fits with a wig on. The shoes keep falling off. 

 I didn't even try it on the Imda 1.7 sized doll. The hat is too big even with a wig. The overall outfit really doesn't work for me without the hat.

Overall I have found that if I want the outfit to fit the doll, it has to be made with the doll in hand. There is no one size fits all scale for everything on the dolls I have on hand.  

I just finished an elf outfit for 1/8th scale dolls. This is my hand painted Irrealdoll. He is about 6 inches tall with a head about 6 inches in circumference. He is very versatile and can easily be made into a boy, girl or even an elf doll for Christmas. So cute. He is helping me make things for the Holidays. This outfit can fit several of my 1/8th scale dolls. It may be a little short on one or long on another, but it has elastic waist and can slip right on. The feet are about 1 inch long. All of this outfit is made from felt and hand stitched by me. I embellished the outfit with little Christmas bells. The button loops are crocheted from matching sewing thread and work to button the jacket. 

I don't have any patterns. I just freehand around the doll and cut out some pieces to fit my needs. The outfits are not perfect. They are truly one of a kind. 

Rocky the Elf is ready to Roll

Yesterday I worked on Rocky as hard as I could. I carved in some knees, ankles and toes. I really didn't see how I could make him sturdy enough to stand and pose with ease, if he had jointed knees. I didn't want to string him too tightly for fear the alabaster would crack. 

Rocky can look up, turn his head, raise his arms, and sit or stand. That's about it. I made holes just large enough to get the cord strung through his arms and legs and then made a larger hole to tie in a knot that couldn't slip back through. None of this can be seen once he is dressed.

I added some magnets to the bottom of his feet, which can help stabilize him without a doll stand. He can stand without them. The magnets are pretty weak through his felt shoes.

I carved life lines in his palms. I thought it was a realistic touch to find an elf with life lines. I painted the tiniest bit of nails on his fingers and toes just to bring out the carved details.

I had to roll up Rocky's sleeves, because I made his sleeves a little too long for him. I finished his shoes and hat. I put a tiny piece of elastic on the hat to hold it in place.

My first gift to him is his Christmas hammer from my charm bracelet. It looks good with his outfit, since it is brass colored and blends well with the bells and fall colors.