Whether soft and cuddly or placed upon a shelf to be admired, dolls have most likely made visits to everyone's home. Doll makers show off their creations and others offer the supplies and patterns needed to make your own.
All the website owners have also included their favorite crafty tips on doll making.
Take well-loved dolls and make them look new again. Marilyn has used her talents to take thrift store dollies, rehab them and give them to charities for distribution to children at Christmas. She shares over 20 years of experience on how to turn these discarded dolls into someone's new friend. Learn how to recondition the doll, fix the hair, and make clothes and accessories for them. Also included are numerous tips on finding supplies at low or discounted prices.
Some stuffed dolls have cloth "shoes" sewn on as part of the body. If they cannot be cleaned, I have covered them by making a kind of sock out of colored knit fabric. Just slip it on over the old cover, turn down the raw edge at the top and hand sew it to the doll. Sew or glue on lace around the top making it look like the trim on a fancy sock.
My doll outfits are handmade with loving care, and most are one-of-a-kind! Occasionally I will make more than one the same, if requested. I am a perfectionist when it comes to sewing. I take great pride in creating my work to last a long time. I always pre-wash fabric, so it will not shrink when washed. I also finish & press seams for an overall professional appearance.
Like my outfits, but don't have an 18 inch doll? No problem, all I need are measurements to clothe ANY size doll! :)
For doll clothing, finishing the seams with a tight zig-zag stitch is just as effective as using a serger! Although finishing seams adds to the time a project takes, it presents a much neater appearance, and the garment will last longer.
Wherever possible always dress dolls from the feet up. This keeps hair, eyelashes and face painting safe. It is also a good idea to cover dolls hands before inserting in sleeves to avoid catching. A doll sock is ideal for this. Put it over the dolls hand, insert arm in the sleeve and then gently pull the sock out.
The Doll Artisan Guild (D.A.G.) is the largest member association in the world dedicated to support porcelain dollmaking. The Doll Artisan Guild's primary objective is to educate the porcelain dollmaker and to further the understanding of dollmaking techniques. The Doll Artisan Guild represents the most complete resource for information about porcelain dollmaking and techniques available anywhere in the world.
It is best to cast doll body parts in the same porcelain as the head. If you use a different slip for some parts, you might have problems with different shrinkage and in matching the colors. In general, limbs on DDP dolls should preferably be cast in porcelain. This way they may also be shaded and blushed to enhance the appearance of the doll.