My Very first Homemade Doll

 Hi friends!  This post is to share my very first doll that I made for a very special little girl.   What makes this little girl so special to me is that she is the grand daughter of my late best friend who was born just after my friend passed away in 2019.  I feel very blessed to be able to still connect with her even though it's been far too limited in 2020 due to this horrible pandemic.  I finished this doll just in the nick of time for her very 1st birthday.  What a joy to be able to deliver this little cutie to another adorable cutie!

My doll making began when I found a pattern online that I could use to make the doll on my embroidery machine.  After searching locally I found this material at Hobby Lobby for the skin.  I liked the way it had a texture as well.  

After carefully following the instructions for a doll with sewn in limbs, (arms and legs) the doll was read for stuffing.  I got to choose the face from several designs.  I am in love with this face!  Just look at those adorable eyes!

The pattern I used had the option for a doll joint for the head that I chose to use.  I didn't realize at the time that I should have waited to stuff the body and the head after I had the doll joint in place.  I had to wait for some time for my ordered doll joints to arrive and thought I was being ahead of the game by prestuffing the head and body.  I knew not to sew it together yet so I could insert the joints but I hadn't thought so far ahead to realize I couldn't get the joints in with the stuffing inside.  So I had to unstuff them again.  Ugh, lessons learned right?

Another fun adventure on my first doll was finding different types of fur to use for the hair.  I first purchased a few different fur types from Hobby Lobby but they were shorter lengths.  After seeing how big my doll was I knew I had to get some longer fur.  I found a great little shop on Etsy after reading about them in a Facebook group.  I decided to let Mom and Dad decide the color of the baby dolls hair.  They chose blonde after deciding it might be the closest match to their daughters hair.

At long last the neck joints came in and I was able to complete the doll.  Isn't she just too cute?

I was able to find this adorable little outfit for her at Walmart.  The size of the outfit is for a newborn.  There are different sizes you can use to make the doll.  This was the next to largest size.  It might be a bit big for a one year old but its big enough for her to grow with. 

And finally I was able to deliver the doll just before her first birthday.  I received a photo tag later with these photos of her loving on her new baby.  Isn't that just the sweetest?  I think so!

This makes my heart smile!  What a joy!

I'm not so inclined at this time to start selling homemade dolls as there is so much involved with compliance laws that I would need to sort out even though I was very careful to make sure everything I used for this one was safe.  I can see making a few more gifts though, as this was such a fun and enjoyable project.  This one especially because it was the very first one made with love!

Mary