Small Wonder(s)

Dolls & sewing - MSD, Yo-SD & Chibi Unoa

[smallwonderdolls]

Every now and then I come across a fabric that is just perfectly suited for dolls' clothes... This linen/cotton blend would make great little pinafore dresses or shorts, and the colour goes so well with Iris' tan skin.

(Iris is an Asai Murphy on a Guard-love 4th gen body.)

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Seren, kindergarten Kun-kun on a 2D Doll new body. Was cleaning my cupboard and re-dressed a couple of the tinies. Rompers make easy one-piece outfits!

[smallwonderdolls]

um... So.... I've gone suspiciously quiet on the Tumblr/ doll front because I've become enamoured of fabric-collecting and sewing for humans, instead of dolls. I've dabbled in collecting fabric since my university days (half a lifetime ago now), but have never dared to sew actual human clothing before. Taking up human-scale sewing has allowed me to indulge in larger patterns, heavier fabrics and nicer quality materials (linen, wool, fancy knit cottons) than doll sewing allows or warrants.

Nico, my Miyadoll Bluebell boy, is lounging on a lovely floral linen, and his head is pillowed on a yummy soft unbleached cotton knit. (His pullover is by Missyodoll.)

That's it for now, I just thought I ought to check back in. XD My Guard-love 4th generation body did arrive some months back, and is adorable and very nice posing-wise, so a comprehensive overview of my various Yo-SD-scale bodies is still on the cards... someday...

I hope everyone is doing well, too!

[smallwonderdolls]

I was asked for comparison photos of Volks Hewitt with 16mm versus 14mm eyes. Since Shiina (my Hewitt) wears 16mm on the regular, here's a photo of him with 14mm eyes (7mm iris) from 木啊木：

I chose 16mm for him because my Hewitt is meant to be very young. 14mm also works, for an older or more piercing look! Apart from the eye size, note that iris and pupil size also make a difference.

Here's the same 14mm eye on the right, and a 16mm Hands Glass eye (just over 8mm iris) the left:

And his regular 16mm Volks HG (8mm iris) on the left, with a 14mm Hands Glass (7mm iris) on the right:

Hope that helps!

[smallwonderdolls]

Seconds rack, $5-10 apiece. Experiments that weren't quite up to snuff.

[smallwonderdolls]

I've resisted Instagram for a long time but I might finally take the leap! soon-ish! And purely for the purpose of making my own little shop - Instagram seems to have a good format for that, as one can easily get an overview of the various outfits or items available.

I'll keep Tumblr readers posted, which is a funny turn of phrase when one considers that it used to refer to snail mail, and now fits easily with the concept of an online social media "post"... XD

[smallwonderdolls]

The striped knits box. I have more stripes on the way, even though it's already full... XD;;;

[smallwonderdolls]

My knit fabric fixation continues in the form of legging pants. I re-organised my collection just today - one box for solids and pointelle, one box for stripes, one box for prints and patterns like this floral.

[Iris is an ASAI Murphy in light tan. Her eyes are from Toybar, wig by 猪头研究所, clothes by me.]

[smallwonderdolls]

Yo-SD socks aplenty. I'm going through a bit of a knit phase - everything I'm sewing (and buying) is a knit fabric.

[smallwonderdolls]

I received this black mohair wig which I've been waiting on for months, and baby Soo is finally close to what I'd envisioned when I first ordered him! I pictured a shy little tike, and the softness of the mohair really helps to create that impression. I do so like mohair wigs, around half of my dolls wear them on the regular.

[Soo is a Soo Smile by Mia in the new normal shade, on a Daisy BJD 1/8-scale body. I made his romper, and his wig is from 猪头研究所.]

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I've missed this girl! I took her off her body several months ago, as I'm trying to sell it and don't want to keep handling it in the meantime, but I put her back together again to try on this new wig. Her gorgeous caramel skintone is as difficult to photograph as ever. >°< This poncho looks so pretty on her in real life, better than it did on Seren (kindergarten Kun-kun).

Speaking of Kun-kun, I was surprised to notice yesterday that kindergarten BJD has an English-language store listing for Kun-kun and Xing-xing, which she's given the English-letter names Kiki and Lili, in her Taobao store! It's closed for new overseas orders at the moment, but I hope we'll be seeing more of her dolls in the English-speaking world, soon~  

[Iris is an Asai Murphy in light tan skin. Her eyes are from Toybar, wig from 猪头研究所, poncho by me.]

[smallwonderdolls]

.... Been slightly enamoured of making socks, lately. These are all Yo-SD-sized. You need really stretchy fabric and a nice slim needle to make this type of sock (no elastic), otherwise the sewing will be a pain and the result disappointing.

[smallwonderdolls]

Making ponchos, and practicing embroidery stitches.

[Shou, on the left, is a Volks Yo-SD Rinon. Seren, on the right, is a kindergarten Kun-kun on a 2D Doll new boy body.]

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Now reversible~ One side has a little embroidered bow tie, the other has a faux button placket over snaps.

[smallwonderdolls]

Still stuck on rompers. I'm realising how nice they are for keeping my tinies in, especially the ones I'm still getting used to, because most of the major joints are left exposed and are thus easier to fiddle with.

[Peter, the redhead, is a Volks Yo-SD Puff. Nico is a Miyadoll Baby Mocha Bluebell in cream white skin.]

[smallwonderdolls]

A new milestone!

I decided to finally pick up knitting, and, after a couple of false starts, I completed this scarf, my very first knit item! ^____^ I took materials from my sister's stash, so I have no idea what type of yarn or needles I used, but I really like the result. It works pretty well for Yo-SD scale~

The fun of picking up new skills means that (relatively) unexciting stuff like face-ups and body reviews (Akagidoll 大球 body arrived and it is so! engineered! I'm talking multiple carved notches and inset silicone joints...) will be pushed back.  Sorry :s

[Nico is a cream white Miyadoll Baby Mocha Bluebell. His clothes are by me and his mohair wig is from Kaka BJD.]

[smallwonderdolls]

Qipao-style

With a couple small amendments, the romper takes on a cute qipao style!  The little flower “button” is actually a sequin that I cut to shape with tiny clippers~  I also wanted to add ruffles to the leg openings, but couldn’t find a suitable trim in my stash.

To the straight-cut version of the romper pattern, I added a mandarin-ish collar, took a few millimetres off the legs, and added a little cap sleeve.  The amendments to the basic pattern are shown in red below.