The Unoa Freak series is specifically written to celebrate and discuss Unoa dolls. Created in 2003 by Gentaro Araki, founder of Alchemic Labo, they were one of the first BJD available on the market. They are not as popular as they once were but Unoa dolls come in many common sizes, making these books a great resource to this day. The books also contain tutorials on face-ups, manicures, modding, stringing and more.
These books have been created with so much love and creativity, from the beautifully illustrated covers, to the fashion editorial style spreads for the patterns. They are one of my favourites to take off the shelf just to flick through the pages.
The number of patterns varies by book and each one has been created by different artists, so do take a look at the tables below before purchasing.
Gorgeous cover art with a partially transparent layer
A real must if you love Unoa dolls
The photography is superb
So many patterns for any size of Unoa doll
Includes a few accessories
Tips and tutorials for common doll styling and mods
Cons
Minimal instructions for the patterns, sometimes just a couple of drawings
The patterns in the book don’t work for every size of Unoa doll, usually each pattern is designed for a particular body sculpt (cries in Unoa Zero)
My copy of UF2 had a few pages come loose from the binding - not sure if it's a common problem but something to keep in mind
Final thoughts
I don’t think I would recommend these as pattern books for beginners, as the patterns are sized so specifically and the instructions are quite minimal, but if you are an experienced sewer I think you will enjoy the variety of styles here. My main reason for recommending these books wouldn't be the patterns though - it's the peek into BJD history that make them special. I think they are a great addition to any bookshelf.
Mail day~ 📮📦 finally my Unoafreak 3 is here! Thought it got lost 😭 also some nice shoes for Nena02, cant wait to try them! #doll #bjd #dollshoes #unoafreak #unoa #mailday
