To keep or not to keep
Lately I've noticed that I don't really do anything with my Miku and Cassie dolls. They're nice, but I prefer just having them posed instead of taking them around and playing/taking pictures of them. It probably stems from the fact that I didn't intentionally buy any of them (Cassie was a freebie with Kuni, and Miku was made from the unused body of a doll I bought to replace Arty's head. Not really sure what to do withh them, so I'm keeping them hidden for a while, before I decide if I want to keep them as they are, restyle them, or maybe gift/sell them.
Making a hat... unsuccessfully
I wanted to make my boy a hat too, but I messed up':) There's things I learned from it, though, so I'm still happy with it!
The first mistake I made was sewing in the top circle last. It should have actually been the first thing to do, and as such, it ended up not really being a circle:/ My second mistake was making the hole too small! Boy has a big head. I'll be careful for next time, but I was still able to get some shots of him anyway! After working for the plants project, we went to the sea for pictures. Good thing I had my rubber boots! Going home, I don't think he was very pleased to travel on the public transport, the lil brat:P
Sewing my first proper doll shirt!
I really fell in love with my new boy instantly, and I had the brightest idea to sew him a new shirt. Mind you, I'm super new to sewing, and very bad at following instructions, but thanks to my ADHD giving me the sacred power of hubris, I was able to make a pretty nice shirt!
The process
The whole thing wasn't as hard as I thought it would be, thanks to me picking up on tips and tricks from people who sew for their dolls before I even started. First thing I did was to measure his torso width around the widest part and it's lenght. Dividing the width in half, and adding some seam allowance all around (so that I could sew it together in the end) I was left with two fabric rectangles- the front and back side. The fabric I was using is not that dense, and I was able to pull out a thread in the lanes I wanted to cut, making my cuts perfectly straight. With the two rectangles now cut, I marked the neck hole width in the middle and sewn the rest of the top side together.
With a flap over his shoulders, the next part was making the sleeves. Same thing here- I made two rectangles, making sure the lenght and width were the right size. After that, I cut off the corners of the front/back fabric at the shoulders, and cut the exact same angle into the top of the sleeves. Flattening the fabric, I sewed the sleeves to the front/back panels. I've had to re-do the sleeves a couple times, because I've kept sewing the wrong sides together'xD With the sleeves attached, I only had to sew the whole thing together on both sides, from the sleeve cuff to the bottom hem of the shirt. I made the sleeves a bit wider at the bottom by using more/less of my seam allowance.
the shirt I was making was from a non-stretch material, so it needed the front to be openable (like a normal dress shirt). I simply cut the front panel in half for that. I hemmed it, along with the front collar part, where I folded the corners in to make a v-neckline. After hemming the bottom, it was done! The shirt could use some buttons still, but since he's wearing it tucked into his pants, they serve as a closure instead.
For my first time, and making the shirt without any instructions, I think it came out pretty neat! I've considered adding a collar, but I like this being a more simple, summery shirt:)
New arrival! UfDoll Drink+ blind box series review
Yesterday I finally got my boy! I was waiting for him a long time now, a bit over 6 months- ever since I first saw a sneak peak of the series. A disclaimer as always- if you have a favourite (or least favourite) character in a blind box series, PLEASE just get the blind box pre-opened. It's not worth to gamble. I know it gives you a rush, it might be more fun to open- but it's really not worth it in the end. From possible disappointment over not getting the character you wanted, to getting the only one you dislike, to buying wayy too much just to "guarantee the one". Save your money, space and your dopamine receptors, buy guaranteed.
Body/posing
Anyway, disclaimer aside! I absolutely adore my boy. The first thing that suprised me was the sheer size of the box. Being used to the 1/12 scale dolls, a 1/5 (38cm if we count the hair) doll is giant. He was quite kicky directly out of the box, and had some trouble standing on his own, but after playing and moving him for a little while he calmed down and is now very nicely poseable. Not "stands on one leg" poseable, but he can hold poses like bending at his torso, hand to face, knees to chest... He could probably use some sueding to make posing even better, but I'm happy with him as-is. As for the chest, he comes with both smaller and bigger chest options. My baby is a guy, at least for me, but the small chests still have some boob. I don't mind that, but ymmv. Also, as other UfDoll dolls, he's not resin but PVC/ABS instead. I've smaller had UfDolls for about 8 months now, and I haven't noticed any problems with them staining or yellowing, so I'm expecting him to be the same way.
Head/hair
This doll has his hair engineered in a very interesting way, one that I haven't seen before. The hair is plastic, as is the norm for blind box dolls, but he has a full headcap underneath with magnets holding the head piece over it. As such, there's no need for an additional head-back piece (that some companies sell separately... looking at you, penny's box, or worse- not sell at all). He comes with 14mm eyes, but could probably also use 12mm ones. The head rotates left and right perfectly and stays as you put it. The doll can look down pretty well, but not up- partly because of the stiff hair. Without it, looking up is a better, but still nothing special.
Hands/feet
These dolls come with three pairs of hands- two gloved ones that attach to magnets, making them easily removable, and a pair of normal hands. The detachable ones are nice, especially for dressing him up, but the wrists can't bend much. The normal hands are very pretty and have a good range of motion. For feet, we also have three different options. The first is the magnets, which hold onto their shoes. There's also a set of normal feet, and interestiingly, a set of high-heeled legs, made in one piece from calves down. The shoe magnets are quite strong, but with the doll having a nice weight to him they could be part of the reason for him being unable to stand on one foot.
Clothes
With clothes being the most opinion-based part, I've saved it for last. I really do like the base outfit, although there's things I'd change about it. The first being, putting all of that on him. In my opinion, the sash and hat are completely unecessary, to the point of the outfit feeling kitschy with them added. Aditionally, I have removed the "bunny tail" pompom from his back bow (which, to be fair, wasn't as bothersome as those other two things). The shirt is very detailed and pretty, and I love the fabric of his trail. The tiny pleats of his pants are also very cute. Another thing I don't like much, however, is how long the original shirt's sleeves are. I know it's supposed to be like that, but his entire hands just disappeared into those things. The detail of having sleeve closures is amazing, but I'd love for them to be a little thighter, so I wouldn't have to fish his hands out of the sleeves all the time. I ended up putting small rubber bands around the cuffs just for that.
Conclusion
Overall, I'm very pleased with my boy! I absolutely love him, he's the cutest thing ever♡♡♡ He's the perfect size and I'm glad I got him as my first bigger doll. I want to love and cherish him, he's absolutely captured my heart with his squishy cheeks and pouty face. There are other characters in his series that I adore, but I love him so much that getting them would be a waste, as I only want to play with him. If you're looking for a fullset, not-super-tall-not-super-small doll with a more anime face, I'd happily reccomend this one:)