A Boy Rag Doll

So - last week I posted a pattern for my rag dolls. It's been really popular so far (Thanks everyone! I can't wait to see what you all make!) and I knew someone would ask about a boy version. Sure enough - it was the very first comment. :-)

I actually made a boy doll last year as a custom order, but I wasn't thrilled with the result. You can see him above. I loaded a pretty big photo up, so you can click on it to see him a lot bigger.

Should I let you know what goes through my head when I look at him? Ok - here goes. . .

I like his legs - though I think the wide wale corduroy I used for his feet was a little too wide wale. Too bumpy. But I love his shorts. I used the bottom of a pair of jeans so the hems had that distinctive, impossible-to-duplicate, worn-jeans hem look. And I like how his legs are sticking out of the shorts.

I like the buttons down the front of his shirt. I used an old shirt to make this, and just stitched the button opening closed before I cut out the pieces. I like that it looks like he's wearing a "real" shirt without a whole bunch of effort on my part.

I don't like his sleeves. I like that his arms are coming out of sleeves, but the way they attached to the body was awkward and looks kind of weird.

I don't like his hair. I would have liked to play with the color and put in some contrasting stitching (one of the distinctive features of the girls), maybe add a cowlick sticking up at the crown, but it was a custom order and she wanted me to match her son's actual hair color and style as closely as possible.

His smile is too crooked.

The girls have removable skirts, but this doll has nothing you can put on or take off. That may be less important to boys, but it's crucial in my daughter's assessment of a doll.

I think he's kind of. . .bland looking. Lacking in personality. With the girls I see their personalities as soon as I turn them right side out, and  it becomes even clearer as I stuff them. With this little guy - nothing. And even worse. . .

He was really hard to make. The body on the girl dolls is already just barely large enough to assemble. There's a point in the construction when things look like this.

I call this photo "an unholy mess" and it really is the trickiest part of the whole construction (though it looks worse than it actually is). The arms and legs will just barely fit through the opening under one arm. For the boy I had to make the body even smaller (and the legs a bit longer) and there was no way I could make this construction work. So I had to attach the legs after the rest of the body was sewn, and hand sew the bottom of the body with the legs very much in my way. It was some very tricky sewing and not as strong as a machine-sewn seam would have been - something I would never include in a pattern for anyone.

But. . .I would love to have a boy doll. I have this sketch in my sketchbook that I think I can work with.

The body shape will give him a nice pillowy feel - good for cuddling. I like the slightly off-center face, the cowlick, and the ears. I think I could have some fun with the shirt and collar. I can "hinge" the legs so he'll sit nicely, and repeat the legs sticking out of the shorts, like I liked with the other doll. I might try a version with sleeves. I think it looks ok in the sketch without, but a finished doll might look better with. And I think I'd turn his legs to face forward, instead of sideways - at least test out both versions in prototypes.

I like him. And now that I've really put some thought into it, I'd like to make him. What do you all think? Any interest in a pattern for this guy? And do you want to watch all the prototypes along the way? Let me know!

Best,
Wendi