Meet. . . What Should I Name Him?

I hope you all like this little guy because I am in love! First of all - thanks so much for nudging me to make a boy doll. (You can see previous posts on his progress here, here, and here.) He might have languished in my sketchbook forever! Now - a little introduction. Here he is from head to toe.

I'm happy with his proportions and I think he's a good size and shape for snuggling. (Jo will give me the final verdict on that when she comes home this weekend.)

I made his shorts out of the cut-off part of a pair of cut off jeans. There's just no other way to achieve those perfectly worn hems. Of course, you can make his shorts out of any fabric - but I do love denim. :-)

I designed the collar in two pieces and a little longer than necessary so you can play around with them a little. I almost went with them centered on the doll body, but at the last minute I decided to center them under his face. Both looked good. You could also leave the collar off for more of a T-shirt look. I'd love to make this by reusing the button front of an existing shirt - but I'm fresh out of dress shirts. I used them all up to make the samples for The Shirt Off Daddy's Back Workshop!

I embroidered his face in all one color - I think it adds to his cartoony look. I'm really happy with how the hair and ears turned out - two things I didn't test in the prototype. I went with bright blue stitching in his black hair.

I stitched some tousled lines in the back of his head too. You could emphasize these design lines even more by hand-embroidering them, or you could leave them off completely.

Many thanks to reader Momma who told me I needed some dress-up items for a boy doll. She had several suggestions - but the one that really resonated with me was a superhero cape. Have I mentioned before that our annual family vacation is a trip to Dragon*Con - the huge geekfest celebrating science fiction, fantasy, and comics? Yes - a superhero outfit was a must.

I believe doll clothes should be easy for kids to put on and take off all by themselves - so this mask and cape are held in place very simply with elastic. I used fold-over elastic so you'd have a ton of colors to choose from - plus it's super easy to work with.

I designed the cape to have a nice, fluttery fullness at the bottom - excellent for flying.

And I love how you can position the mask just so to make it look like he's looking at you all sly and sideways. :-)

So there he is, folks! Now - will you help me name him? He's just called "Boy Doll" in all my notes and that won't do at all. I'm going to start working up the pattern this weekend so it'll be available to you all next week (Maybe Wednesday? I'll send out a newsletter.) But I can't finish the pattern until he has a name. Help please!

Update! The pattern is in the shop now! Thanks for your help with the names - I wish I could have used them all!

Thanks,
Wendi