Process: Boy Doll Prototype #1

So. . . last week I showed you an earlier attempt at a boy doll - and a sketch I had for a possible new one. Here's the first prototype.

When I remember to have cheap white fabric on hand, that's what I use for my prototypes. I'm easily distracted by bright colors and pretty patterns, and working up the prototypes in white helps me assess the shape of the thing. I draw on the face and any seam lines, because I do want to check how those design lines will look.

Turning a flat sketch into a softie is more than just adding some seam allowance all the way around and sewing it together. Everyone who has ever tried making a doll or teddy bear that way knows that the skinny parts get really skinny when you do that. (I wish a had a photo now of an alarmingly skinny-necked teddy bear I made when I was a kid.) When you stuff the shape, some of the width becomes depth. And to make things even more complicated, the stuffing narrows the narrowest parts of your softie proportionally more than the wider parts. So your stuffed doll looks a lot skinnier than your flat doll, and only a little shorter. With practice I've gotten pretty good at guessing how much to add to each part of the doll, but not so good that I test it out with good fabric. (*Note to self - write a blog post about the pirate softie attempt, where I got cocky and did all the embroidery and applique work on the doll without testing my pattern first. Pirate FAIL.)

So for this guy I added what I hoped would be the right amount of fabric all the way around, traced the important features and design lines, and sewed up prototype #1. All in all, I think he's a good first try. But I have some changes I want to make. Starting at the top. . .

1. I want to round off the corners at the top of his head. Once it's stuffed, they kind of look like horns. And points like that are kind of a pain to stuff anyway. I'll keep the top of the head flat, and just round off an inch or so at each corner. That should solve that problem.
2. I didn't add the cowlick or the ears to the prototype, but I'll try both of them on the next iteration.
3. I'm happy with the shape and length of his arms, but I think he'll need sleeves on the real version.
4. I'm pretty happy with his shirt, but I wonder if I should center the collar under his face? Also, on the real doll the collar will be a flap of fabric - easy to make and will add some dimension. I'm also going to round the bottom corners of his shirt.
5. I sewed one leg on crooked. D'oh! 
6. The tops of his legs are too long. I'm going to shorten the tops by about an inch.
7. I'm happy with his shorts. I don't think you can see them well in the photo because it's white on white, but I'm happy with the effect.
8. I gave him jointed knees and turned his feet forward, but I'm not totally happy with the look. I'm going to keep the knee joints, but give his legs a bit of a turn so the toes are not pointing straight forward or straight out to the sides, but somewhere in the middle.
9. I need to give him shoes. Shoes or boots - which should it be?
10. The back is just solid white, but I'll make the top match his hair and the bottom match his shirt. It's one additional straight seam, so not much extra work but it will make the back look good.
11. I'm going to use felt for his hair, with the lines topstitched, like the girl dolls. Should I go for natural colors or wild?
12. I'll work on a superhero cape and mask after I get the doll done.

I'm happy with the overall proportions, so the next version(s) will be with "real" fabric and embroidered details. What do you all think? Any other suggestions?

Best,
Wendi