Category: Doll DIY

Stepping Out: Blythe Feet and Other Matters

28/2/2020

I realised I hadn’t done a doll-related post for way too long, so this is for anyone one who has ever wondered about the size of Neo Blythe doll and Middie Blythe doll feet! Oddly their feet are very similar sizes – both are approximately 7.5mm wide; Neo’s are about 2.1cm long, and Middie’s are about 1.8cm long.

Neo Blythe foot length

Middie Blythe foot length

Blythe foot width

While I’m on the subject of measurements, Neo Blythe is about 28cm tall, with a head circumference of 26.7cm give or take a millimetre. Middie Blythe is about 20.3cm tall with a head circumference of 19.5cm. (Measurements are as accurate as I could make them, but there are things like hair thickness and the fact that Blythe feet aren’t flat to take into account).

I know stock Blythe doll bodies have limited movement, but what I love is that they are pretty robust, and (unlike with Pullip) I don’t have to worry about a limb falling off randomly! Speaking of limbs, Middies’ knees don’t bend.

Neo Blythe head with pull cord and Middie Blythe head with wheel

Neo Blythe and Middie Blythe

When I bought my Middie I’d forgotten that they only have one set of eyes – so no pull cord - with a wheel at the back of the head that moves them from side to side. It was actually quite a relief to only buy one new set of eye chips (not yet installed, because the stock ones are VERY firmly glued in). I would love it if Neo heads could tilt like Middies (and if Middies could swivel at the hips like their big sisters), but there are pros and cons to everything, and that includes dolls!

My models for this are Alice, who is a custom Simply Love Me (Radiance), and Mia, who is a custom Dainty Meadow. Alice’s underwear is Decopatch paper (so it’s permanent); Mia is yet to get hers done.

0 Comments

McKeyla's Hipster Hat Makeover

12/8/2017

0 Comments

So. McKeyla McAlister’s hipster hat from the lava light doll: it looks pretty good* in the promo photos, but in real life it was rather ghastly. Aside from the way it was fastened to her head using those tags that doll manufacturers are so fond of, what really let it down was the flimsy, shiny vacuum-formed plastic it was made from.

Decopatch to the rescue! Decopatch is like a more sturdy kind of tissue paper and comes in all sorts of gorgeous colours/designs/patterns. It’s VERY easy to use, and rather addictive – you might find yourself searching for more items to customise once you've finished! Below are instructions on how to Decopatch (from www.decopatchme.co.uk :
‘Cut or rip the paper into small bits about the size of a postage stamp.
Put a small amount of Decopatch glue on the part of the object you wish to start Decopatching then with the brush pick up the paper you have just torn and put it on the part you have just put the glue on. Put another small amount of glue over the top of the paper as this helps seal the paper.
Repeat until the whole of the object is covered.’

McKeyla McAlister's hat, and the Decopatching process.

The Decopatched and varnished hat, complete with ribbon.

McKeyla modelling her revamped hat!

After the second coat of varnish had dried I used an awl to make larger holes where the tags had originally gone through on either side of the hat. Then I made another hole about 0.5 cm from the first hole on each side (just behind, and a little lower) so I could poke elastic through to the outside then back inside the hat - so I could knot the elastic on the inside of the hat (and not have them sticking-out on the outside) - see photo and dodgy diagrams below! To stop the ends of the elastic fraying I sealed them with clear nail polish (forgot to take a photo of that part).
The finishing touch was to glue a polka dot purple ribbon around the hat and tie it in a knot at the back (I also tied a knot at the front to make it sit better). This completes the look, and hides where the elastic shows at the sides. The elastic goes at the back of McKeyla’s head and tucks under her hair; McKeyla's Hipster hat makeover is complete!

*If I was someone who used the word ‘cute’ I’d say it was cute!

An inside view of the holes and elastic of McKeyla's Decopatched hat

Overhead diagram of the holes and elastic of McKeyla's Hat

Side diagram of the holes and elastic of McKeyla's hat

0 Comments

Stepping Out: Blythe Feet and Other Matters

McKeyla's Hipster Hat Makeover

Author

Archives

Categories

Links