Buy or Make

I buy everything, mainly because I don't have the executive functioning for making things. (I only really do faceups, but want to make wigs.)

I usually just buy through Legend Doll or Alice's Collections. I also like Dollmore, but I've never bought directly from the company except through their eBay store, which can get expensive on shipping fees. There's also Luts's website, where you can buy stuff through them from other companies. They have Nine9 and TTYA, who have always made great clothes. There's also For My Doll, which sells wigs.

As far as Etsy stores go, for resin eyes I'd recommend SOULinAboxDOLLS. For clothing I'd recommend EliteDollWorld.

Then for stores I want to buy from, there's rRabit and sweetiiger. Those are the ones I have saved, but I know there's way more I am not thinking of.

 

Right now I'm strictly a buyer because I like supporting other makers and I'm a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to clothes/wigs/props, but I'm looking to practice faceups so that if I ever want a different look or need to touch up an existing faceup, I can do it myself. I've mainly been buying items through BJD Bhiner, Etsy, Nine9Style, Legend Doll, and Alice's Collection.

For Etsy, SKDollhouse makes some really nice smaller size shoes and clothing (1/6 and 1/4, I believe).

 

I generally buy. It would be fun to make but with work, household chores, gardening and drawing, I just can't find the time.

 

Things I make... Faceups and clothing. I started doing both a few months back and find them really fun. I still buy plenty of clothing that I don't know how to make yet, but I'm less inclined to buy a company faceup or send my dolls away to get customs now.

Things I buy.... everything else. I'm not interested in learning how to make wigs, eyes, and shoes - although who knows, that may change in future. I'd love to make scale props and am dabbling in some simple things, but I really don't have a head for crafts so I still buy them.

 

Both. I make faceups, wigs, some props and some outfits, but I also buy a lot of outfits, some wigs (when I don't want to take the time to make is myself), and a loooooot of miniatures. I love props.

 

I generally buy my accessories.
Because whatever I make, can never measure up to stuff available for sale. But that also means it's a little harder to find things that fit perfectly.

 

I buy just about everything. Not necessarily because I can't do those things, but rather because I have a really uhhhhh... high standard for quality. I don't balk at spending $$$ for good quality doll stuff - and while I know that I probably COULD get to that level of craftsmanship for some of the items (I used to sew sculpted fabric dolls and make wigs for them when I was younger, so I have the basic starting point) I just don't want to dedicate that much time to it. I've tried restarting drafting patterns and sewing for my girls and while my results weren't awful, I just found it kind of... unfun. I already have my set of skills I like to throw my time into - writing and illustrating comics - and I'd rather just pay people who enjoy honing their specific skills the way I like to hone mine.

The only thing I think I'd like to do when I get better is try my hand at sculpting again. I remember thinking it was fun when I last attempted it.

 

I'd like to make but I'm cursed with freaking out if something doesn't come out right the first time.
There's always something neat on the secondhand market to keep things moving.

 

I got into the hobby with the intention to do everything on my own, and this obviously hasn't come out true :P

Still, I manage to make about 95% of all my dolls' clothes (dresses, skirts, pants, tops, some fabric or leather-based accessories, simple jewellery).

I still need to buy fabric wigs & shoes and I prefer it that way

 

I bought everything, except for few pieces of garment I made by myself. When I have time I style the wigs I bought to fit the characters.

Generally speaking, I have quite high standard for quality and I don’t have the ability to achieve my own expectations (except for making garments). When I was younger, I tried to do face up and I am unsatisfied by the result. So I am sending all the dolls to face up artists and let them do the job. I don’t mind spending for those thats my taste and if they worth the price.

 

I LIKE creating for my dolls--I do all my own faceups, make wigs, do some sewing, make furniture and accessories, etc. There's some things I have to buy though, like shoes, and I prefer to buy eyes because 1.) I'm not very good at them yet and 2.) my setup isn't helping, and I don't want to invest in improving it at the moment. But I do like to buy things that are either things I can't make or don't want to make, or simply appreciate the craft of! Like I do still buy wigs and clothes, even if I don't have to. The one thing I will likely never pay anyone for is faceups, because I get so much pleasure from painting dolls.

For me, the DIY aspect is what drew me to the hobby, and I enjoy getting better at all of these skills/crafts. One day I hope to be able to do even more! There's also the fact that I buy a lot of dolls that leave me with very little choice other than to learn to DIY... but luckily I do find it fun, so that's not a big hassle.

 

I used to make more stuff but over the years I’ve realized there’s a few things I don’t like sewing that much… jeans being one of them so things like that I tend to buy these days. I love making stuff though but some things don’t spark as much enthusiasm in me to make as others so I’d rather buy them.

 

I really enjoy making things for my dolls--assuming the finished result actually fits and I have the time to do so. I think if I had more time I'd try to get more proactive about making more things for my dolls, but with a dayjob and some of my other side hustles, it's difficult to be tinkering with hobby things as often. Primarily I like to sew clothes, I have tried wigs and making eyes before, but I'm not good at those, so I prefer to buy wigs, eyes, and shoes. If I buy clothes, it's usually something that looks very unique or harder for me to make and just easier to buy.

 

I do both, honestly. Theoretically, I'd like to make everything myself. However, as a neurodivergent person, I only have so much frontal cortex power/spoons to go around, and most of it is being taken up with work and my Master's program. On top of that, some of the things I need are things that, while I'd like to learn to make, take more time than I have available (like making leather shoes, which requires leatherworking skills). So, as a result, I buy more than I make, and more than I'd like to. However, there are some things that I just can't find for sale. For example, I'm putting together a Colonel Klink set for one of my dolls, which means I need a German Luftwaffe uniform and a monocle. Glasses are easy enough to find, monocles, not so much. And I can't even find a regular suit that looks even vaguely like a Luftwaffe uniform. I ended up using a long jacket I already had as a base and using the extra fabric cut off the bottom to make the pockets it needed and adding onto the collar. I'm going to have to dye it the right colour, along with the hat. I'm in the early stages of learning how to draft a pattern, so that's why I didn't just do that from the start.