How do you carry your dolls around a convention?

I've yet to bring a BJD to a con but just recently I saw someone carrying a roughly SD sized doll on their shoulder, they might have had some kind of hidden harness but it was really cool to be honest.

 

I usually put them in a big bag and take them out.

 

A backpack or a messenger bag is how I carried around my SD at a con! Though I was also afraid to keep her in there too long so I would just end up carrying her like a baby.

 

I tried a number of things for transport since my doll is HUGE and I like taking him places. Right now, I use a yoga bag after wrapping my doll in those big air bubble wrapping things from packages. It's worked perfectly so far!

 

I’m surprised nobody has mentioned this yet! “Astronaut” bags for carrying pets are very popular on Japanese Dollfie Dream Twitter for carrying your dolls around. They’re very cute, convenient, and secure! I’m hoping to get one soon.

Spoiler

 

I use a tote bag with light colours so they don’t stain may dolls.

 

Very carefully.

... Seriously, though, my last adventure with mine was fairly basic as he was just perched on my forearm like an especially fashionable little bird, with one of his arms folded over his lap in an effort to keep his magnetic tail in check. Otherwise he was seated in his little padded carrying bag, which was inside a tote that I'd looped over my shoulder. He's only MSD sized though so I feel like I'm cheating a fair bit, haha. I remember seeing several people using cheap little folding strollers/prams for larger SDs and thought that was brilliant. Might have to look into the astronaut bag idea for meetups, hmm...~

 

I have a violin case shaped carrier. It's quite hard and very sturdy so I don't really mind keeping one of my SD in it while travelling using the subway. If anything I'd prolly hurt more than my doll would. I do carry my doll in my arms once I've reached the con. I usually carry my yo-sd in my itabag tho. I have 2 itabag just for my tiny.

 

I bought a tripod cover a while ago, I modified it so that it is more bulky and my bjd is not damaged.

 

Most of mine are on the smallish size, so in my hands. But, only at doll conventions. They stay at home for anything else.

 

I'm going to use the Vorspack clear backpack to store my 1/3 scale doll for the Montréal Otakuthon. I found it on amazon.ca. It's transparent, hands-free and I can have quick access to all of my things. I'll also bring my crossbody purse for more commodity. Can't go around lugging stuff on my arms while walking for an extended period of time.

 

This is a subject that's in my thoughts a lot at the moment.

I have two conventions (DiscWorld and Worldcon) coming up thefirst two weekends in August and was planning on taking Lula, my newest dolls, but she's a Magikademia Taliea, so fairly hefty to haul around - I took her in to work the other week and I swear the shoulder my bag strap goes over ended up three inches lower than the other shoulder by the end of my commute.

In the past for SD sized dolls I've used a build-a-bear carrier for them, but I'm a big, fat man and those carriers are designed to be worn like backpacks for little kids so I usually have the straps adjusted to full-length and wear both straps over one shoulder, but tht won't work for a doll as weighty as Lula , so I'm at a bit of a loss.

Teddy

 

I've historically always used tote bags for my SD-sized dolls. I started doing this in 2009/2010 when I would attend a local BJD convention. It was so convenient to just sit them down in the bag and then go!

A few years ago I bought a clear tote bag to carry my SD around a convention so that they were both visible and safe, and then Volks ended up releasing their own clear tote last year lol.

 

So far my no budget solution has been to ‘take shifts’ of who is carrying my doll at cons. I’ll carry until I’m tired, then my partner carries my doll until they are tired, and then they’ll go into a clear tote until I have the strength again to start carrying a 1/4-1/3 sized doll again. No issues with con security as of yet.

 

I haven't dragged my crew (all MSDs and tinies nowadays) around conventions for a long time but I used to have a small carrier (meant for a camera tripod, I think) I could wear on the front with one doll inside. Sometimes I would carry another one with me in my arms for a while, then change them up whenever I felt like it.

 

I used to carry my dolls at conventions. Until Snow Miku's hair clip came off one day. Thank goodness it fell in the bag.

Now, it's called the miracle of a cat backpack. I have Tseng, a 77cm Ringdoll Zhou Yu inside it. His legs are angled weird but it doesn't matter! He fits!

 

Sometimes a stiff tote bag is great if your dolls head can peek out from it, I really enjoy the stroller option just for aesthetic reasons personally, but if you can find a sort of hardshell cat or pet backpack that might work! I like the idea of child wagon as well but I'm always scared that someone will try to snatch or touch my doll as I am pulling the wagon behind me, one thing I've done with dolls as well is buying a carry case with a window that rolls around, they are mostly used for smaller dolls but maybe yours could sit or you could find one in a bigger scale

 

Clear tote ) Although I want to think about shoulder slings, I wonder how well those work.

 

Last doll convention I went to, I carried two 1/6 sized dolls, one in each hand. Not a wise choice. Next time, I’ll either bring a doll carrier or just hold one at a time haha

 

I carry mine in a doll carrier bag or in my hand because I mainly have 1/4 and 1/6.
RIP my arms when I used to carry my 1/3 all day