How hard is it for you?

How hard is it for you to buy/make clothes for your doll?
Making clothes is harder than buying. I love to sew, but sometimes, I just don't have the time ... and finding the right pattern, scaled fabric/notions is difficult depending on what you want to make. However, nothing beats the satisfaction of completing an outfit and admiring it on your doll. It's a creative outlet ... like drawing or painting ... and gives a sense of accomplishment.

When buying clothing do you look at the price or is it the style that makes it hard?
Unfortunately, most of what I like is expensive ... period clothing or cosplay .... outfits with lots of material and detail. Between what companies offer and commissions available, I think there is plenty to choose from ... just have to save up, choose carefully and stay within budget.

What about making clothes is the measurements or are you just not that sewing savvy?
Once I have a basic pattern for a particular size doll, I can pretty much tailor it to what I want to make. The hardest thing is setting aside the time.

 

I have a sewing machine and am getting better at using it. Compared to hand sewing, it is so much faster and neater. So far I only have Barbie sized dolls, so there are lots of patterns available. I am learning how certain garments are constructed, and learning to make certain adjustments to make the clothes fit better. I don't have the money to buy clothes for my dolls, and have a considerable amount of fabric available.

 

When buying clothes, it's hard to find things I really like that aren't too expensive.
I can't sew at all, so I haven't made any clothes. I'd like to learn, but I'm afraid I'd be really bad at it and end up wasting my time and money

 

I admire those who's clothes match their dolls so I would love to always have some matching outfits as my doll but like everyone's saying, sewing is suuuper hard!!!

 

I am sooo not sew savvy at all. Though, I wish I were. The biggest issue for me is finding the style I want for the price that I need. Clothes are so expensive. Luckily, I have found a few ebay/etsy sellers with pieces that I can use in different outfits. Now.. if my doll would just get here. lol

 

I am not the slightest bit sew-savvy. I have literally tried for 20 years to make doll clothes and I just can't. I don't know what's wrong with me. lol It doesn't look that hard, but any time I try, it comes out a sloppy mess that I wouldn't dare put on my doll. So I just buy clothes. The only hard part is affording it.

 

It is fortunate that I have the apparent ability to be able to look at a garment, somehow see how it works, make a basic pattern and sew it up. I have no idea of exactly how I do that, but apparently I do. I have a good machine and books on sewing but I was never formally taught to sew. There are times when I get stumped and have to go look at a doll pattern in a book to see how something actually works but usually I can figure it out and my stuff will come out looking decent. I've made my share of mistakes learning for sure, but mostly it looks pretty okay. Pants were the hardest thing for me to learn to make I think and I still cannot make a decent pair of doll jeans to save my life.

I do have quite a bit in terms of slim MSD clothing because I have collected bigger fashion dolls and over the years I've managed to acquire a few nice outfits with those. But if I didn't already have stuff from them I probably would not have any upscale clothing at all. Actually I have yet to buy much by way of SD sized clothing and I probably never will. I just cannot budget the kind of money you apparently need to have to be able to collect BJD clothes. I can barely afford to acquire my dolls. I have spent some money on a few used wigs but even then I tend to buy the older ones that no one wants I guess, the $5 bargain basement wigs. I don't buy the $25 and up ones because I just cannot afford those. So far I'm scavenging eyes from old thrift porcelains or settling for cheap $5-10 acrylics. I'm also working on making my own out of polymer just to see if I can. I not only sew my doll's clothes, a lot of the time I even make their shoes and wigs because again I can't even rationalize paying megabucks for a pair of doll shoes. "Necessity is the mother of invention." Isn't that how the old saying goes? Well, that's totally how I view this whole BJD collecting thing.

I put my money where it counts, in the resin, and even then I don't get too crazy and buy $200 plus dolls that are just way out of my budget. I buy used dolls mostly and buy them on lay-a-way just so I can budget them. I'm almost done actually with buying BJD's. I have a much coveted Dai on lay-a-way, and I still need to acquire another MSD boy head that I like to replace one I don't. I have one more SD guy doll that I want to eventually have and I'm going to be looking for a used body for him and buying his head on lay-a-way. But when Dai is in the house, he's finally in in the house and I have that MSD replacement head I am probably done collecting resin dolls unless I happen to acquire a doll via trade maybe at some future date. I probably won't be buying more dolls later. I had a final $$$ figure and a number of dolls in my mind when I started this little resin collection and I have not actually gone over that yet and I probably won't. Given what a lot of people on here spend for their dolls and their accessories you'd be amazed at how low that figure actually is and and how much I've managed to get for that small amount of money. But that's because I haven't gone out buying clothing so far. If I had? I'd have blown my entire budget already probably just buying clothing for one doll.

On my budget I feel guilty when I spend $20 on a pair of shoes for me. I'm terrible probably to admit it but doll junkie that I am I'd much rather spend that $20 on a Barbie or a MH or put it towards a resin doll than budget it on my clothes. I don't buy clothing for me until I absolutely have to. If it's not on clearance and well under $20 forget it I probably won't buy it anyway. I usually don't buy anything by way of clothing new hardly ever. I thrift, I repair, remake, make do with, and sew up most of my own clothing except shoes. I do have quite an interesting wardrobe but that's because I've been thrifting since I was in my teens. Long before it became a fashionable thing to do it I was buying pieces of vintage and modern used clothing and wearing them. If I do buy new it's usually at Target or Walmart, and it's men's clothes because they are cheaper than women's stuff. I do hit the women's clothing section for underwear, bras, yoga pants, and the odd nightgown but that's about it. I prefer men's jeans, t-shirts and actually I wear teen boys shoes a lot of the time when it comes to sneakers and casual shoes a lot because they tend to fit me better and are more comfortable.

Nothing I buy ever gets tossed. I recycle almost everything I can. If a t-shirt gets too many holes in it I make some doll clothes out of it and throw any left over scraps in the rag bin. If a shirt or jacket gets worn cuffs but still looks good otherwise I cover them with decorative fabric or bead them up. I paint on my jeans and t-shirts not only because I like to do that but because the paint I put on there adds an extra layer of protection to the areas of clothing that tend to wear out the fastest. I've been known to actually paint up my shoes if they just look worn on top but are otherwise okay and yes, I even go get my heels repaired if the shoes aren't just cheap sneakers from Walmart. $10 to fix a pair of worn boot heels is a lot less than $20-100 for a pair of boots. I have the baddest collection of hats, bags, scarves, and belts and stuff like that you'll ever see because I have been thrifting forever and because I have a sewing machine and I make a lot of it. But I seldom if ever buy anything like that new, unless it's on deep clearance at the end of the season.

My dolls they will have clothes and accessories like-wise because I will make them. By the time I am done they will probably need several of their own big storage bins same as my other dolls for all their "stuff." They may not have a wardrobe of expensive store bought designer clothes but they will be ably and as fashionably dressed as I can manage otherwise. I view having BJD dolls as a creative thing. I like the challenge of coming up with stuff for them that doesn't cost a mint. I think half the reason I finally decided to go there, to collect them, is because they are so customizable and there is so much I can do with them. Even if I could afford it I'm not too sure I'd want to be buying a lot of pre-made clothing for them. Shoes, wigs, eyes, I'd probably buy a bit more but the rest, probably not because it's more fun actually for me to make stuff for them than it is to buy it.

 

I can't sew, so I buy. The two big boys I've bought a lot of stuff for so they're definitely not lacking in clothes. I try to go for casual stuff so both guys can wear them but they do have their own specific look. I have spent an arm and a leg for them, due to this.

My YOSD is actually harder coz she only wears WHITE. Now, pure white is a hard color to find but that's really my fault.

My two Soom SGs, I don't know coz I haven't got them yet but I hear they wear SD17 stuff so that shouldn't be too hard.

 

Well, the only piece of clothing that my cheshire has right now is a knit sweater that doesn't fit him too well. I made it though and it was my first sweater ever (yeah, didn't even make a human one before that) so I'll have an easier time fitting it to him when I make the second one.

Buying clothes for him is harder because I am so picky. There are tons of gorgeous outfits out there but they are pricy or for a bigger doll. Eh, more inspiration for me to make my own clothes. If I don't try and experiment and learn then I will never get better.

Of course, I'm not afraid to try something and then throw it out if I don't like it. It is helpful to get your hands on a cheaper piece of fabric to learn on. It is also easier if you have a smaller doll too. They don't take as much fabric.

 

I never buy clothes for my doll, I just like to create myself . To create outfits is a part of this hobby. The most interesting part for me is properly to create outfits for them! lol Theres a lot of beautiful clothes, but are also too expensive, but , really, even if I could spend a lot of money, I prefer handmade dresses . But to create them myself is my real interest on these dolls, I love this about them more than anything (change wigs, eyes, face up is not for me)

edit: magkelly Im totally agree with you. I think after my new lati yellow, I'll stop to collect bjd too. For me 3 dolls are enough. I prefer to spend my money also in other hobbies I have, so I need concentrate on these 3 dolls. I dont need 30, 20 or 10 dolls to create and let my fantasy to guide to create things for them!