Skills The BJD Hobby Has Taught You

Regarding BJDs, it was soldering and metalwork. I wanted an armour for one of my guys, and you couldn't buy one in 1/3 size (or let's say I was not willing to pay the price, plus I justed want to learn it - I am not done yet). One thing I am still learning is faceups. I have done a few by now, but do still not consider myself good at this art.

Regarding dolls, I was into modelhorses and their matching riders before (I do not really want to separate). Here I learnt to sew, to work with Apoxie, bootmaking and diorama making.

 

My main skill I learned is sewing, which I think is pretty standard. Working on 1/6 scale doll clothes has helped me really break down pieces and think through their construction.

And I've started making my own wigs, so the hobby has taught me how to brush yarn really well.

 

Sewing, for sure! That's probably the skill I've developed the most in this hobby. It comes with lots of attendant sub-skills... like knowing the qualities of different fabric, embroidery, etc. I've applied it outside the hobby, too - it really comes in handy when something rips, a button falls off, or I want to embroider someone's initials on a gift. XD

I also picked up jewellry-making because of my dolls! I made quite a lot of MSD-scale jewellry when I first started. It came in handy outside the hobby when I needed to adjust or repair my own jewellry. Unfortunately, I've forgotten most of the techniques now because I haven't made anything for about a decade. XD;

 

Sewing, wig making, eye making, faceups, prop making, and photography. (I also made shoes at some point in the past, but only for a brief time as I struggled with materials for it. But I'm probably going to give that another shot too.) From there, I've gotten into sewing clothes for my children, my self and sewn toys and baskets, organizers for my home, as well as quilts. If I hadn't gotten into the hobby, I'd never have been able to do it. Because of the doll photography, I was actually able to put that skillset to good use at a portrait studio for a couple of years to support my family. And faceups and prop making have become a pastime for me and my daughter. We both like making things from sculpey and recycled materials. :3 This hobby has pretty much rounded out my artistic abilities beyond 2D drawing and painting. And my stories have become so very in depth and complex, instead of the shallow cliched dramas they used to be. So very grateful for this hobby.

 

For me, im in the process of learning sewing, photography, faceup and maybe a little of wig making!
i hope to venture into sculpting and eye making in the future, when i have enough funds to keep my hobby going. Getting a doll itself is expensive enough already... and im still a student. i hope money really does grow on trees

 

I've learned to become more creative and flexible. Such as clothes for my dolls, despite having very little clothes I try many different outfit combination for my dolls. Oh and also, faster reflex because..... I swear, everytime I turn around, my dolls always collapse in each other when I try to photograph more than one of them at the same time. ><

 

I knew how to sew before joining the hobby, but dolls really helped me nail down hand sewing. I think I prefer it for a lot of things over machine sewing now. A completely brand new skill I learned was wig making, which is probably my favorite doll related crafting activity at this point. I need to learn how to make wig caps, though. Always running out of those.

 

Wigmaking is my new craft that I've learned specifically for/because of bjd. Up until I got into bjd and slowly found myself more and more frustrated at how hard it could be to find the right wig for my dolls, I'd never even thought about how wigs were made, let alone making one. Now it's one of my favorite doll crafts to do.
The main doll craft I do, sewing, is the opposite. It was actually what got me into bjd in the first place. I was already sewing for dolls, and was feeling kind of limited with what i could do with the doll models i had. When I came across 1/3 scale, realistic bjd it was the perfect solution. Originally I thought I'd just have one or two as sewing models, but then of course I got completely into all the different aspects of the bjd hobby and it became much more than just sewing mannequins.

 

BJDs inspired me to create miniatures for props and things. I don't know what it says about me that I've made scale rice from Sculpy.

 

Photography and sewing! I had some basic skills, but having BJDs made me really hone them. They're just amazing subjects to photograph and sew for. I also relearned crochet from scratch when I decided to make some scarves for them. ^^

 

I’ve gotten a lot better with art, sewing, and character development! Spends time to make a character perfect is something I do a lot in writing, but with dolls, something about them makes me develop them even more!

 

I haven't learned it yet, but I bought a sewing machine so I could learn machine sewing. And I am fussing with patterns and clothing design. And I've been working on a lacefront wig for forever. I hope to get into photography as well.

 

I've learned patients. I have no bjd skills,I can't do face-up's mods or sew. It takes me forever to find and get everything together for a doll. Sadly, I still haven't completed one doll.

 

I've definitely learned a lot about sewing. I may even get a machine at some point, as I've realized there are some things that are too difficult to do by hand. I've also learned a lot about how to save money and squirrel it away for later.

 

For me it’s wig making. Before bjds, I never had dolls, so wigs (and everything else) was a learning curve. Finding wigs that fit, and were the right color/style has been frustrating. Discovering how to make my own wigs out of yarn (which I have free access too -thank you mom) has been liberating. I now have the skill to make the perfect wig! Without bjds, this would have never happened.

 

I'm learning how to knit some more advanced things (and by advanced I mean finally just wrapping my head around purling lol). My output is probably going to be limited to scarves and blankets and flat, square things for awhile, but at least now I can accessorize my dolls for when the snow inevitably comes.

 

Knitting isn't so hard once you get the hang of the basics! I don't like it because it's hard on my hands. I'm really excited for the cold season tho! Even if it won't get very cold in Texas

 

I have learned how to do face ups, which I love doing, and to sew tiny clothes, which I can't do too much of at once or I start to lose patience easily.

 

Pasteling. It's raised my painting game immensely, and I never would've tried it except that I wanted a very specific look for my first doll.