Things I no longer buy as BJD collector

I'm really glad that everyone has mentioned the faux leather thing! Thankfully I haven't bought any faux leather items yet, so I guess I've been saved from that frustration lol.

One thing I will probably never buy is clothing! I've been sewing for my entire life, so I'm very confident in making my own clothes for my dolls.

While I will probably always pay for a faceup (I just don't enjoy it and I'm really picky about how my dolls look so eh), I don't really do body blushing anymore, so I won't be buying pastels, watercolor pencils, or the infamous MSC anymore. I think it's really fun to do body blushing, particularly hands, feet, and chests, but my dolls are always clothed unless I'm actively making new clothes for them and I need to check the fit. The most I do now is paint fingernails because those are easy to fix and don't usually chip!

 

I can... many'th the pleather thing, as I hate the idea of it all disintigrating into uselessness. But what a lifesaver this thread is! I never would have known about alternative sources for elastic or KIPs if I hadn't poked my head in.

 

Yes, I've tried a few times to make shoes and they always turn out so wonky! The one time I did buy clothes, I was actually really unhappy with the quality lol! I learned my lesson

 

Can't agree more with the anti-pleather team! The flaking and overall nastiness is just awful. Sometimes it can't be helped though, especially when it comes to accessories like shoes. The odor is pretty terrible depending on what type of plastic is used too. I wouldn't be surprised if they emit unsafe fumes depending on how the material is/was stored.

Another thing I'll probably never buy for BJDs again would be doll carriers. As I don't travel with more than one doll to meet ups, my shoulder strap water bottle/canteen bag is a great alternative for transporting my smaller BJDs. For 60cm kids, my softshell ukulele bag (concert-size) works perfectly. I still have my old Volks violin hardshell carrying case, but it's so heavy and clunky that I only use it for moving or for long term storage these days.

 

You're the opposite to me - I cram in as many as possible, three SD's to a carrier with cushions in between, as many dolls as possibe layerd in a wheelie-suitcase, and I made a big quilted shoulder bag with lots of pockets specifically for transporting multiple dolls to and from meets.

But, like you, I won't buy carriers any more - other bag work out much better, are chaeaper, and can be used for other stuff when not full of dolls.

Teddy

 

Like many others have said, eye putty. I use silicone earplugs or whatever putty comes already in my dolls' heads.

I also generally don't buy clothing unless it's secondhand from a local collector or something I find difficult to make, such as jeans or something complex. As a sewist, I prefer making most of my dolls' clothing myself.

Never bought doll jewelry either--it's easy enough to make with my hoard of beads or from human-sized jewelry.

I try to avoid pleather unless I make the item myself; shoes are really the only pleather things I'll buy. And I have refinished cracking pleather shoes with acrylic paint and sealant before with decent results, so I'm honestly less scared of shoes flaking than I am regular clothing.

 

I pretty much stopped buying clothes for my dolls.

When I first started to sew for them, I wasn't very good, and I was afraid to attempt sewing certain things. I did buy a few things, but nothing I bought actually fit them very well, except maybe the SD boy jeans. The shirts and jackets are either too loose or too tight, and I would end up having to modify everything I bought. I was almost always dissatisfied with clothing that I did purchase, and it gets expensive to buy outfits for all of my dolls.

Through trial and error I have gotten much better at sewing and I am willing to go out of my comfort zone now and attempt to sew them many new things. If something doesn't come out the way I wanted it I can always make modifications to it, or make it again. My dolls have a fairly large wardrobe now, and I love to sew even more for them. I enjoy learning how to make better outfits for them as a go along.

 

Fabric. I have accepted my fate. I don’t enjoy sewing much anymore, and I love pre made clothes. I’m much happier with the quality and enjoy playing with my dolls more now

 

things i have never bought:

-stringing tools. i actually like restringing dolls-- but my "stringing tools" are a piece of yarn tied in a loop to pull the elastic with, and a very small old aluminum double pointed knitting needle that i use to poke everything down thru the channels. if i need a little something extra to pull an S-hook up thru a head, i have pliers and if they still don't do the trick i have my husband, who at this point will take a head on or off for me like i'd asked for help with a stuck jar.

-eye putty. i use silicone earplugs instead.

things i bought years ago when i started collecting bjd that i no longer buy:

-wigs. i make all of my own now, and it's probably not any cheaper to buy the hair fiber and supplies than to just buy a wig, but i love the complete customization in style, color and fit. i used to like Monique Gold wigs a lot, but they're no longer sold, so DIY it is!

-eyes. again: i make my own now. i got so tired of buying eyes and finding that in one way or another, the fit was just slightly off, or the color wasn't exactly what i wanted in person, etc. so i tried making my own resin eyes, and found that it wasn't too hard to make a pair i was happy with.

-faceups. i am currently working on learning how to do my own, which is surprisingly both fun and going well! i used to find it frustrating and prefer not to do my own, because even tho i have been drawing and painting all my life, the way i like my dolls to look is SUPER different from my personal art style. but i'm finding that i am more capable than i thought of learning to use the materials in a different way on dolls than i would on paper.

-clothes. i make all my own, and i really don't see the styles i want to dress my dolls in being sold anywhere anyway. (the exception to this is an occasional accessory that's not something i could easily make, like a pair of fluorescent green fishnet stockings i bought a few months ago.)

i don't think i ever bought a pleather garment, but i know i never will! i have unfortunately bought pleather shoes over the years and have several pairs that are cracking and peeling, so i try to avoid those too. i want to add shoes to my list of "things i make myself", eventually.

 

Pleather, I avoid it as much as possible. Even if that's a problem for shoes.
And wigs. I prefer to make them most of the time, so I try not to buy new wigs.

 

Eyes and wigs - because it's a massive pain in the *** to find anything you'd be at least remotely satisfied with! With clothes and shoes I can at least combine different items to achieve a suitable look, and as for makeup, I always provide my artists with enough space for artistic freedom. But finding good-looking eyes that wouldn' leave any gaps proved impossible for me. And wigs somehow always look too thick... (the ones that actually look good usually require from me to sell my kidney, so no thank you). So I had to learn how to make eyes and wigs myself (it took ages, but was 100% worth it!)

 

Another one for team "no pleather" here; it really cuts down what shoes you can buy (or basically means you can't buy any at all) but I've been looking into shoemaking. It will probably take me forever to get good at it, but I hardly ever see doll shoes I like for sale anyways, so might as well do it myself!

I think the only other thing I'll never buy is a doll carrier.
I made a plastic-front carry bag myself for a convention last year (based on the volks one with some differences) and it was shockingly easy, especially considering it was my first time ever doing a whole project on a sewing machine and I totally eyeballed all the measurements.
I really want to try making a fully enclosed one next, for more sun protection when taking dolls out. The plastic-front one was more of a display bag than a full transport one.

 

For me it's expensive gloss for manicure or pedicures. I found Testors glosscote works just fine for such small details that have to get repaired or replaced often anyway.

 

Wigs, because I learned to make them myself. They’re not perfect but they look decent enough now. I also want to learn to sew, and start crocheting clothes