Apr 14

Apr 14 Excitement abounds when you downsize a doll

dollmaking, creative process, petite fig

Most of you have witnessed my unending passion for the pattern I created with my doll Poet. Truth be told, after her birth I was completely taken by these new slender girls, which we aptly named Petite Figs. They are not small per se, ranging from 18” to 21” tall, but they are of such petite construction that sometimes they share clothes with the 12”/14” dolls.

Downsizing an art doll pattern: by Fig and Me.

Well, lo an behold, I downsized the pattern and I am ever so happy with it.

From the very tall 18” to 20” ladies, we went closer to 15”. Exact measurements will have to follow because she might be a wee bit off from that.

I normally don’t add weight to the Petite Figs because they are heavy just on their own, but this little wisp of a girl needed a bit more in her belly to keep her from flying off with a gusty wind.

Now, a lot of you (and I mean a lot of you) are always asking me how to resize doll patterns, or how to turn the patterns I have in my store into the dolls I sell.

I try to be as helpful as possible but the truth is I don’t downsize dolls by printing patterns at different percentages. The only time I did that it was fun but less ‘creative’ for me. You can find that experiment over here.

Macha, a natural fiber art doll by Fig and Me.

I have given you really great information, which I wish I had when I started drafting patterns, into how to design a doll pattern based on the body proportions. And so I can illustrate that further, the head size of this little doll is almost the same size as my 18”/20” Petite Fig, they have just very different body proportions!

Now that I have touched on some of the mechanics, I must confess: when I downsized a pattern, I re-draft the whole thing based on my intuition.

The drawing has to appeal to my eyes, it has to look well according to the “age” I picture the doll to be at and also the limbs have to look nice, both in length and circumference. The result is not always 100% but through trial and error I always achieve something to be proud of: I present you my new Petite Fig size, which in this case goes by the name of Macha.

Normally I keep a doll from the “first” pattern, mainly because I grow extremely attached to the process of creating that pattern, but since Macha is not the first Petite Fig (that title belongs to Poet), only the smaller and younger aged Petite Fig, we will have to let her go.

She is not even remotely close to being ready to find a home of her own so don’t start wetting your whiskers just yet. But when that times comes, I shall be back and let you all know more about her.

Can you see how expressive she is? How fun she is to pose with her moveable head? Now, if you could hold her in your hand you would be as smitten as I am! Tiny but special. Her whole body is so appealing and I keep turning her and admiring her from all angles. tossing her hair and trying new hairdos.

I am so happy she chose these Teeswater long locks for her hair because I honestly can’t see her with any other hair but this. My freckled beauty.

I hope you love her as much as I do, we are working on her clothes and will report as we go. Stay safe, stay healthy. Dolls will be gracing these pages again.