Bea’s Crochet Baby Doll
I still don’t have a crochet tutorial to share yet, so I thought I’d share what I have been working on instead!
My daughter is 14 months old and has lots of stuffed animals, but not many stuffed dolls. So, while browsing Instagram (guilty pleasure) I was inspired to make her this amigurumi doll. Amigurumi is Japanese for crocheted stuffed doll or toy. It’s actually how I started out crocheted and is based on increasing circles, which makes it relatively easy to learn. If you want to learn how to crochet, I highly suggest starting with amigurumi as it is immensely satisfying and fun!
I came up with this without a pattern while looking at a photo for reference. I probably will not write any pattern as I didn’t write down what I did. I would probably change some things next time when I make her some friends.
The doll without hair is just over 12″ tall. The hair is somewhat top heavy, but the floppiness is acceptable for a baby’s toy. The hair clip is one of Bea’s that doesn’t stay in her hair very well.
The eyes are ‘safety eyes’ I had lying around from when I used to make lots of amigurumi. She would probably look cuter with bigger eyes but it’s what I had on hand. Also, I decided not to put a nose or mouth because I couldn’t get it to look right and she looks cute the way she is, in my opinion. (I of course agonized over whether this would be sending the ‘wrong’ message to my daughter that women don’t have a voice or something, but realized we will make her talk when playing anyway. I will worry more about it in the future.)
Here are some of the details I worked into this doll.
Buttons. little round buttons so when she’s able to practice that a bit more she can play with them. I secured them with yarn and many knots. The buttonhole is just a 3 chain loop at the end of the overall strap.
Also, the overall dress comes off! I haven’t decided if I will make more clothes for this doll but I thought it would be fun for Bea to take off and put back on. Also, she can put the dress on with buttons in back or in front. Here is dolly before her hair was attached. Attaching the hair was the most tedious process but also the most fun.
The shoes. These Mary-Jane style shoes are made with just a simple color change to show dolly’s foot showing through.
Vegan yarn:
I used acrylic yarn for this doll. As a vegan I steer clear of animal derived fibers such as wool and silk. For many years I did not think much about acrylics as it was simply what was within my budget. Acrylic yarn is basically plastic. However, the more I learn about the toxic chemicals used to produce acrylic, the more I regret relying so much on acrylic yarns in my work. Moving forward, I’m going to attempt to use up my acrylic stash and only buy natural plant-based fibers such as bamboo, cotton, flax, tencel, sea-cell and others.
Have you ever been inspired to make something for your little one and just winged it? How did it turn out?