It might be more appropriate to call this "down-n-dirty" dollmaking.
A collection of most of the handmade dolls/toys from our house (all of the toys/dolls made by me unless otherwise noted). From left to right: a doll made using the general pattern for the Topsy Turvy doll from Hillary Lang's Wee Wonderfuls book (taking off the extra head and free-handing the lower body and legs), a Waldorf-inspired doll, another Hillary Lang creation from Wee Wonderfuls: Evelyn Inchworm, a doll-in-a-box creation my daughter made (insisting on creating her own dress rather than using the fabric/dress that came with the doll), a gorgeous brown-haired beauty from Bamboletta (definitely not made by me), a doll entirely designed and sewn by my eldest (in the lavendar), a "dot" doll (again designed and sewn entirely by my eldest - basically made by taking old underwear, drawing a face on it with fabric markers and sewing in a circle), another topsy turvy doll (this time made under the direction of my middle daugther), another Waldorf-inspired doll (this time with red hair), and a llama (with pattern from Sew Kawaii!).
Except for the inchworm and the llama, even the dolls sewn/created by me were strongly influenced by preferences from my daughters. There were many decisions made that I would not have chosen if the entire creative process had been up to me.
Both my oldest girls love dolls and stuffed animals - in particular, my eldest. Anything that is small and cuddly. Most especially if it has large eyes.
I don't recall in my childhood being quite as much a fanatic as they are about stuffed toys. Though I do have funny memories of sharing a bed with my sister and not having room for myself since she had to bring ALL of her stuffed animals and dolls to bed with her. I even fell out of the bed once because the toys pushed me out.
It is with an uncanny similarity to my sister that my eldest loves to design and make her own dolls and toys.
And the cool thing is, both she and her younger sister ALWAYS have very specific ideas about what they want. At times, that can stress me out and frustrate me. It often runs counter to the vision I have for the toy. Or I believe some of their "requirements" to be impossible to implement. It is at those times when I remind myself to "let go" and allow as much freedom as I can to my girls and their visions. I use these times as opportunities to discuss why I think their idea may not be possible, but talk through alternatives that would work just as well.
For example, the left most doll above, with the black hair: my eldest decided how she wanted the hair to look. She wanted it long, with bangs, and thick. I had made the hair by looping it around a book, then cutting off one end. This left me with loops on the other. I thought that would be a cool look for the bangs. But my daughter wanted them cut. I knew they would stick up (a look I would not have wanted, had it been my doll). I explained what I thought would happen. But she insisted. So cut them we did, and she loves the sticking-up bangs.
She also drew a picture for me of how she wanted the eyes to look. I would have done far less detailed eyes, more in keeping with the vibe of the Wee Wonderfuls book. But once I had finished embroidering the eyes, I was impressed with how nice they looked. Chalk another one up for my daughter's vision. The shape of the nose and the mouth were also entirely her design.
I'm constantly surprised at how many of their ideas I'm able to successfully translate into reality (sometimes with their help, sometimes just with their guidance as I do sewing tasks a bit too complicated for young hands) - a reality they always seem to be happy with.
Just looking at those dolls they have designed and created reminds me to trust in the instincts my girls have and to try to have as much patience with the process as I can. The end results are always better that way.
