For my doll photography tips and tricks series, I’m going to start out with what I think is the most helpful tip of all in doll photography: use an articulated doll.
“Articulation” is a word doll enthusiasts use to mean flexibility. Does the doll bend at the wrist? Does she bend at the waist? Can she sit on a horse and hold the reins properly?
Whenever I have a tough time getting a doll to pose just right, it’s usually because the doll doesn’t bend the way I want her to. The more articulated the doll is, the more ways she can flex.
I’ve posted my image of the 8″ Breyer® doll above because she’s one of the most under-rated, highly-articulated dolls on the market. She fits perfectly on the model horses that are made by the Breyer® toy company, and her hands are made to hold a horse’s reins. For people who love to pose dolls with horses, the Breyer® doll is perfectly suited for those kinds of photos.
Here’s another shot of our 7″ Breyer® doll riding in an outdoor setting (note how nicely she sits on her horse and holds her reins):
You can find patterns for Breyer® doll-sized shirts, jeans, skirts, and even the pioneer-style costume on my Gallery Page.
Additional Information:
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My Gallery Page is the easiest way to search through all of my patterns to find what you want. Each image on the Gallery Page takes you to links for patterns and tutorials.
Need help printing my patterns? This link offers a tutorial showing you how to download and print my FREE patterns using Google Docs. (For the older print-a-pattern tutorial, which uses Microsoft Word, click here.) To review my difficulty scale, take a look back at this blog post.
Please note: you must enlarge my patterns to fit a full-sized piece of American computer paper (8.5 x 11 inches or 216 x 279 mm) without margins, before printing. These designs use a scant 1/4 inch seam (4 mm to be exact).
If you’re wondering why I make patterns and videos without charging a fee, please visit the “Chelly’s Books” page, and that should explain my general motivations. My patterns are now available through “Creative Commons Attribution.” This means that I created my patterns (and therefore I own rights to them), but I’m willing to share them with everyone who will tell people about my website.
Here are some helpful ways to tell the world about my patterns:
- You can pin them on Pinterest.
- You can like them on Facebook.
- You can tweet about them.
- Use any other form of social media that appeals to you!
Are you new to sewing? I’ve got a playlist of tutorials for the beginning sewists on my YouTube channel. It includes video tutorials showing you how to do a basic straight stitch when sewing by hand, how to use the whipstitch to hem a garment, how to sew on snaps, and even how to design your own doll clothes patterns, for those who are new to design and alterations.
In case you haven’t heard, I have actually designed some commercial patterns for Lammily LLC. They have some new dolls in their line, including a new male doll, so you might want to visit the Lammily website to see what they’ve got going on.
If your question wasn’t answered here, feel free to submit a question. I’m always happy to help my followers find what they need, so they, too, can make amazing doll clothes and crafts!