Since I don’t actually own any of my “dream dolls,” there won’t be any official pictures of them. Instead, I’ll use these little silhouetted images to represent them and give you a link to them on a website, just in case you want to see what they look like or buy one for yourselves.
But today’s blog post isn’t just about me. I want to hear which dolls you guys would most like to add to your collection! So please comment! Join the conversation!
It might surprise you learn that the one doll I most would like to add to my collection is one that’s almost never heard of among doll collectors. It’s called EG Hearts & Flowers (with the ampersand symbol).
When they appear on eBay, these dolls are sometimes called Goldberger dolls because they were made by the Goldberger doll company. So when you search for them on eBay, you can type in EG Hearts & Flowers Goldberger dolls.
Nearly every doll I’ve ever owned was given a new, handmade wardrobe. In fact, sewing for my dolls was always how I played with them. It brings back happy memories!
But my Goldberger EG Hearts & Flowers doll never got a new wardrobe because I was told she was a “display only” doll. What a shame!
I loved to look at this doll with her gorgeous Victorian dress, her pretty facial features, and her delicate hands that reminded me a little of the Ideal Crissy doll’s lady-like hands. But what I really wanted to do was strip my Goldberger doll down and start designing new clothes for her!
I know that sounds twisted, but when I see any doll, that’s what I want to do for her — design a whole new wardrobe. So I really just want to add the EG Hearts & Flowers doll to my collection, so I can make the wardrobe I always wanted to design for her…
Okay, so that’s the #1 doll I dream of owning.
My #2 doll is a vintage (not reproduction) bubble-cut Barbie.
As a little girl, I actually owned the pony-tail Barbie. She was before my time, but I did have one, along with crew-cut Ken.
And interestingly enough, I never would’ve wanted a bubble-cut Barbie when I was growing up in the early 1970’s. Their hairstyle was only worn by old women who sat in the front row at church, wearing out-of-style and be-jeweled horn rimmed glasses, back when I was a kid.
But these days, I think it would be nice to have a bubble-cut Barbie to model the designs I make for vintage Barbie dolls, just because I think she’s more suited to the fashions of the 1950’s and early 1960’s.
My “dream doll #3” is a more modern doll. She’s a Curvy, Made-to-Move Ida B. Wells doll.
I first learned about the amazing and formidable Ida B. Wells when I was enrolled in a Women’s Civil Liberties course at Boise State University. This American icon of the women’s right-to-vote era blew my mind!
If you want to read a biography of a woman we should all aspire to be like, Ida B. Wells’ is the bio to read!
And let’s face it, she had great hair! For the longest time, Black Barbie dolls always had white-people faces and white people hair. Nowadays, they’re finally making Black Barbies with realistic hair.
And Ida B. Wells pulls off the Victorian Black Lady ‘do with grace and style.
I WANT THAT DOLL SO BAD! She doesn’t even have to come with clothes; I’ll take a nude Ms. Wells. ‘Cause I’m gonna fill her wardrobe with so many cool Curvy fashions…. Oh yeah!
Next on my list of “Dream Dolls” is the massive 30-inch Marie Osmond doll. She’s “dream doll” #4.
As a child, I had the 12 inch Marie Osmond doll, and in fact, she was my first brunette “Barbie”-type doll. I played with her a LOT!
I always wanted the 30-inch version as well, but about the time I got my 12-inch Marie Osmond doll, my parents had gotten divorced and we had to move to a smaller house. So big dolls were not gonna happen.
Truthfully, I only live in a double-wide trailer house today, so I’m not sure I’ll have a lot of room for a 30-inch Marie Osmond. And holy cow! The cost of shipping on one of these is unbelievably high!
But if I ever get one, I’m dying to make some of the doll clothes in my Butterick 6664 doll clothes pattern. You see, some of these patterns only fit the 30-inch doll, but I want to make them to learn how to design similar outfits for smaller dolls too.
See that blue dress with the cuffs and V-neckline? That’s only available for the 30-inch Marie Osmond doll.
If I owned this doll, I’d make that dress for my 30-inch, and then design my own version of it for a regular-sized Barbie — and maybe for 28-inch Barbie too!
Now, last but not least… my #5 “dream doll” is the Sunshine Family dad doll.
He actually has a name. He’s called Steve. And just like the silhouette picture above, his hair is parted on the side like that.
I have the mom doll, and I’ve designed a few doll clothes for her, which you can find at this link. But it would be really fun to pose them together and make outfits for them that match!
Every now and then, I go back and re-watch this YouTube video (see below) because it inspires me to design new vintage-style outfits for dolls.
If you enjoyed this blog post, and you’d like to see my videos, you might want to navigate over to my YouTube channel, ChellyWood1 to look through my playlists.
If you would like to make a donation to this free doll clothes pattern website, please click here. There’s also a “Donate” button in the main menu.
For anyone who would like to expand their dolls’ wardrobes, you should really check out my “How to Alter Doll Clothes Patterns” course and my “Design Your Own Doll Pants Patterns from Scratch” classes on the Creative Spark online learning platform. Here’s my bio page on their website, where you can learn more.
For any class on Creative Spark, you don’t have to follow a schedule. Just sign up when you’re ready.
It’s a one-time fee for the course, and there’s no specific time limit to finish your course. You can just take your time and learn at the pace that suits you. So go check out my paid courses on Creative Spark, using this link.
As always, feel free to pin, like, or tweet about my free patterns and tutorials.
To read more about my free sewing patterns and tutorials, please visit the “Helpful Tips” page.
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Chelly Wood and the ChellyWood.com website are not affiliated with any of the doll or toy companies mentioned in this blog post, but Chelly enjoys designing her doll clothes to fit a variety of dolls. To learn more about the doll companies mentioned in today’s post, please visit the doll or toy company’s website.
My dream doll would be the Live Action Barbie from around 1974/5. She was on my Christmas list then, aged 10, but I never owned her (yet).
My cousin had one! It was a cool Barbie!
Barbie with the red hair short bob.
I’m not sure which one you mean. Could it be Twist N’ Turn Stacey from 1966? You could get her with a red-haired bob.
Thanks for a very interesting article with some new dolls in there for me. Good Luck with getting some of them 🙂
Thanks! But you never said which one YOU want to add to your collection!
There’s no older ones that I want but I would like more made to move Barbies and men dolls of many skin types and hair colors. The posing abilities are so much fun. The curvy dolls aren’t fat enough so my fantasy dolls are some obese categories I II and III as here there are ladies and gentlemen in that range and would like them to be friends with my doll group too.
I love the Made to Move dolls too. They’re so fun to pose for photos!
Have you heard of “Big Beautiful Dolls?” They were a very short-lived line of, well… big gal dolls. Here’s a link to a Black Doll Collecting blog’s article on them, and this link to DeeBeeGee’s Virtual Black Doll Museum’s article is pretty interesting too. They were a 12 inch doll, but wow! They had a very realistic look to them.
Unfortunately, they never come up for auction on eBay. If I ever see one, it’s going to be hard not to buy it!
As far as bigger Ken dolls goes, the Hagrid doll from the Harry Potter doll line has quite an imposing figure, but you kind of have to want a lot of facial hair on your doll for this doll to fit your collection. If I were designing doll clothes for Lewis and Clark, and maybe some mountain men, he’d be perfect for something like that.
I own a Hagrid doll, and eventually I do plan to design some clothes for him. I’m not sure what to make for him though. If I could find him a 1/6 scale Harley Davidson motorcycle, it might give me some ideas for black leather chaps or something like that!
I saw there is a Facebook group for the big beautiful dolls https://www.facebook.com/groups/745644788866752/?ref=share&mibextid=NSMWBT
Now you’ve done it! I “need” at least one of these. I think Daria is my favorite but I like all three.
It’s rare to see them for sale, but I wish you all the luck in locating one. Joining that Facebook group may give you a leg up on other collectors.
Growing up, I had the original Barbie, a tiny Betsy McCall, and an 8 inch Ginny. Always wanted another Betsy and Ginny to keep them company. I added another Betsy, she was a MESS and had been through a fire, sold for “parts”. She cleaned up well, and aside from a burned hand (she has to keep her gloves on!) She looks great. I then found a Ginny in horrible shape too lol she was covered with sticky dust. I remade her wig and washed her and she was grateful to not be parted out 😆
I also had a Tod-L-Dee and wanted a Tod-L-Tim. I found one!
My “dream doll” changes, except I would love a Little Darling but I’m never finding one for $2.39 at Goodwill, right? I rarely buy new or even in good condition. Now that I have 4 granddaughters, I’m sewing more. ❤️
Dolls like this are SO fortunate to be discovered by someone like you, Linda!
I know exactly what you mean by “sticky dust.” My father is an auctioneer, and when I was a little girl, I would see toys come through the auction covered in “sticky dust.” It’s a stinker to have to clean!
What fun to grow up with an auction house! My parents were foster parents (a group home) and we got donations from stores and organizations. We would get ripped clothes and broken toys and fix them. I learned a lot about restoring stuff. Got some great finds in “The Box” as we called it.
My dream doll would be a Cher doll by Bob Mackie. But they are way to much money for my budget.
I think I might have had the Cher doll from the 1970’s. It seems like one came through my dad’s auction, NIB, and I got her. She had a body like the Bionic Woman doll, with softer skin than a Barbie.
That was probably the Meco or Kenner version. Mattel version was in my opinion much prettier. But I like I st about every fashion doll.