Yesterday I posted the image above on this blog post offering free doll clothes sewing patterns for my 9 and 1/2 inch Moana fashion doll. But did you notice her shoes?
They don’t fit her very well… Take a close look at the image on the left, and you’ll see that these little red Mary Janes have a very loose “strap” on them. That’s because Moana is notoriously hard to find shoes for!
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If you’ve ever bought a second-hand Moana doll (like I have), then you probably already know that Moana doesn’t come with shoes. There’s a good reason for this, of course. In some South Pacific cultures, going barefoot is a sign of respect for the earth and nature, so these dolls are commonly sold without shoes (although she’s frequently sold with an ankle bracelet). Here’s Moana on Amazon, so you can see what I mean.
Moana hails from the fictional Polynesian island of Motunui. Her story and cultural background are inspired by the heritage and traditions of several real-world Polynesian islands, such as Hawaii, Samoa, Tonga, and French Polynesia.
But not all little girls play with the Moana doll in a South Pacific island setting. Girls like to dress her up and put her in their own life experiences, which may lean toward more of a European/Western cultural setting or an African American cultural setting. My good friend Kathy has an African American granddaughter who considered Moana her very favorite doll of all, and she liked to play like Moana was attending her own school in Maryland, in mainland USA.
So when a child or grandchild asks for us to somehow find a pair of shoes to fit their Moana dolls, we need to a.) take this opportunity to teach our child/grandchild about cultural differences between Western culture and South Pacific Island cultures, and then b.) encourage imaginative play, which may or may not include a pair of shoes for Moana.
So what can we do for Moana, if our child or grandchild wants a pair of shoes for her? Well, I’ve got a pattern here on ChellyWood.com that will work. Click here to get that free pattern and to find the tutorial video.
The red plastic shoes you see my Moana doll wearing in the image above came on a different doll that I found at the Goodwill — a little baby doll of the cheapest “Dollar Store” variety — which I bought for the shoes alone. When I saw these shoes, my thought was, “I bet those will fit Moana.”
And as you can see, they do fit her. Loosely.
But I have no idea what doll they came on. She had no markings on her, and she was made of very cheap, poor-quality plastic. And since she was a Goodwill doll, she could have come with different shoes on originally. So there’s no way to know whose shoes these really are. But if any of you know of a doll who can shoe swap with Moana, please leave your thoughts in the comments!
Is there a doll in your collection that you can’t find shoes for? If so, which doll is it?
Maybe we can get a discussion going that helps each of us solve our shoe problems!
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.
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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 C&T Publishing online learning platform. Here’s my bio page on their website, where you can learn more.
For any class on the C&T Publishing website, 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 the C&T Pub site, using this link.
As always, feel free to share my patterns and tutorials on social media. I only ask that you please let people know about my free doll clothes sewing pattern website, to help spread the word.
To read more about my free sewing patterns and tutorials, please visit the “Helpful Tips” page.
Disclaimer/Credit/Affiliate Marketing Link:
*Please note: when you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include Amazon, Etsy, and the eBay Partner Network. As an Amazon affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases. To learn more about how my website uses affiliate marketing, please visit the website’s Privacy Policy page.
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.