Doll Rehab - Part 1

Some little girls are doll people, and some are just not.

Andrea is a doll person. By doll people, I mean those little girls that are so into dolls. She has a LOT of dolls, and she remembers all of their names. She remembers which accessories came with which doll ("Mommy, that is not Smurfette's brush, that brush belongs to Dora!!"). And she even made up stories about which dolls are friends with which (Ariel, the Little Mermaid, is friends with brunette Barbie and apparently, they live under the sea in General Santos City in the Philippines, as I heard Andrea narrating the story one morning).

Now, Helaena, my niece and Andrea's permanent playmate, is NOT a doll person. I don't understand how two little girls who have been playing together almost everyday since Andrea was born evolved into 2 different little people... but I guess that's how it goes. Given this, Helaena's dolls have been a little neglected.

However, last October, Helaena received a Doctor playset and since then, she has been playing with one of her dolls all the time and carrying it around everywhere. By this time though, the little baby doll has lost her pajamas ("I don't remember where I put them, Tita Janelle." Helaena, when asked where her doll's clothes were), and she has gotten a little grimy ("I do clean it!! I just can't get the dirt out." My sister, on being asked why Helaena is playing with a dirty doll).

I asked Helaena if I can borrow "Emily" (Andrea named Helaena's dolls a year ago, after she learned they don't have any names) for a few days so I can make her some clothes. She agreed. And so last Monday, Emily came home with Andrea and I got to work.

I forgot to take a photo of Emily before I started working on her... the "Before" photo was taken after I already scrubbed Emily with soap, water and a wash cloth.

Elements from: Mi Casa collaboration kit by Bee Creations and Digiscrapange

And of course I had to make a layout for this because we all know I have too much time on my hands right? *chokes*

Anyway, after cleaning her, I crocheted a dress for her using Maxine Gonser's Angel Wings Pinafore pattern. I had to adjust the pattern to make it smaller. I added sleeves to cover her arms, and I made matching pants to cover her legs.

Here's a closer view of the dress:

I also made her "hair bonnet" like the one I made for Bonnie last year.

"Emily" is going home to Helaena today! Andrea has been a little jealous of the dress I made for Emily so I promised her I'll make one for Isabella too. Isabella is Andrea's first baby doll that we bought the day before she was confined to the hospital for the first time when she was a year old:

Remember this?

When I noticed that she loves this doll so much, I asked daddy to go back to the mall to get her another one in blue, so they can be her "Super Babies" like Dora's brother and sister. Hence, we named them "Isabella" and "Guillermo" after the Super Babies.

Anyway, Isabella and Guillermo are looking a little worn after 2 years of playing with Andrea so I told Andrea we will make them new clothes next.

Part 2 coming soon!