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Despite having *most* of what I need to make these custom dolls, there's always something small I've run into near beginning a new step where I'm rushing to place a snail order and it puts yet another project on hold.

While waiting on bias tape, satin fabric, a hand sewing machine, curved needles, etc., it's looking like the first thing to come will be a body suit pattern that I'll be downsizing to fit a doll. Technically not a hard adjustment. It's a 1/3 doll (so 1/3 a standard human height) so the first steps will be to scan the pieces and rescale to 1/3. Dolls tend to be a lot more slender and elongated than standard people though so I'll need to stretch for allowance, making sure I have at least too much that I can trim down later than undercorrect and have to recut fabric and enlarge the pattern. The fabric itself is a 4 way stretch so I don't need a rigid fit, just somewhere around snug once pulled into the doll. I can dust the doll with talcum to make it easier if needed, but I don't want to lose the color and opacity by having it too stretched and bunching anywhere.

I may mess with some air dry clay, but I'm thinking a papier-mâché base may be the best way to start. Clay itself tend to droop while drying or baking so papier-mâché for air dry, armature wire and foil for baking is often the way to go.

We'll see, I guess. Part of what makes crafting so alluring is the challenge leading to those results, good or bad. I always but in excess of what is needed in case the first attempts are less than ideal. And these are the challenges that inspire all other creative endeavors. It's not books on writing or drawing or craft or character development or conversation, it's the doing, the unique perspective I can give through trial and error.

So I continue.