Are those Cabbage patch dolls?
I have been asked that question at craft fairs. I have been asked that question while I sewed in waiting rooms. I have been asked that question to the point of wanting to scream NO at the top of my lungs.
Soft sculpture dolls are going to resemble each other. There’s no way around it. As there are only so many stories to tell, there are only so many ways to stitch a doll head. BUT…these are not Cabbage Patch kids. Not. Cabbage. Patch. Kids.
I know that that makes me sound really testy and totally cantankerous. I’m sorry if it does. But what a question like that says to a maker is this: You don’t have an original thought in your body.
Let me walk you through my process. Every single body is sewn…by me. It’s stuffed…by me. Its feet and legs are sewn…by me, and in the former case by hand. No two of my dolls are alike. Every doll’s head is shaped by me, using a wicked needle, and waxed linen thread. I make the wigs, cutting each strand of yarn, or felting the roving. I pick the fabric for their clothes, cutting and sewing and ornamenting each and every one.
Cabbage Patch Kids that you get at the big box stores? They’re mass produced. To computerized specifications. With a plastic head. And they’re not US made. By a mom.
That’s right. When I make my babies for your special someone, I’m making them with the same care I take in making one for my own child.
Made in the US. By a mom.
Each one unique.
Just like your little ones.