Gotz EMILIA and MILA in MORITZ Happy Kidz Dolls

Sometime last year, Gotz came out with a new Happy Kidz doll named Emilia.  She was a brown-eyed brunette and had a new face mold that was very different from their other, pleasantly smiling dolls.  I wasn't sure how much I liked her, so I passed on ordering her.  Well, after seeing everyone else posting pictures of their beautiful Emilias online, I fell in love with her solemn face and went to order one for myself.  Only by then, she was all sold out...everywhere!  Just my luck.  However, Gotz assured everyone that new stock would be coming in again within a few months, so I patiently waited.  I finally got a confirmation from an online doll shop that she was once again available, so I eagerly placed my order.  Not even a week later, this same doll shop let me know that Gotz was soon to be releasing a new Happy Kidz doll named Mila.  Mila had the same face mold as Emilia, only she had green eyes and red hair.  RED hair!  I'm a sucker for red-headed dolls, ever since my beautiful, red-haired daughter-in-law married my son.  Mila was also a limited edition, which meant that once she sold out, there would be no more new stock.  But did I really need a second doll with the same face?  Um...YES!  I knew that if I passed her by I would probably regret it later, so I took the plunge and ordered Mila as well!

This is Emilia's stock photo.  Can you see what I mean about her expression being a little different than regular smiling dolls?  And what's up with that weird hat/headband thing?  So strange.

And this was Mila.  She also came with a stuffed dog, but I don't think he's very cute either. 

The outfits these newer Gotz dolls come in are not very cute, in my opinion.  So I immediately remove them and make them something a little more to my taste, like pretty, feminine dresses and pinafores!

Emilia's dress is made from a quilter's cotton, and her pinafore is cut from a vintage placemat in the prettiest shade of peachy/pink.

Isn't she just beautiful?

Now here's her twin, Mila:

Mila's dress is also from quilter's cotton.  Her apron is cut from a vintage handkerchief.

She has a large bow tied in her hair, like little girls used to wear long ago.

I set her hair on sponge rollers the night before these photos so she could have pretty ringlets.

These dolls stand approximately 18" tall.  They are all-vinyl, with additional joints at the knees and elbows.  They have rooted hair and stationary eyes.  Some people have complained that the quality of Gotz dolls has gone down considerably with these newer dolls, and that their hair especially can be sparse and thin.  Fortunately, my dolls don't seem to have this problem.  Their hair might not be as thick as some of my older Gotz dolls, but it is nicely rooted and looks more like real hair, in my opinion. 

Neither of these dolls is currently available to purchase new online.  Because Mila was a limited edition, her run is done.  It's possible that Emilia may be brought back again, but your best bet to purchase either one of these lovely dolls right now is on the secondary market, like eBay.

Restringing a Vintage Gotz All-Vinyl Baby

I've had this 14 1/2" vintage Gotz baby in my collection for a few years.  She is all vinyl, but also twists at the waist!  I bought her from eBay knowing her joints were loose, but they weren't too bad, so I just left her alone.  As I was straightening up in my doll room today, I came across her and decided that today was the day.  (I was supposed to be cleaning, so I suppose this was my way of procrastinating!)  After I determined I had the right elastic to complete the project, I pulled out an arm and snipped the elastic cord.  Here she is after I removed her arms from her body.  As you can see, they are attached using plastic "cups" that are shoved into the arm holes.  I did use my trusty blow drier to first soften the vinyl before using pliers to pull out the cups.

Next to be cut off were the legs.  The cord actually runs from one leg, up through the torso, into the head, back down he torso, and ends in the other leg.

All the body parts

I simply shoved the elastic through the cup and knotted the end.  This is how it was assembled originally.

I shoved the cup with the knotted cord back into the leg hole.  Then, the cord was threaded up through both torso pieces.  I decided to cut the cord at the top and then repeat the process with the other leg.  The originally assembly had the cord doubled over at the top and then knotted, but I thought this would be a little more difficult to shove the tightened cup up into the head cavity.  

I decided to replace the original, plastic cup in the head with this trusty button, instead.

The back side of the shank button.  I have used these buttons for many, many doll restringing projects.  I got them at JoAnn's.  Last time I was there, they still had them.

I threaded the elastic from one leg through the shank button.  The button was then shoved up into the head.  Then I tied both ends of the elastic cord together and pulled them as tightly as I could.  Once I knotted them, I clipped off the ends and the head was now nice and secure!

The last thing to string was the arms.  Again, I knotted the elastic after threading it through one cup, and then shoved the cup into the arm cavity.  The elastic was then threaded through the body and into the remaining cup.  I pulled it tight and then knotted it.  This last part is the probably the most awkward...now I had to shove the tightened cup into the other arm cavity.  But with a little bit of brute force and a trusty pair of pliers, I got it done!

All done!  Baby can hold a pose again!

I redressed her in her original outfit, which consists of a knitted sweater, a matching hat, and a sleeveless, long-legged bodysuit underneath.  I wasn't completely in love with it, so I decided to add a sweet, pink taffeta dress and bloomer panties which I pulled off a thrift store doll long ago.  How cute is she now?!?

She's such a little pumpkin now!  I love her.  I have another one just like her, but with blonde hair.  That one came to me nude, so I will have find/make her some clothes and then I can share "the twins" with you.  It's amazing what a little rehab and some cute clothes can do!

And speaking of cute...here are my two English Budgies, Pippin and Bobbin.  They like to hang out on my lap top while I peruse the internet.  Here, Bobbin is preening Pippin.  They are such sweet birds, and great company in my sewing/doll room!

New Sewing for American Girl Dolls SAMANTHA & REBECCA

This past week I made two new dresses.  Samantha received a Keeper's Dolly Duds pattern I've made before, called "1914 Pleated Frock", and Rebecca got a dress from the book "Doll Dress Boutique" by Erin Hentzel.  I have a couple of Erin's books, but this was the first time I've actually sewed something from them.

I don't know why I decided to sew the 1914 Pleated Frock again, except that I came across the fabric the other day while I was organizing my sewing drawers, and thought how pretty the colors and pattern would be in a dress for Samantha.

It has details which are so pretty, like the pleated skirt, the curved waistband that folds down over the pleated skirt, the cuffed sleeves, and the bodice lapels.  It's actually a fairly easy sew if you take it slowly.  

The pattern calls for little, decorative buttons to be sewn down the front of the bodice which I did in my first dress, but this time I left them off.  I felt like the fabric was busy enough and didn't really need them.  Besides, I also couldn't find the exact shade of white I wanted in my button stash, and goodness knows I'm not going to go to JoAnn's right now to stand in the horrific long lines for some buttons.

The sleeve cuffs and bodice lapels are from a cotton/linen blend fabric with a window-pane check.  I've had it forever and can't even remember where I bought it.  I must have originally bought a few yards, and have used it in numerous outfits, both for people and dolls.  I will be sad when it's finally gone.

Isn't my Samantha so sweet?

Matching hair bow on a clip

The back opens all the way to the hem and fastens with snaps under decorative buttons.

And here is Rebecca, in her new dress.  It is from Chapter Seven in the book, titled "Princess-Seamed Dresses".

I used the same linen/cotton window-pane check fabric for her collar and hem-band.  

I embroidered flowers on the collars to match the ones in the fabric.  The sleeve ruffles are from a cotton voile.

She also got a matching hair bow!

Dress opens partially down the back and is secured again with snaps under decorative buttons.

Rebecca makes such a pretty model.

Here it looks as though Rebecca has spotted something in the grass.  In reality, I was having a very difficult time getting her to balance, and this was as good as it was going to get!

I will be keeping Samantha's dress (unless I decide to sell it), but Rebecca's dress is getting mailed away soon to a complete stranger!  I'll be sad to see it go, but I joined a doll dress swap on a Facebook group I'm a part of, and this is the dress I made to mail off to my swap partner.  In return, I will be receiving one from her, too!  Now I'm seriously considering making myself another one of these dresses, just so I'll have one to keep.

Front cover of the book which has many delightful patterns inside.

Back cover

It was a perfectly sunny day to just lie in the grass and tell secrets.

New Dress for Zwergnase ASTE

I bought this doll, Aste, at the same time as my previous doll, Thordis.

She is 21.5" tall, and a limited edition of only 50 in blonde (there were also 50 made as a redhead) from 2017.

I just happened to stumble across the last one when I was browsing this shop.

I was really surprised she was still available, since she was a limited edition from two years earlier!

Since I really wanted a blonde Zwergnase, I decided to splurge and get her, along with Thordis from my previous post!  (The shop was having a 20% off sale, so I didn't feel too bad!)

I'm so glad I did!  Isn't she beautiful?

Of course, I had to make her a new outfit.  Her original outfit was nicely made, but nothing special, in my opinion.

Here's a photo (not mine) found on the internet of how she looked when she first arrived.

I think she looks so much sweeter now!

Her pinafore was cut from a soft, cotton, ladies blouse.  It is a simple front and back that ties under the arms and buttons on the shoulders (I used snaps under buttons)  The dress is pretty, quilter's cotton, trimmed with vintage eyelet.

The blouse already had the tucks in it, so I didn't have to do those!

Here she is, with her little sister.  I hand-smocked her pinafore.  I used to smock a lot for my older girls when they were little, but haven't done as much lately.  

Aste's new name here is LIESL.  I've always loved that name, ever since watching Sound of Music.  I am now debating on switching Thordis' name to GRETEL, also from the same movie.  I was going to call her "Adalie", but somehow, it's not really sticking.  And the more I say it, the more I like it!  Sound of Music was (and still is!) my absolute favorite movie of all time.  

So, what do you think?  Do they look like a Liesl and Gretel to you?  

And lest you think I only sew for dolls, here is evidence that I also sew for real people:

My almost 3-year-old granddaughter, modeling the Lulu pinafore pattern from Violette Field Threads.

We went to a tulip farm yesterday, and she had so much fun running among the rows of tulips!

I also made her this sweet dress recently, another Violette Field Threads pattern, Primrose.  Lucky for me, I have a huge fabric stash, so finding fabric to sew dresses during this time when we can't easily go out shopping has not been an issue for me!

I love that my granddaughter LOVES her dresses.  She asks me frequently to make her new ones.  I hope someday I can teach her how to sew!