Over the years that I have been the Editor here at the Doll Making Site, I have received many questions from readers. I try to answer each one individually, but I have noticed that two questions seem to be asked most frequently. In this article I will answer those two questions in as much detail as possible. While I welcome, and look forward to receiving, your questions; maybe these answers will help right now and you won't need to wait for me to check my mail and respond.

1. Can you help me start a doll making business?
This is the most frequently asked question I receive. The answer, in a nutshell, is yes and no. While I consider myself a successful doll maker, I most certainly do not have a successful doll making business! I make dolls for the joy of it and out of a love of dolls. I don't sell my dolls, I either keep them or give them as gifts. If you want to read about my foray into trying to sell dolls at a craft fair Look Here to read what I posted in the Doll Making Forum.

I'm not sure why cloth dolls tend not to sell very well, there is certainly a huge market for American Girl Dolls, Barbie Dolls, and many other commercially made examples. I addressed this topic in a previous article: Children and Dolls.

If after this you are still wanting to try your hand at starting a business selling dolls, spend some time on Ebay. It is a fantastic reference with a ton of information to be had. You can get an idea of which dolls are selling, based on the numbers of bids, and also what price they ultimately sell for.

My other suggestion can be found in a book that I reviewed a while back: Handmade For Profit. This book is a wonderful resource for any craft business.

2. Do you know of a pattern for .....?
There are MANY patterns here on the Doll Making Site. There is a search bar to the upper left of my photo. Type in what you're looking for and it will search the Doll Making Site first and all of BellaOnline.com, if no results show up for this site. If you don't find what you need, try typing what you're looking for into your search bar. This is what I do when I get one of these questions. There are many sites on the web that offer free patterns, there are commercial pattern companies that carry an amazing diversity of doll patterns, both for doll bodies and clothes. If you are looking for a crochet pattern, knitting pattern, sewing pattern, embroidery pattern, etc., etc., BellaOnline.com has a site for all those topics, and they may have what you need. Click on Hobbies and Crafts which is highlighted in orange to the left, all of these sites and more will come up. Good Luck!



Making and Dressing Cloth Dolls
Ebook with patterns and instructions to make 5 cloth dolls as well as chapters on general doll making techniques.The book includes 21 inch Lalena Doll, 21 inch David Doll, Bear Dolls, 9 inch Destiny Doll and 15 inch Annie Doll, all together in one handy book. 53 pages.Making and Dressing Cloth Dolls.