My older daughters play school together. Actually, they play special
needs school. Every doll and stuffed animal in their school has some
kind of disability.
Some of their special school supplies.
We have a furry pig with severe food allergies, a brown bear with leg braces made from pencils strapped to him with masking tape, and a tiger with dyslexia.
Bone charts in action.
The teachers are often required to wear surgical masks, make bone charts (it's not entirely clear to me what these are for), and use specialized reading books.
See the casket? Very solemn indeed.
Periodically a student succumbs to an illness and then there's a grand funeral on the front lawn.
Each kid has one particular doll or toy that personifies them when they play. For Roxanne it's her American Girl doll, Rebecca Rubin. She even saved her allowance money to buy Rebecca a wheelchair and a leg cast. But this represents an ongoing problem for Stella.
Stella doesn't want a girl doll.
Stella like "boy" things. And so she's been stuck with the bear as her personified self, but he isn't a person so he's not on equal footing with Rebecca Rubin.
Okay, I try pretty hard to stay out of this, but I will say that it's about time Stella had a boy doll. And not just any boy doll. A big, friendly, awesome boy doll named Liam.
And that's the inspiration for my new pattern.
Say hello to Liam. He's Emma's best friend and soon he'll be Stella's, too.
He went for a trip in the washing machine so I know if he attends a particularly muddy funeral, he'll still look handsome after a good wash.
A few fun features of this pattern:
- Liam's got some pretty nifty shoes, with shoelaces, and his feet are at a right angle to his legs. Such a good technique to learn.
- His arms and legs are jointed so that he can sit up and be posed. Or ride in the wheelchair as needed.
- His eyes are 12mm safety eyes and you can find those in all the big box fabric stores or online here.
- It's pretty fun choosing plaid, argyle, and striped fleece for Liam's shirt and pairing them with fleece solids. That might be my favorite part.
My new boy doll pattern will be released early next week. Boy dolls are awesome and we should make them for our kids, boys and girls alike.
I love this! My son likes to play with dolls so I love seeing people make boy dollies!
LOL!!! Best intro to a new pattern EVER!!! And I love how Rebecca has a last name. I hope Liam is much loved!!!
So funny what kids come up with. Glad to see a boy doll. Liam is so handsome! Nothing girly about this doll!
My daughter’s favorite toys were dinosaurs and Thomas the Train. Here’s to being true to yourself! Loving the new boy doll.
My American girl doll totally had the wheelchair, too! But I was also loved my legos and matchbox cars and identified more with Peter Pan than Cinderella. I love that your daughter has a fabulous boy doll now, and that there is a fabulous new pattern for both girls and boys who loves dolls to relate to!
Love the pattern – from working in an infant school, I know that there is a serious lack of boy dolls that needs to be filled.
Tigers are prone to dyslexia – who knew?
ok, the boy pattern is awesome, but that story is the best! a few giggles around here. Sometimes, it’s the more realistic things that take over their imaginative play. Good on ya girls!
My favorite pics of your dolls are the ones in the washing machine. I don’t use synthetic filling for dolls (I use wool) and I don’t know if you use synthetics or a washable natural fiber fill, but there’s something very relaxing for a mom about seeing a doll that can be washed in the machine. Adorable!
I love that! I sure is relaxing to know that a doll or toy can just be washed easily!