"Haily/Katey"

I wanted to share my latest doll creation. This doll is from a kit by Wendy Dickison called "Haily". The kit comes in five pieces - a head, two arms and two legs - no hair, no paint! It is in vinyl, deep pink in color. I renamed this doll, "Katey" after I had finished.


Below is a photo that shows the hair somewhat. The "hair" that I use is pure mohair which is purchased in locks. I separate the locks into individual strands which are then rooted into the doll's head using a very fine needle which grabs only one or two hairs per insertion. Since you can see that Katey has a lot of hair, you can imagine how long this process took. Not to mention how many needles are broken in the process. But in the end, it actually looks as though this hair is growing right out of the scalp!

My earlier dolls mostly had wigs, but the more recent ones were hand-rooted. Like Katey.


Backing up, I usually do all the painting first. On this doll, the original vinyl color was rather deep pink. I wanted a paler look so after doing a light green wash to neutralize the pinky color, I simply gave the skin mottling by using a combination of very pale pink and white paints. I always add touches of pale blue here and there for shadowing and depth. In real babies you can usually see these blue undertones if you look carefully.

The fingernails and toenails are painted in a rose color and tipped in white before being sealed with a satin varnish. The lips are painted in the same color and also sealed with satin varnish.

Eyebrows are painted, but eyelashes are rooted in a slightly lighter color than the hair on the doll's head.

The head and limbs are then all weighted, the ends are sealed and then attached to the cloth body - which is also weighted and stuffed with a combination of poly beads and fluffy polyester.

And then you have -- a baby! I have already had offers for this doll, but I was very lucky to obtain another kit by the same artist and I will most likely create a twin brother for Katey. At that point I may sell them together...or who knows - maybe these will be the ones that I keep for myself!