Fashions for Spring/Summer 18'' Dolls

        The following doll clothes are for Spring or Summer weather. Most of what our dolls are modeling this Summer is made from altered children's clothing. Sizing unwanted items down, is in my opinion, the most economical way to dress dolls. It eliminates the need for purchasing extra trims; recycling zippers, buttons, embroidery and elastic can save quite a bit of cash! Of course, there is also the added bonus of outfitting your dolls in some very professional looking pieces.

Left, is a lovely printed garden party dress that includes a butterfly 
embroidered to the bodice. Right a colorful hot pink, sleeveless knit top
coordinated with white, knee length shorts. The shorts have a cheerful
butterfly motif printed on them.

       Butterflies, polka-dots and stripes are all in fashion this year; you may see these woven, printed and embroidered into all kinds of juvenile garments! Classic sneakers, sandals and flip-flops are made to coordinate with every look as well.

On the left, stands our doll Christine dressed for a visit to a summer
theater performance. Standing on the right, is her friend, Candace; 
She is dressed in her favorite overalls and stripped long sleeves. She 
is on her way to watch fireworks in the park. Candace is also wearing
hand-painted sneakers made to look like the night sky.

       Dolls have all kinds of event to attend and participate in during warmer months, so they need flexibility in their wardrobe: skirts, shorts, dresses and overalls. Even a pair of colorful cut-offs may be included in our doll's summer mix. 

Christine and Kit both wear summer time knits with embroidered features. 

Christine is in a floral print skirt and Kit in the latest blue, stretch jeans.

       Christine is wearing metallic strappy sandles and Kit is in neon orange sneakers. Fun footwear is always an added bonus to dolly coordinates. No outfit is complete without just the right shoes!

Mesha shows off a lovely, ethnic blue skirt, trimmed in beads and tiny
mirrored sequins. She pairs the skirt with a simpler, grey knit top. The 
top is worn off the shoulder to repeat the horizontal design found in 
the skirt. Her white strappy heals finish the look. Now she is ready for
a fun day sight seeing in the city.

Left, Christine wears a simple Searsucker striped dress
is just the right choice to wear to church on a warm summer
 evening. Right, Kit wears a bold floral knit print along with her
bunny ear tee-shirt when playing in the park or watching a
movie at home with her parents.

Mesha's peplun top is decorated with 3D silk flowers and Candace wears
a cheerful green polka-dot dress. The tiny embroidered lady bug on her
bodice is pink, just like her flip-flops below.

       Mesha and Candace are ready to visit the market in town. They have so much to do to plan their family picnic but perhaps they will also have time to eat at the local pizza parlor and admire the flowers in the park. There is a free art show going on in the park too. Their fashions are perfect for all of their plans.

Left, Kit wears a popular polka-dot motif for summer, this one is pink 
and white knit with cut-off sleeves. Christine ties a cozy cardigan sweater
about her shoulders while it is not quite chilly enough to put it on. She 
will need it as the cool night air settles around her if she decides to
walk through the park in the evening.

Kit's top has a splash of yellow at the shoulder to make it look unique.
Mesha pairs classic overalls with trendy polka-dots.

       Summer fashions don't need to be fussy. Keep them on the light side, make them playful and charming. Above you can see Kit wears blue stretch shorts and a white and blue printed floral top. Mesha wears a polka-dot top with her buff pink overall shorts. These dolls are ready for fun and play but may still be dressed just right for a day at the zoo, shopping in a mall, attending a ballgame or visiting with girl friends at home. 

Now Kit wears horizontal stripes and a cozy hooded sweat shirt and
Christine shows off her ''Old School Gym'' tee shirt with bold black
and white color blocking. Both dolls are ready for sporting events!

Craft Fashionable Doll Flip-Flops!

       The key to understanding just 'how' a doll's shoe is made is to think about how it made from the inside out. You build a shoe by assembling it's inner parts first, then working your way to the outside parts last.

       Flip-flops are much simpler shoes to put together compared to boots or high heels. In America, it can get very hot during the months of June, July, August and September. So, these are the kind of shoes many folks wear during those months if they are not at work. Children love flip-flops so it only stands to reason that they would want to dress their dolls the same way.

       With flip-flops, you don't wear socks! These shoes slip quickly on the feet to guard them from burns and cuts but they can just as easily slip off for those impulsive dips into a swimming pool, river, lake etc... Most of these kinds of shoes are inexpensive and are characteristically playfully decorative for girls or women. Little boys and men traditionally wear more sporty versions of flip-flops.

The finished flip-flops shown above are made from paper.
Each pair has a different theme: red paisleys, beach 
combing flip-flops and a cool spring blue floral
theme for our third example. Each of these 
flip-flops goes with a different doll's outfit.

Supply List:

• decorative scrapbook papers
• foam sheets for souls of flip flops
• trims: buttons, ribbon, sea shells
• hot glue gun and hot glue
• tacky craft glue
• doll - to measure her feet
• light weight cardboard
  

Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. Trace around your either your doll's foot or shoe to make a pattern for the interior of the doll's flip-flop first. Cut this tracing from light weight cardboard.
2. Glue these cardboard patterns to the backside of decorative paper. Cut this paper a little larger than the cardboard patterns so that you can clip around the edges and then paste them around the edges of the cardboard templates. (see photos)
3. Next, cut a wide band (from cardboard) to hold the flip-flop onto the doll's feet. Check to see that the band will work for the shoe by wrapping it around the top of her foot. There needs to be enough length to glue to the underside of the cardboard inner shoe. 
4. Cover this band with paper and white glue.
5. Attach the band using both tacky glue and masking tape to hold it in place. 
6. Now trace around the the flip-flops to mark the craft foam sheet with a pencil. 
7. Cut out the foam soles and hot glue these onto the bottom of the shoes.
8. Cut long, narrow strips of foam to hot glue along the edges of the the flip-flops. This will cover up uneven surfaces and make the flip-flops look clean and professionally made.
9. Hot glue trims to the tops of the flip-flops to give them unique fashionable looks. I attached blue buttons and ribbon to the floral blue pair, black bows to the red paisley pair and tiny sea shells to the beach themed pair of shoes.

Left cardboard cut-outs drawn from our doll's favorite slippers. Center, see the paper is a little larger
 than the cut-outs so that I can wrap it around the edges using white school glue. Right, the inside of 
our doll's paisley flip flops are covered.

Left, I check to make sure the cardboard band fits my dolls foot. Center, cover the bands with paper.
Right, now the band is attached to the underside of the covered cardboard flip-flop template.

Left, see the soles of the flip-flops are cut from a black craft foam sheet. I used white craft foam
for the other two pairs seen on the right. 

See the same kind of pattern as a house slipper here, only these are covered with fur...

Craft visors for dolls to wear in the summer sun...

Doll wears a star covered visor to keep
the sun out of her eyes at doll camp.

       My version of this popular doll craft is made from recycled materials and decorative papers. The example shown, just right, has a star patterned paper on the outside of the visor and a yellow solid paper on the underside of the visor.

Supply List:

• paper covered wire 
• white school glue
• cardboard
• masking tape
• Mod Podge
• fun summer papers
• recycled cereal box

Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. Fit the paper wire to your favorite doll's head and twist the ends together to keep it the exact size it needs to be. Paper covered wires are easy to find in grocery stores; these are usually wrapped around lettuce leaf heads.
2. Cover this paper wrapped wire with masking tape.
3. Draw a small half arc shape on top of light weight cardboard, cut it out and tape it to the paper wire. You may need to reshape the wire on the doll's head as you proceed in order to keep it shaped properly.
4. One the visor looks the way you like, see photo, cover it with decorative paper and white school glue.
5. Mod Podge the final visor, let dry and position it onto your doll's head to keep the sun out of her eyes!

Left, measuring the doll's head using the wire, twisted in 
place. Center, making a pattern by tracing both the 
inside and out of the wire shaped headband. Right,
paper template and copy of it in cardboard.

 

Left and next, see how the paper visor will look on my doll's head. Center and right, the finished
paper visor on top and underneath covered with decorative papers.

More Ways to Fashion Your Doll's Hair:

• Learn to Craft a Doll's Flower Crown
• Make scrunchies for your doll's hair
• Sew wide velour doll headbands
• Rainbow hair extensions for Barbie

Fashionable Handbags for Dolls!

These plaid, coin purses will compliment any doll Chanel suit or 
70s inspired shift dress... The leather straps and nickel plated
clasps make them look like miniature versions of real handbags!

Groovy, Op designs for all sorts of dolls will blend in nicely
with leisure suits, hip mini skirts and Go-go boots.

       Originally, these small novelty purses were intended to protect lipsticks or hold coins inside of ladies handbags. However, I think they are better suited to fashionable 18" doll outfits. Accessories like these will also look adorable inside of our doll's boutique!

       Why not fill your doll's purse with the kinds of things any well-prepared fashionista would carry?

• a wallet with printed cash and credit cards
• makeup, mini lipsticks
• keys to the dollhouse, toy car etc...
• personal hygiene products
• a novel
• tissues or kerchiefs to blow the nose
• over-the-counter medicines like cough drops and Asprin for headaches
• an inhaler for a doll with asthma or reading glassed for a near-sighted doll
• a comb or a brush
• a compact with mirror or eye shadow compacts for makeup
• a pair of gloves or mittens
• a cell phone
• a writing tool and notepad
• nail file or nail clippers
• breath mints or chewing gum

Leopard print handbags with sequin backgrounds come in pale pink, grey, turquoise and hot pink.

Glitter bags with circle patterns in purple, orange, hot pink 
and Kelly green.

Traditional modern bags with square and circular pink, black and purple prints.

Left, coin purses in hot pink, red, orange and white polka dots. 
Right, purple and silver zebra stripes decorate this doll purse.

Pastel and grey, black and white ribbon rosettes decorated these second-hand doll bags.

Do It Yourself: Doll Crate Closet

Left, the curtains are pulled back so that our dolls may easily hang up their clothes and store
their shoes on the top shelf. Right, here you see the curtains pulled shut to keep
doll clothes dust free!

 

       This version of a doll's clothing storage was built using a recycled wine crate that I found discarded by the side of the road. It looked clean and adaptable and was just the right size for the following doll closet craft. Alternatively, one could make the same craft using a sturdy cardboard box if there is no wooden variety available, of course...

• See how I updated a wooden doll storage trunk for Barbies here

 Supply List:

• old recycled wood box (ours was formerly a wine crate)
• handful of screws and nails
• acrylic paints (whatever colors you like)
• an old mirror
• dowel rod
• masking tape
• wood glue
• round wooden drawer knobs
• extra scrap wood for shelf at top
• decorative fabric for seat cushion
• decorative fabric for curtains

Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. The first step is to acquire an old wooden crate or box. Often these once were kept to store wine bottles or ship fruit in...
2. Next, decide if your doll's closet will be vertical or horizontal and shape. If you have a doll hanger on hand, it is best to see how this will fit inside the box. Is there enough room for the clothing on a hanger to dangle free from touching the sides of the box? 
3. Sand the wooden box enough to smooth away edges with splintering wood.
4. Paint the box with acrylics or spray paints, whichever you may have on hand. I chose to "white-wash" our doll's closet using very little paint. I happen to prefer wooden furniture with a bit of patina. But, you will have your own preferences for this project that may look very different.
5. I measured the interior of our wooden doll closet to fit it for a single shelf at the top. One this shelf I will store doll handbags, shoes and hats possibly.
6. Insert the wooden shelf with a bit of glue and also firmly attach it with carpentry nails. I hammered these through the outside walls into the edges of my shelf on the inside. 
7. Measure beneath the shelf enough room to insert a dowel rod for hanging your doll's wardrobe. Attach the dowel with nails and glue both combined as you did the shelf. 
8. Paint the entire interior a solid color; I chose a reddish wine color.
9. Attach the dresser drawer knobs to the bottom of the doll closet if it needs to stand a bit taller. 
10. I chose to glue on a mirror for our dolls to the back side of the closet. 
11. After the glue dries, use masking tape to seal the edges of the mirror.
12. Then use faux wood paper to decoupage around these same mirror edges again thereby firmly attaching the mirror and preventing the edges of it from cutting through skin during play.
13. I then chose to make a cushion for the interior of our doll's closet by cutting a piece of foam and upholstering over it with hot pink fabric.
14. To make curtains for the closet door, simply measure from the top to the bottom of the opening. Add an additional inch all around to the panels for neatly finishing the edges. 
15. Hot glue these two panels side by side around the top only and firmly press the edges with your fingertips as you go.
16. Attach a decorative cord in a loop on either side of the closet for holding the fabric curtains open whenever your doll may prefer to look inside her wardrobe to plan her next outfit!

Left, I white-washed the old wine crate with acrylics to give the surface of the wood some patina. 
Center, you can still see the original stamp/carving on the surface of the wood through the white-
wash. Right, at the bottom I attached four drawer pulls to give the closet a bit more height.

Left, I painted the interior of the cabinet a burgundy color along with the shelf and dowel rod.
Right, here you can see that I attached a mirror with wood glue and masking tape. Later I will
decoupage around the mirror with faux wood paper.

Left, the details of a cushion insert, covered with hot pink brocade. shoes and bag are easy to 
access for a doll "on the go..." Center, the red cord holds back the printed curtains.
Right, our doll looks in the finished mirror to make sure her hair is neat and her dress is pretty.

How to make doll sized lipsticks

Finished 18" doll sized lipsticks for a doll's purse, of course!

       This project requires a steady hand and patience for detail. Again, it also involves the careful use of hot glue and should only be attempted with parental supervision. An older teen could accomplish it far easier than a child so this craft is recommended for older students. 

       The caps of the lipsticks do not necessarily need to be sealed with hot glue; this craft is just as cute without this small detail and therefore would make it safe for a younger child to manipulate if left off to begin with...

 Supply List:

• hot glue gun and hot glue
• skewers
• utility scissors or small hacksaw 
• acrylic paints: black, pinks and reds
• metal tape
• transparent straw or two
• white school glue
• black paper

Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. Cut the skewers down to the size of lipsticks that would fit neatly into an 18" doll's purse or makeup kit. Ours are approximately 3/4" long.
2. The lipstick is divided into three parts: the top is the makeup for staining the lips, the middle is the tube and the bottom is the part of the tube that is twisted to lift the makeup up and down, in and out as it is used. These sections are made by gluing layers of paper on top of each other with white school glue. This is a detailed by easy process that requires a bit of patience.
3. After the levels of paper have dried, paint the makeup tube dispenser black or any color you would like. 
4. Then paint the lipstick makeup a shade of pink, mauve, or red.
5. Cut a transparent straw to fit over the tube and stop at the part of the stick where the tube and twisting mechanism meet. 
6. I cut a tiny piece of metal tape to hold the lid onto the tube. This can be easily remove during play and reattached when done. 
7. To seal the transparent straw at the top, squeeze out a small amount of hot glue onto a slick surface and push the top into the glue. 
8. Wait a few seconds and then remove the top from the glue. Pull the unwanted portions off of the outside of the straw and leave the inside to seal the tube.

Mini wooden lipsticks in progress... Left, unpainted. Right, beginning to paint.

Make More Doll Cosmetics:

• Pretend Doll Sized Nail Polish
• Doll Cosmetics line the shelves of these Salon booths/stations here...

Sew Bohemian Bags for Your Dolls

This groovy, Bohemian bag is a through-back design from the 1960's and 70's.
In its's time it was  considered reminiscent of Victorian crazy quilts.
Which just goes to show that fashion, like history, repeats itself. 

 

       I made this simple purse for our 18" dolls  by drawing half of the large letter "U" on a folded piece of paper. This became my pattern. 

1. Cut two felt pieces alike, using a similar pattern, for your doll to trace around on top of felt. Choose whatever colors you would like, of course. 
2. You will also need to cut several lengths of felt approximately 1/2 in width to sew between your felt pieces all the way around the "U" shape, excluding the top opening of the purse.
3. Around the upper edge of the opening of the purse, sew on a lace trim. 
4. Attach a purse strap using the same measurements as you used to sew the side panel into the purse itself. 
5. Now decorate the felt doll purse with lace, embroidery, crochet flowers, beads etc... 
6. Make a loop from yarn or fabric to attach to the inside, center of one edge of the doll's purse. 
7. Then attach a decorative button or bead to the opposite side, in the middle, so that the loop may be slipped over the button to close the purse.

See our Barbie couture bags here.

Short, Simple and Sweet Jumpers for School!

Left, one of our older dolls from Pleasant Company, Josephine shows
off her new jumper. Center, a vintage nautical fabric used for a very
 "French" looking jumper. Right, the jumper trimmed with white
 beading and white lace against a solid blue.

        Our dolls are going back to school wearing the latest thing in child fashions. Simple jumpers, cut just above the knee and styled according to any taste! Every sample dress pictured is sewn using the same pattern. Find easy-to-sew, doll dress patterns below:

• Easy to Sew Tunic by The Crafts Channel - lengthen this simple tunic to make a doll's dress/jumper. (In England, jumpers are sweaters. In America a jumper is a A-line dress without sleeves.)
• How to sew A-line Dress Tutorial for Blythe Dolls by NDLYhandmade
  

 Dolls wait in line to walk on stage and show off their new school fashions. Right,
 a cute plaid version of this jumper with a gold, chain belt, looks like an Autumn
 version of the jumper.

 

 Left, velvet ribbon trim. Center, a fancy belt with star. Right, a real dress
  recycled with the jumper cut pattern.

  Left, bold blue and green floral print jumper, trimmed with a velvet ribbon.
   Right, standing together during the Back-to-School Fashion Show.

Left, elephant print. Center, print with geese on wheels. Right, print with cats.

Here the A-line Jumper is trimmed with a hot pink polka-dot ruffle and gold metallic belt.

Recycled yellow collar and sash added to the A-line dress.

More Jumper Patterns for Real Little Girls:

• A Nice Jumper Dress by Jordan Fabrics
• How to sew a simple dress for a little girl by MADE Everyday
• Create your own gorgeous no-pattern shift dress by the Crafts Channel

Craft a Doll's Flower Crown

        Flower crowns are often worn at weddings or festivals in the United States. Young girls are particularly fond of these. So, it should be fun to craft one for each child and her doll in attendance at a summer flower camp! If you make this craft on the first day as an introduction, the girls and dolls may wear them everyday during camp for the entire week.

Our Kit doll wears a Flower Crown as seen... Left, from the front, Right, from the top. Kit's
flower crown above is made using tiny blue flowers, white berries and delicate silk leaves.

       For this craft you will need to gather the following supplies: chenille stems, tiny artificial flowers and berries, and fine wire. 
       The chenille stems are usually sold in a package together; it is best to use green ones so that the wire will blend with the rest of your flower stems. 
       The artificial flowers may be purchased from a dollar store or hobby shop and the fine wire may be found there as well, although it is likely that a parent may find some of this at home.

       Twist the ends of the chenille stems together so that you will have enough wire to shape the crown into a circular shape that will fit your doll's head. Twist the stems around themselves if there is extra length and there will be. This helps the crown to be sturdy. 

       Now take lengths of the floral picks, berries, and leaves and twist these about the crown in a pattern/design that is pleasing. Use the thinner wire to firmly keep the small flora in place. You may wish to use bobby pins to hold the crown of flowers in place. 

       Now repeat the same process for a child's version of the craft if you wish. Headbands purchased from a dollar store may be used to twist tiny floral picks around alternatively for the children if you prefer.

Little Miss Party demonstrates how she shapes

 flower crowns for adults and children...

DIY A 18" Collapsable Doll Stage With Catwalk

Here you can see our lovely Journey doll showing off her Spring formal. Perhaps she will wear
 it to her Prom or her Quinceañera. She also shows off a hot pink boa and
glamorous beaded necklace!

       Every little girl needs a stage to show off her doll's best clothing and this handmade version for 18 inch dolls would make a uniquely wonderful gift for this very purpose. I purchased the supplies at the Dollar Tree store nearest to me. My favorite thing about this craft is that it folds up and can be stored away inside of a closet or underneath a bed, once the exhibit is over!

Top, the proscenium arch. Center and Bottom,
beaded details.

Supply List:

• 2 trifold cardboard display units ($1.00 each at the Dollar Store or Dollar General)
• 2 plastic table cloths ($1.00 each at the Dollar Store)
• extra cardboard, one very long piece measuring at least 33"
• masking tape
• white school glue
• hot glue and hot glue gun
• white typing paper
• heavy books (to weigh down the cardboard as it dries)
• a yardstick
• sharp scissors or a box cutter if an adult is helping you
• plastic hooks or ribbon to tie back the curtains

Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. Cut apart only one of the two cardboard display units. Cut carefully down the folded parts of the trifold - where they bend. Set these three walls aside. (picture below)
2. I chose to make our runway white because this playset will second as a photo booth for our doll fashions. However, you may choose to make your runway any color you like. It is important to note that the color of your cardboard is best suited to match the color of the runway curtains. This is not a must but when photographing dolls it flatters the doll clothing and models.
3. Cut your plastic table cloth to match the height of the trifold walls plus 1/2 inch longer, so that the edges may be gathered or pleated and then taped over the top of the display to the backside of the wall. Doing this with tape first allows you to make adjustments to your design as you go. Once you are satisfied with the gathered/pleated edge, tape it down firmly to the wrong side of the cardboard wall. 
4. To finish the trifold display neatly and to give it added strength, take the cut trifold walls, best side facing out, and glue them to their counterparts. This will sandwich the gathered curtain parts between the two cardboard units with white school glue. Use large, heavy books to weight down the cardboard pieces as these dry so that they don't warp. Give it a generous hour or more to dry. Don't worry about the plastic table cloths getting wrinkled, these will smooth out afterwards when you set up the runway to play with.
5. You may wish to cut a back door exit from the trifold display unit for dolls to enter unseen by the audience, I did not cut away this backstage door because I chose to use my theater display to second as a photo booth. But if you want your theater to be a playset, cutting a door through the back trifold walls is easily done. Measure the height of your doll and ad an inch to this length when cutting a door so that your dolls may fit through the rectangular opening easily. 
6. Now you are ready to cut the front of the theater from the longest piece of cardboard, 33 inches long. This piece is called the proscenium arch and it also has a curtain hanging down from it that hides the stage from an audience while it is transformed into any kind of space that actors or models are using to display their show. The front curtain here is called the safety curtain. During a runway exhibit it may be pulled back by the hooks that we glued to the side panels of our trifold display. 
7. First make sure to cut the length of your proscenium arch to measure 33 inches long. I used a fancy template to make this arch with curves at the top. You may cut it straight or fancy whatever you desire. I wanted to give ours a bit of interest because it is all white. I also cut some shapes to glue on top of the arch to ad a bit of interest to our design. 
8. Then I covered the entire surface on the front with white typing paper and school glue.
9. Cut notches one to two inches from each end into the cardboard proscenium at the bottom. Make sure these are wide enough to fit the top arch neatly onto the trifold. The notches will need to be cut approximately 1 1/2" deep and these should be about 1/4" wide. See photograph.
10. Next, you will cut the plastic cloth material to the appropriate length for the front stage curtain. You will need two pieces the exact same length and width. These will be gathered or pleated by the same method that you used for the curtains attached to the trifold. 
11. After these a have been adjusted and attached to the backside of the suspended proscenium, paste and paper over the tape and curtains on the backside of the arch with typing paper as well. This will conceal the ruffled edge of the curtains at the top and also make the overall project look professional.
12. Now you may use you hot glue gun to attach either ribbons or hooks to the side trifold walls in order to hold back the safety curtains of your stage. (see photo)
13. To make the catwalk or runway, all you will need to do is to glue together a simple platform or cut a long narrow rug instead. This may be any length that you care to make it, really.

Left, two trifolds for the back walls of the doll stage. Center, the stage and catwalk constructed
from scrap cardboard. Right, the catwalk fits inside a cut away
section of the stage during play.

Left, the plastic table cloth from a dollar store is cut and draped over the stage walls.
Right, I have taped it to the backside of the wall where it will not be seen. Then I will glue an
additional trifold to the backside, for added strength. However the trifold needs to be cut
 at the seams and glued in three sections so that the stage wall may collapse and be stored flat.

Two beaded loops are glued to both sides of the end trifold walls. The curtains hung from the
proscenium arch will be gathered into these loops at the front of the display.

•  See a Barbie/Fashionista version here...

The stage and catwalk are two separate pieces.
All together there are four units for this display.

Dolls by The American Character Doll Company

       The American Doll and Toy Corporation was established in 1919 by Russian Jewish immigrant brothers Jacob and Max Brock, and their partner Ed Schaefaer, with many of the Brock relatives occupying key positions at the company. The company used the trade names "Aceedeecee" and "ACDC". American Character Dolls' factory was in Brooklyn; the company operated a store on East 17th Street in New York City in the late 1920s. By the late 1930s, the company's manufacturing plant, comprising 130,000 square feet, was in East Hampton, Massachusetts.
       The company made the news in 1937 when it was ordered by the Federal Trade Commission to stop claiming that its patented "paratex" (a hard rubber made from a "secret formula") was superior to composition dolls (popularly made by American Character's competitor the Ideal Toy Company).
       In 1951, American Character partnered with competitors the Ideal Toy Company and the Alexander Doll Company to establish the United States-Israeli Toy and Plastic Corporation, designed to produce material for toys in Israel and the U.S. The new corporation's offices shared space with American Character.
       In 1954, American Character Dolls established a $2,000 annual fellowship at Teachers College, Columbia University, known as the Frances Horwich Graduate Fellowship in Early Childhood Education. In 1954 the company was awarded a patent for a doll that "breathes, sheds tears, drinks from a bottle, blows bubbles, and even smokes."
       By 1967 the company's fortunes were in decline, with unsecured claims said to be approximately $1.4 million. Settlements were arranged in March and June 1967, and the company continued to operate on a limited scale. Shortly thereafter, in 1968, American Character Dolls filed for bankruptcy and went out of business. Molds for some toys were sold to Mattel and Ideal Toy Company, which acquired the defunct company's dyes, patents, and trademarks.

 The Wonderful Doll World of Toni and Betsy McCall

       Toni (1958–1960s) — 10," 14," 20," and 25" fashion doll and Betsy McCall (1957-1959) — 8"-36" hard plastic doll are featured here in this small booklet published in the 1950s.

       Introducing Toni, Beautiful, sophisticated doll that comes complete with her own Playwave Kit. Create glamorous hairdos with your Toni Doll. Betsy McCall, what a cute little girl doll that steps from the pages of McCall's Magazine.

Cartoon.

Extra outfits for Betsy McCall Doll: Chemise, shoes and socks, April Showers,
 Riding Habit, Ballerina and Schoolgirl in stripes.

Cartoon

Betsy in Coat and Hat, Sugar and Spice, Sunday Best and On the ice.

How to style your doll's hair.

Extra Costumes for Betsy: Bride, Town and Country, Sweet Dreams and Holiday Plaid.

Cartoon.

Betsy' McCall Play Packages: Designer Studio, Beach Party and Garden Party.

Cartoon.

Complete Costumes for Betsy McCall dolls are: Holiday, Bride and School Days.
Doll in Chemise with Trunk and three more outfits is available for $12.98.

Betsy McCall doll 20" costumes include: Sunday Best, Ensemble and Sugar & Spice.

Collect the everyday outfits for your Toni doll. Something to wear at brunch, tea time,
 as a collegiete, to the beach and with a "Toni Playwave Set" dressed in a
Brassalette with high heal shoes.

More outfits for the 10 1/2" Toni doll include: coat and hat, Bon Soir,
Shopping Time and Bride.

Extra outfits for the Toni 10 1/2" Doll: Suburbanite, High Society,
American Beauty and Sunday Best.

Costumes for the Toni 20" Doll: bride, Sunday Best and American Beauty.

Children could write the company and join the Toni and Betsy McCall Birthday Club.

Toodles Toddler (1955-1959) — 19-1/2", 21," and 24" vinyl multi-jointed doll.

 

       "Toodles The Action Doll" "Look for Toodles and her super kart. 23" tall Toodles is an all soft vinyl doll with beautiful Saran hair. Toodles has rolling eyes and long curled eyelashes. She wears cotton romper, socks, sandals, and ribbon in her hair. Toodles drinks her bottle and wets. Her 3-way Super Kart is made of steel and can be used as a shopping cart for play-marketing, a highchair for play-feeding, and a doll stroller for her outing."

       American Character's most popular doll was Tiny Tears, introduced in 1950 and remaining in production through the rest of the company's existence.The baby doll's distinguishing feature was her ability to shed tears from two tiny holes on either side of her nose when her stomach was pressed after being filled with water from her baby bottle. Tiny Tears became one of the most popular dolls of the 1950s, due in part to television ads featuring a young Patty Duke that aired on popular children's shows such as the highly influential Ding Dong School with Frances Horwich.