Times Are Tough - Low Cost BJD Idea's

I haven’t tried this with dolls, but with painting. You can take out drawers from a desk or similar piece of furniture and use it as a makeshift mini room. I’ve been meaning to try it out with doll photography using old fabric, paper, and trinkets around the house as decoration.

 

I've gotten a surprising amount of fabric/craft materials 100% free off of facebook, you can check to see if there's any "giveaway" or "buy/sell/trade" groups in your area. Maybe post a request for old clothing with holes/stains, since those can't be sold second-hand anyway. (Sidebar: I used to work at a second-hand store, anything with holes/stains, no matter how small, went straight in the dumpster. Including 100% silk items!!)

Many things, including doll furniture, can be made from papier-mâché. All you need is old newspaper and glue: wheat paste, which is just flour and water cooked together, works great.

If you want fancy-looking clothing on a budget, you can use basic fabrics—or buy basic clothing—and dress it up with fancy trims, which are comparatively cheaper than nice fabrics. You can also use a small amount of nice fabric to accent an item made from basic fabric, or to make fancy accessories, etc. Fabric retailers will sometimes send swatches at a set low cost, which could be used for this purpose.

 

Jumping on the clothes idea train:

If there’s a doll show (not just for BJDs) in your area, check it out! They usually have some people selling older/vintage clothes for a couple of dollars a piece that can be easily modified to fit BJD. It’s mainly girls clothes, but I’ve gotten some nice pinafores this way!

And a lot of those more serious collectors have dabbled in BJDs before, so sometimes you can find some good stuff there if they’re trying to clean things out

 

In a pinch, socks can be easily turned to BJD clothing, depending on the size of the doll. Could be a way to salvage single socks.

If you have a local meetup you can attend, people may have things to sell or give away for cheap!

 

I think the biggest money-saving asset is patience. Saving up is vexing, but it's always more rewarding than settling for something you're not completely on board with just because it's cheap. In the end, no matter how you spin it, this is a fairly expensive hobby, and even if the doll you buy is cheap, wigs/outfits/eyes/shoes/props will add up to the cost anyway. Those will also add up to the time you'll need to get the doll to a satisfying state, so being in a hurry is counterproductive anyway. Having a long-term mindset and not getting sucked into the spiral of consumerism and FOMO is the best thing you can do if you have a limited budget.

Being patient is also great for the 2nd hand marketplace. I believe that many 2nd hand sellers tend to price their dolls a bit high, especially for older dolls that have signs of wear, but sometimes there's a really good deal in your area. I am pretty fussy with aesthetics and I thought that a yellowed doll would look ruined or defective, but it's really not that big of a deal. A doll from an owner who kept it well and limited sun exposure will look pleasant unless it's something really ancient, and yellowing will just mean it's a warmer tone, rather than a banana doll you'll have to restore. 2nd hand is especially great if you're after larger dolls which tend to have a higher price point when new, and it's particularly true if you are buying within the EU where taxes on imports seem to get higher by the day. I don't know other EU residents but the customs/shipping money is a sizable chunk of the cost of the doll itself for me, and buying locally takes away that impact.

I see new people who get into BJDs trying to spend as little as possible and end up struggling with the consequences of going after the cheapest things just to own a doll and get it dressed. Just be patient and take it a long-term project, the community is not going to run after you if you take time to get things done. I always see that newbies who end up the happiest are those who take their time and save up for things they really want.

 

I make my doll eyes with white polymere clay, plastiline, nail accessories, acrylic paints and the cheapest UV resin I could find. I know they're not made for eternity, but it's fun playing around with different styles on the fly.

 

Seconding that old cotton bedlinen is useful for making mockups without risking good fabric. Recycling old human clothing has the advantage of a bit of wear which makes the fabric drape better at small scale, and already being washed multiple times to remove excess dye.
But when it comes to crafting, there's also the issue of the "I should do it myself" fallacy: there are some things that are beyond my skill level or not enjoyable to make, and while it might seem cheaper to make everything instead of buying it, when you add up the cost of all the supplies used learning to make items you're happy with, as well as your time and effort, it doesn't always work out less expensive.
Could I theoretically keep tweaking a tape-and-clingwrap dress form until I draft a satisfactory pants pattern that works for my doll? Perhaps, but it would be a better use of my time and fabric to spend $15 on a pattern that will need far less adjustment.

I agree with what @lutke said – my approach to managing my doll budget is prioritising quality over quantity in doll items and making every purchase a calculated and considered one:

• No buying placeholder wigs/clothes/eyes/parts – they take up space and funds I could use on things I really want
• Create a shopping list of things particular dolls need: Doll A needs a red button-up cardigan, Doll B needs brown 14/6 eyes, etc. This stops aimless browsing – if I'm on a website or in a doll store, I already know what I'm looking for
• Only buy things if I have a definite purpose for them: yes, that coat looks nice, but it wouldn't suit any of my dolls in that size
• Get as much information as possible before buying: photos from multiple angles, user reviews, measurements, how it looks on the doll, etc.
• Carefully inspect sales photos, especially heavily edited or atmospherically lit ones: the quality of items might be partially concealed or difficult to determine, which can result in an unpleasant surprise
• Evaluate what I already have: how often have I used that outfit? Does that wig actually suit anyone? How motivated am I to turn this floating head into a full doll? I'd rather sell something and have more storage space and funds instead of keeping it in the hope that "some doll will use it some day"
• Put aside money from doll sales so I have funds available when things I'm looking for are up for sale

The best way to save doll money is to be patient and think before you click the "buy" button, especially given the state of the EN secondhand market and global trade. You can't assume that a doll or doll-related accessory you don't end up liking will sell straight away or for the original retail price, especially if, like me, you're not in the US.

 

I've decided to deep dive into sewing for my dolls! I used to spend so much money on doll clothing because my skills weren't that great, but I've collected over 100 patterns now, and have improved my skills tremendously in less than a year! Now, I feel my skills mostly do match that of professionals, at least on basic and intermediate items. Instead of spending $15-20 on a t-shirt, I'm now making them for about $2. Or less if I use old fabric/clothing! There are many sites out there that offer free doll clothing patterns, and plenty more who sell them for $15 or less. Missy's Imaginings is a great site with a variety of free patterns for several sizes!

Secondhand sales are a great way to get dolls cheap. Some do hold value, but I've seen a lot of really nice dolls listed for very cheap. If you can find one you like in your country, even better!

But really, the biggest "money wasting" I've done in the hobby comes from impulse buying and settling for less. Make a plan or wishlist, and stick to it. When your budget is tight, a "good deal" isn't a good deal if it's not something you really want or need. Settling for less often will lead to spending more in the long run. If you love a pair of jeans that costs $50, but buy two $10 pairs instead, you're probably not going to be happy with the quality or fit, then maybe settle for a $20 pair and repeat....eventually you've spent more than $50 on a bunch of jeans you aren't happy with and could have saved up for the good ones!

 

I have further thoughts:
- Raid your (friends'/family's) jewelry stash. Human rings can be used as doll bracelets, human bracelets as doll belts or headbands. Thin chains can be wrapped around the neck for a multi-strand necklace. Clip-on earrings can be used as brooches/clips, depending on the type.
- For crafting, look to nature for free materials. Dried flowers can go in hair or be used as props, seashells and sea glass can be used to make jewelry.
- A long enough dress will hide crummy old shoes (or a lack of shoes entirely).
- If you want to get into shoe-making, you might consider historical styles without hard soles/with fabric uppers. Medieval shoes are like this, so are Regency dancing slippers. Modern styles that don't require leather: (rafia) sandals, Ugg-style (felt) boots, Balenciaga-style sock boots (could reuse soles from worn-out pumps etc.).
- Revamp old shoes with peeling leather by covering them in glitter.

 

Expanding on what @babezoid said for jewelry suggestions- stretchy bead bracelets make great doll necklaces. One of my MSDs is wearing a smaller thick hoop earring as a bracelet after it's mate got lost. I always have an eye out for potential doll props when out and about. My mature tinies have a rug that's a fancy placemat I found cheap second hand, my MSD's have a chair that's a wicker plant stand. Felt covered cardboard can make decent doll furniture.

 

I don't feel confident I have any life-changing ideas nobody has thought of before but I've been doing my cost cutting as long as I've been in this hobby so here are some various things that saved money:

Unfortunately I simply do not buy any dolls internationally almost ever. Even buying small things internationally can exponentially raise costs (like pre-ordering beautiful eyes and wigs etc from Japanese or Korean makers) because the base ems shipping was $25+ per small package back when I started the hobby.

This does mean I don't get all the things I would have liked and I learn to live with that. But I also get very cool unexpected things because of my process so I am happy and grateful.

I buy things I like in general that I can use and reuse on lots of different dolls for many years, high quality things that don't get ruined easily. This means avoiding pleather shoes, avoiding hardcap wigs that don't fit multi sizes, saying yes to good quality glass eyes when they show up in my $25 and under price range locally. I have massive handmade wardrobes for my dolls (which is very unnecessary but I guess cheaper than having bought the clothes) but I have a pool of shoes I use between many and things like casual pants and coats and accessories I just have for sharing. I save my favorite wigs for a few years without using them before deciding to move them on. Its always better to use something I already had if it's going to look good.

(I almost forgot to say) If you have any confidence in your own artistic skills it pays off to learn to do your own faceups. You can do a lot of faces with a very basic color palette of a few pinks, browns, red and black. High quality pastels might last you the rest of your life. If you don't think doing your own faceups is for you I think the next most cost effective thing is to always say yes to company faceups. Most of them are very pretty and versatile. You save yourself a lot of shipping costs and stress.

I use what I already have as currency for as long as it's practical. I make use of my local secondhand markets when I am considering buying something new. Trading in relatively safe spaces like the DoA market instead of selling has certainly helped me spend less on little stuff like shoes and wigs over time.

The biggest cost saver if I really take it to heart is always less is more. Ways to make less-is-more mentality work out without boring myself to tears seems to be the most helpful way for me to go about it all. Recycle and recombine things I like, repair and alter, trade with other people when practical. And embrace opportunities rather than overextend myself chasing specific needs that are hard to fill.

 

If you have dolls with overlapping sizes and styles, pooling wardrobes will mean more clothes for your dolls without additional cost to money or space.

 

Cheapest thing you can do is to enjoy what you already have.

So, assuming that you own at least one doll to begin with, spending time rather than money is always an option.
Experimenting with any existing wardrobe. Taking pictures, if you own a camera. Setting up little scenes and dioramas is always possible if you use your surroundings creatively. Basing crafting around things you already have in your stash.

Hanging out with local doll friends is another low cost way of enjoying your dolls.
Cultivating in person relationships lets you pool your experience and resources. Crafting tips, seeing dolls and accessories in person without having to buy them yourself, seeing your dolls next to other dolls etc. are all things that costs nothing and can greatly increase your chances to make smart and low waste decisions for future acquisitions.

Basic maintenance work is another low cost thing that needs doing, but often gets put off until later. At least, I'm guilty of doing that. Restringing, deep cleaning, re gluing magnets that has come off etc. are all low cost activities that are still very rewarding. Sometimes a doll feels like a whole new doll after a good spa day.
Washing clothes and cleaning props can also be worth while, it doesn't need doing very often, but grime can build up over time so why not take the time to go over things and evaluate. Basic repairs to clothes and props fall in the same category. Keeping things in good condition makes them feel nicer and lessens the risk of feeling the need to replace them.

Basically, anything that is doing rather than buying.

 

Learning to do your own faceup's is a useful and money saving skill!

I would recommend getting high quality materials (eg artist grade pastels, acrylics ect) but you should start by getting only the colors you need in small single tube/ single pastel options. don't go for the big pastel set until you're ready/ have saved up for it.

if you can purchase a resin practice head then that's awesome and a good way to get used to working on a 3 dimensional surface. if you cant find a cheap resin head anywhere then practicing on cheap barbies from the thrift store is also useful!

 

Learning to sew for dolls is a long journey but you can start simple, with sock outfits and basic sewing stitches, using old clothing or dollar store fabrics!

MyFroggyStuff on youtube is an excellent source for crafting photo backdrops, clothing, miniatures, and more out of paper and cloth and hot glue, and the results are often incredible. (Her stuff is for Barbie/Fashion size but you can do the same things bigger or smaller for other dolls)

YMMV based on your skills and mostly on your willingness to PRACTICE, but learning to make your own stuff saves a TON of money on clothes, backdrops, and so on. I find this is especially true with furniture and props. When you realize how much you can make out of cardboard and cloth, you will stop making sad eyes at the huge 1/3 scale sofas you can't afford shipping on.

Remember: Sewing and art are not Magical things the Talent Fairy gives Special People. They are learnable skills that someone with a dollar store sewing kit can LEARN TO DO. I could not sew when I got into dolls. Now I draft my own patterns and I can sew complicated stuff. The key is to build frustration tolerance and not quit because you don't like the result. Do it again, do it better, get advice, read up on how-tos. Do it again, do it better. YOU CAN DO IT!

 

Seconding sewing! The learning curve looks a lot steeper than it actually is. Casual clothing is easiest to start with, but with enough practice and determination you can get up to making fancy EGL and fantasy garb! (I made all but one doll outfit in my signature, for example.)

Plus, medieval outfits and many cultures' traditional clothing are made mostly of rectangles. Rectangles are fairly easy to sew by hand or machine.

 

I'm currently on a kick of making flower crowns and other dolly headwear. I'm using craft felt and ribbon, both of which you can get cheap at craft stores.

 

Does someone else here totally love the fact that the current situation, awful as it is, brings us back to the very beginning of the BJD hobby, where everything was about DIY and experimenting and improvising?

I so love that vibe because I enjoyed it a lot when it was still more about doing stuff than about buying stuff.

Thank you, especially @Lillith and @Rosslyn and everyone talking about this, you really have inspired me so much, and nothing has been inspiring me about this hobby for quite a while. I simply forgot how much fun I had in the beginning...

 

If you've got fabric scraps too small for even getting doll clothes out of, quilting's the classic way to go for humans and works for dolls, too! You could either downsize human-size blocks (or see if you can find people doing mini versions of them already), for some doll size and block size combos a single block could work as a "big block"-style quilt, or you can go full on crazy quilt, especially if you have a mix of fabric types! You do need a chunk of fabric big enough to back it, but that can be just about anything, and you might be able to get away with no batting for proper drape, or I've cut pieces of a thrifted cotton bedsheet for doll quilt batting.

Speaking of quilt stuff, quilting stores usually have a variety of fat quarters available for a few bucks a pop. You can get up to 1/3 size clothes out of them, though you might need another one if you want to do any fabric-hungry patterns like big skirts. Plus they come in every print under the sun, so you can find some really unique ones to work with.

 

• this may sound kind of dumb but every time i start to feel tempted to buy another doll or a new outfit i just choose one of my dolls and change their outfit- nine times out of ten i find that i just wanted to experience a little novelty and this usually does the trick "^.^ every once in a while i'll also repaint faceups for the same reason, which is a little more expensive but still much cheaper than resin or clothing
• if you have heads that can share a body that can also save a lot of money and space! i was initially opposed to having any of my characters share a body but after trying it out it i found that i actually really enjoyed changing from one character to another (it felt like welcoming them back into the world lol) and i wasn't bothered by not having the option to have both characters out at the same time

 

Let's not forget that if you have old clothing you can always repurpose it for your dolls if you want another outfit! A sewing kit is not too expensive. I'm trying to have a low purchase year this year and want to downsize everything so turning some old clothes into craft projects for my dolls seems exciting and won't cost me a thing!

And as others have said, saving is free to do. Avoid making impulse purchases on dolls or items just because they're available or discounted! Make a list of what you actually want or need for your dolls, determine the cost, set a budget and stay dedicated to that budget. I personally set a time line to make the purchase. For instance, I have two dolls that need shoes and while I could impulsively find some on the MP, they wouldn't necessarily be "the shoes" I want for them. Saving costs nothing and can prevent unnecessary spending.

 

I also have dolls that body share! Not in the exact same way (same doll just different expressions with different heads) but I think it accomplishes the same thing.

 

I’m not ashamed to admit it, my go-to fabric for making doll clothes is novelty socks. While they can be pricey online, you can very easily find them for cheap (or at least decent prices) at brick and mortar stores like Dollar Tree and Walmart. It’s best to look for sales at the end of a holiday. You can also ask friends and family to keep an eye out for these types of socks so that if they get one of those “I saw this and was thinking of you” moments, then bam, your doll gets a new outfit!

I’ve found that you can easily craft new pairs of doll eyes by tracing twice around an eye that you already own onto a piece of card stock, decorating it however you want to, and then cutting it out and sealing it with clear packing tape. Even cheap markers can be used to create a strikingly bright eye color. Nail polish can be used to create shimmery or glittery effects.

 

This is a stretch but LIDL and ALDI have been spotted selling sewing machines and sergers every now and again. You have to just be the first person at the store, there are youtube channels dedicated to keeping up with Aldi and Lidl. I would watch those for crafting supplies

dickblick dot com has a sale right now

 

I think a lot of crafting can be cost-saving but I think it's also important to take into account that it's only going to be cheaper when you a) have the tools+needed skills already b) it's something you'll be doing several times c) you're happy with your results. Just one faceup is probably going to cost less to get from company/faceup-artist than getting all the needed materials and practice in, but it'll be worth it if you're doing this for several dolls (and are either happy with your results or the process it takes to get the results you want). Getting a sewing machine will not make sense $$$ wise for just one outfit, but it will if you want to sew lots AND like sewing. Sometimes choosing not to spend time and money on DIYing will actually save time and money in the end, though - it's worth to think about it, I believe.

For those happy to craft however:
- yarn wigs are the cheapest wigs you can make - acrylic yarn, school glue and a piece of fabric are easy to get and cost very little. However - unless you have those already, you'll need to invest into a wire brush and a hair straightener. Making wigs yourself out of doll wig wefts is also cheaper than buying wigs BUT it's a learning curve and results might be so-so, so ymmv.
- thinner totebags can be used for doll clothes. Everyone has way too many of those kicking around the household and the thin/lower quality ones are not so good for their bag functions anyway.
- brush-on sealant ends up cheaper than using aerosol sealants. I know not everyone is a fan of the texture, look or technique (and that's fine! sprays are popular for a reason), but I definitely have gotten way more faceups out of one small Liquitex Matte Varnish bottle than I would from a can of MSC.
- makeup and nail brushes are often cheaper than artist brushes and also imho much better suited for faceups
- it requires pliers, but paperclips can be bent into jewellery, doll glasses, piercings, one can make small loops and join them into a chain for various uses etc.
- I haven't been great with this advice at all, but making a website or blog for your dolls is great! It is low or no cost while still being a fun thing to do with/for them.

And the most important of them all: just playing with your dolls is free!

 

You can substitute those with a plain old plastic comb and the same iron you use for clothes.

 

Getting into the DIY side of the hobby is always something I'm in favor of, but you don't have to get good at everything on your own if you do have a local community that you're able to be active in-- having doll friends with different strengths opens up a couple possibilities!

-Having someone who can teach you how to do things yourself, or give you tips. In the first local doll group I joined, prior to moving, one of our members hosted a face-up meet, where they walked a lot of us through doing our very first faceups, and we could see if it was the kind of thing we were interested in pursuing before buying *all* the supplies, as well as finding out what the necessary supplies were-- not to mention how to be safe with sealants!

-Having people you can barter different DIY skills with-- maybe you can't do a face-up but can make a pair of pants, maybe you make eyes but need help styling a wig... Just within my family, there are collectors with different tools, supplies, and skill sets

 

You can give a playline doll a bob cut and use the leftover hair for BJD wigs. I have some saved just for wig making practice.