One thing you need to remember.....they will put the hair in their mouth and suck on it like an infant would do so it must be cropped short. They do the same things with buttons, etc. Just think "safety first" and then go for it! They love these items. We stuffed the dolls with polyester stuffing and they wash fine. We used Micron pens to draw faces and it doesn't wash out.

I also did not know that. You certainly had made stacks (literally) of dolls.

Our guild made fabric balls with different textures, etc. - zippers, buttons and things they could fiddle with. The balls were about 8" around and stuffed with batting. That might be something else to consider.

I had surgery that year and with 6 weeks off work I had a lot of time. I had an over the lap bed table, a bag of fabric and a box of patterns to play with. I never got bored. I'd sit up, cut out some bodies, take a nap. go sew for a bit, take a nap when it hurt then start all over. I finished ~50 dolls that year.

My Mother had dementia before she passed and my daughter purchased her a doll. The type a small child (not infant) would play with, not quite life size. She loved that baby and carried it everywhere. I would definitely check back with the lady about what exactly she wants. I'm not sure my Mom would have noticed the doll if it had not been real looking.

Charity-Yes do get in touch with wordpaintervs-she is an awesome lady with an awesome talent!! Her dolls are just what the doctor ordered for the children who need a pal in their world.

How about a soft pillow with an animals head. We make them out of fleece and make the heads seperately and sew them on. We add any details that would further identify the animal, like a tail, a mane, coming out of the other side of the pillow. These are based on the pillows made for heart patients. We make them very soft and squishy. I'd like to show them to you, but I still can't figure out how to send pictures since the system changed.

What about felt hair? These dolls are for a different purpose (domestic violence victims), but check out this link: http://www.sewnews.com/articles/comfort_dolls

I have seen lately the almost "appliqued" hair on dolls - like they sewed a felt or material, appliqued the basic hair style (bangs, etc) and then braided some of it (the fabric strips) off to the sides for pigtails, whatever. I have been making stuffies (animals) for kids and I embroider the facial features so there are no eyes and stuff to pull off, just try to sew everything down good. I haven't had any experience with or even thought of dimentia patients, have been trying to think along a "kids" line. But it is all fun and rewarding, and you meet some neat people along the way. :-) Best of luck in your venture.


Marysewfun

Yes, talk to wordpaintervs. She does beautiful work and is a very lovely person.