This is a repost from my other blog, SewCraftyAzusa, http://sewcraftyazusa.blogspot.com.
One thing I've wanted to do for awhile is create an Islamic outfit for 18"-20" dolls like American Girl (http://www.americangirl.com), Maplelea (http://www.maplelea.com), Australian Girl (http://www.australiangirldoll.com.au/), among others.
The maker of American Girl has had two Jewish themed products, the first "Doll of the Year", Lindsey Bergman, as well as historical character Rebecca Rubin. Not completely a surprise, since the owner of American Girl is Mattel, which was originally founded by Ruth (creator of Barbie as well as a successful line of mastectomy products) and Elliot Handler, a Jewish couple. The Christian religion is heavily implied, with many Christmas themed outfits.
Yet Islam is completely ignored by this and most other mainstream doll companies. Only ONE major doll line/toy company in the US, the Hearts for Hearts dolls made by Playmates Toys, (http://playmatestoys.com/brands/hearts-for-hearts-girls), have had a "Muslim" doll. That being their current Shola doll, who is marketed as being from Afghanistan. See About Hearts for Hearts Dolls for more info. You can find some Islamic style clothing on eBay, like this listing (which links to others)-- Afghan Doll Dress Project -- but for the most part, it's an ignored market.
Islam is one of the fastest growing religions around the world. There are over a billion Muslims throughout the world, and roughly 3 million Muslims in the United States. Only a very small percentage of this faith is engaged in terrorist acts against the West, yet they are the ones that get most of the attention.
I can only imagine how difficult it must be for Muslim American Girls. They don't see Muslimah role models portrayed in any (positive) media, there isn't much in the realm of play (outside of the Fulla doll) that shows them "proper" Islamic dress while allowing them to explore it in their own lives, and they're no doubt bombarded with more negative aspects of American culture that discourage them from wearing hijab or following their faith in other ways.
I'm in the process of creating a hijab scarf and abaya for 18" dolls. The hijab part of it is easy; there's an awesome pattern from Frugal Abundance here-- Hijab Pattern for 18" dolls-- and I have in the past created a version of it that doesn't use that pattern that also works. A 6" by 8" or 8" by 10" rectangle folded in half, then sewn along the edges works as an "underscarf", or half of a two piece Al Amira-style hijab. The abaya is a bit harder, but I've been using Urban Hijab's Aaisha abaya as a pictorial starting point-- Urban Hijab's Aaisha abaya-- then using my own original attempt (picture below). Yes, that's me hiding behind my "model" doll (Kailey, Doll of the Year from 2003-2004)
CORRECTION TO LAYOUT: A standard quarter yard of fabric is wayyyyyyyy too "skinny". It would create a tunic, or basically half of a salwar kameez set. So to create the "fat quarter", buy a half yard of fabric, and have them cut it in half for you (most places will). A great place to start is Joann Fabrics' Red-Tag Clearance fabrics, or watch their sales-- they routinely have knit fabrics on sale 40% off (or more).
Here in Los Angeles, one "must go" is LA's Fashion District. There are a plethora of shops with fabric as cheap as $1 a yard, but my favorite place there is Michael Levine and their related Loft store (across the street from the main store). Everything in the Loft store is $2.49 a pound... on my last trip, I came home with nearly eight pounds of fabric... and then had an adventure when my 2006 Ford Taurus' starter decided to QUIT on me after I stopped at my favorite 7-11 for a Dr. Pepper Slurpee. Why it didn't decide to quit in the middle of Downtown Los Angeles is beyond me and not three miles from home... it is a mystery.
One thing I've wanted to do for awhile is create an Islamic outfit for 18"-20" dolls like American Girl (http://www.americangirl.com), Maplelea (http://www.maplelea.com), Australian Girl (http://www.australiangirldoll.com.au/), among others.
The maker of American Girl has had two Jewish themed products, the first "Doll of the Year", Lindsey Bergman, as well as historical character Rebecca Rubin. Not completely a surprise, since the owner of American Girl is Mattel, which was originally founded by Ruth (creator of Barbie as well as a successful line of mastectomy products) and Elliot Handler, a Jewish couple. The Christian religion is heavily implied, with many Christmas themed outfits.
Yet Islam is completely ignored by this and most other mainstream doll companies. Only ONE major doll line/toy company in the US, the Hearts for Hearts dolls made by Playmates Toys, (http://playmatestoys.com/brands/hearts-for-hearts-girls), have had a "Muslim" doll. That being their current Shola doll, who is marketed as being from Afghanistan. See About Hearts for Hearts Dolls for more info. You can find some Islamic style clothing on eBay, like this listing (which links to others)-- Afghan Doll Dress Project -- but for the most part, it's an ignored market.
Islam is one of the fastest growing religions around the world. There are over a billion Muslims throughout the world, and roughly 3 million Muslims in the United States. Only a very small percentage of this faith is engaged in terrorist acts against the West, yet they are the ones that get most of the attention.
I can only imagine how difficult it must be for Muslim American Girls. They don't see Muslimah role models portrayed in any (positive) media, there isn't much in the realm of play (outside of the Fulla doll) that shows them "proper" Islamic dress while allowing them to explore it in their own lives, and they're no doubt bombarded with more negative aspects of American culture that discourage them from wearing hijab or following their faith in other ways.
I'm in the process of creating a hijab scarf and abaya for 18" dolls. The hijab part of it is easy; there's an awesome pattern from Frugal Abundance here-- Hijab Pattern for 18" dolls-- and I have in the past created a version of it that doesn't use that pattern that also works. A 6" by 8" or 8" by 10" rectangle folded in half, then sewn along the edges works as an "underscarf", or half of a two piece Al Amira-style hijab. The abaya is a bit harder, but I've been using Urban Hijab's Aaisha abaya as a pictorial starting point-- Urban Hijab's Aaisha abaya-- then using my own original attempt (picture below). Yes, that's me hiding behind my "model" doll (Kailey, Doll of the Year from 2003-2004)
In this attempt, I used a fat quarter, with the following layout (see below illustration).
See correction below...
Making the hijab is easier; there's the aforementioned Frugal Abundance pattern, and making a one-piece Al Amira style hijab is also pretty easy. A rectangular piece of knit fabric, approximately 4 inches by 18 inches, sewn together with a piece 8 inches by 18 inches, then folded in half and sewn with a very slim, 1/5 inch margin seam, and voila, an Al Amira hijab.
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For the record, I'm Catholic. I've been married to a wonderful (Maronite) Catholic man for nearly four years (our anniversary is April 20, 2013). But one thing I firmly believe in is interfaith cooperation, interfaith dialogue, and diversity in play.
Since there's literally nothing out there in mainstream toy land to represent Islam, I've been determined to come up with something... anything... that accomplishes that. Hopefully this does it. I'm sure I'll be tweaking the pattern from time to time, and won't ever be fully satisfied, but such is life when you're Type A and creative.
CORRECTION TO LAYOUT: A standard quarter yard of fabric is wayyyyyyyy too "skinny". It would create a tunic, or basically half of a salwar kameez set. So to create the "fat quarter", buy a half yard of fabric, and have them cut it in half for you (most places will). A great place to start is Joann Fabrics' Red-Tag Clearance fabrics, or watch their sales-- they routinely have knit fabrics on sale 40% off (or more).
Here in Los Angeles, one "must go" is LA's Fashion District. There are a plethora of shops with fabric as cheap as $1 a yard, but my favorite place there is Michael Levine and their related Loft store (across the street from the main store). Everything in the Loft store is $2.49 a pound... on my last trip, I came home with nearly eight pounds of fabric... and then had an adventure when my 2006 Ford Taurus' starter decided to QUIT on me after I stopped at my favorite 7-11 for a Dr. Pepper Slurpee. Why it didn't decide to quit in the middle of Downtown Los Angeles is beyond me and not three miles from home... it is a mystery.
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