Small-time Hijinks

Pink knitted jumper for Rufus, and happy birthday to Volks!

I'm a bit late with this post, but on the 28th of February it was Volks's 26th birthday. To celebrate, there was a hashtag on social media where people were invited to share photos, and also some events in Volks shops in Japan. For those events, the dress code was pink.

I decided that for once in my life, I wanted to take doll photos for an event before the actual event itself. And I also decided to make something pink: a knitted pink jumper.

A piece of knitting in progress on knitting needles, using a ball of pink yarn and a ball of cream yarn.

I almost ran out of yarn, so the arms are a bit short for SD17 and the length... let's just call it cropped. I made up the pattern based on measurements - it's just a basic drop-shoulder jumper with cream stripes to try and make the pink go further, twisted rib at the neck, cuffs and waist, and a bit of shoulder shaping. I used light fingering weight wool on 2.5mm needles.

I did finish in time, but left it until the last minute (well, the day before) to take photos.

Male ball-jointed doll with pale skin and long ash-pink hair reclines on a pink and blue fur backdrop. He wears a pink and white striped knitted sweater and pale blue jeans, and is looking away from the camera.
Portrait photo of a male ball-jointed doll with pale skin and long ash-pink hair. He wears a pink and white striped knitted sweater, and is looking into the camera. Male ball-jointed doll with pale skin and long ash-pink hair reclines on a pink and blue fur backdrop. He wears a pink and white striped knitted sweater and pale blue jeans, and is looking away from the camera. Close-up photo of a male ball-jointed doll with pale skin and long ash-pink hair. He wears a pink and white striped knitted sweater.

I like the finished result, but it is definitely a bit short in the arms. Luckily, I have smaller dolls who can wear this one, and I bought more pink yarn to make Rufus one of his own.

You can see photos from the Volks birthday hashtag on:

  • Instagram (you can't view hashtags in order anymore, so you'll see previous years as well)
  • Bluesky (I posted mine here)

And you can read about the day on the official Volks blog.

Hazel's new friend, MSD Hewitt

At the start of this month I officially introduced my first Volks mini, Hazel, a Coordinate model F-61 SDM, and I said something about her needing a small friend. Well, in all honesty, I'd already bought said friend when I wrote that post, but I didn't say anything more because I wasn't sure what condition he'd be in when he arrived.

He turned out to be in great condition, so I've already found him an outfit and taken some photos. Here's Mini Super Dollfie Hewitt (official name pending).

Portrait photo of a male resin ball-jointed doll (MSD Hewitt). He has a childlike face, pale blue-grey eyes, a red-brown wig, and wears a ruffled white shirt with pintucks and lace.

He also turned out to be something of a mystery. I found him for a really good price on Dollyteria, where it said he had a faceup by K. Mayura, who left Volks in 2016 or so. I also saw a one-off certificate in the photos, though couldn't read any details on it, and a very old-style Volks box (the one with a cardboard sleeve instead of a lid). Also, the MSD (Mini Super Dollfie) body isn't made any more - it was replaced with the SDM body (Super Dollfie Midis).

Dollyteria's photos were quite washed out, so it was hard to see how much the resin had yellowed, but from all this information I was fully expecting a very yellow old boy who would need some attention - maybe even an exchange for his head and a new body.

So when he arrived, it was a really nice (if confusing) surprise to see fresh-looking resin and a date of 2023 on the one-off certificate.

Some nice friends on Discord puzzled through it with me, and the most likely explanation is that he was originally an old one-off, but the body and head were exchanged at Volks (before they started replacing the MSD body with an SDM body, as they do now) and the head had the faceup redone by K. Mayura - this is a service Volks provides for one-off dolls, and there are previous cases of K. Mayura coming back to do faceups even though they have left Volks. And perhaps Volks issued a new one-off certificate at the same time for some unknown reason.

If anyone has more insight into this, I'd love to hear it - drop me a line on Bluesky if you do!

Anyway. Nice fresh new-ish Hewitt. I'm very happy. And now Hazel has someone of her own size to look mournful with.

Photo of two resin ball-jointed dolls, a girl (Hazel) and a slightly taller boy (Hewitt), standing close together. They both have red-brown hair. The girl wears a black school uniform with a white collar, and the boy wears a very frilly white shirt with lace. Photo of two resin ball-jointed dolls, a girl (Hazel) and a slightly taller boy (Hewitt), facing slightly away from each other. They both have red-brown hair. The girl wears a black school uniform with a white collar, and the boy wears a very frilly white shirt with lace.

Hazel's wig and school uniform are by Volks. Both pairs of eyes are by Lepus. Hewitt's wig is by Crobidoll (bought second-hand), and his shirt is by Melody.C.

Rigel joins the Interstellar Dormitory

I bought my Super Dollfie Rigel as a head from another owner, and he's never really been properly dressed, because SD10 boys are quite a lot smaller than my other dolls. He's mostly been hanging out in a handknitted fluffy jumper and some too-long SD13-sized trousers. Cute, but not really special.

In all his releases (apart from any one-offs), Rigel is part of the Interstellar Dormitory – a kind of astronomically themed school for boys – which of course has its own uniform, but every time I saw it, it seemed a bit pricy.

But after a long time of no proper outfit, Rigel has been treated to the proper Interstellar Dormitory experience. I needed a new SD boy body (due to another head purchase) and managed to pick up Alto's body and original outfit for a very good price. (SD boy bodies are always pretty cheap, in my experience, and there's usually always a few options available on second-hand marketplaces or auction sites.)

Alto's outfit is an Interstellar Dormitory uniform, so finally, my Rigel can start attending the Interstellar Dormitory and learn about his namesake.

Three-quarter portrait photo of a boyish-looking male resin ball-jointed doll. He has thick eyelashes, short grey hair, grey eyes. He's wearing a beige beret with a star emblem, a white skirt with lace at the collar, and a dark blue and beige jacket with star emblems and gold trim.

Or just lounge around looking pensive and writing poetry and making toast on a fire, which is what I imagine daily life to be at the Interstellar Dormitory.

Portrait photo of a boyish-looking male resin ball-jointed doll, who is looking into the camera. He has thick eyelashes, short grey hair, grey eyes. He's wearing a beige beret with a star emblem, a white skirt with lace at the collar, and a dark blue and beige jacket with star emblems and gold trim.