Reborn dolls have become a popular craft and collectible and you will find many a reborn doll auction on the popular web based auction sites. These dolls are more artwork than toy and are mostly collected by women who are adults. These dolls come either as kits to create your own or as completed “one of a kind” dolls already “reborn.”
The “reborning process” entails utilizing a kit doll like the “preemie reborn doll kit” or a traditional doll from which you’ve removed the paint and tints applied at the factory. A faint purple tint is frequently applied as an undercoat to duplicate the subtle hue of newborn skin. Next, the arms, legs and face are tinted to match the skin of the newborn.
The dolls are made to look as much like a real newborn as possible, by addition of features including veins, slight skin mottling and even “milk spots”. The realism can be so striking that some people have panicked upon seeing a doll that has been left in a car, thinking that it is a real baby.
A body is constructed of soft fabric or the doll’s old vinyl body is replaced with a cloth one. Kit dolls usually contain these components. A preemie reborn doll kit has usually a 16″ doll and resembles the size of a real premature infant. Other preemie reborn doll kit options include twins and triplets or “micro” preemies that are even smaller.
Clothing and accessories which include clothing, preemie size diapers and accessories such as bottles and pacifiers, can also be part of the preemie reborn doll kit. There may be a magnet in the pacifier, with a corresponding magnet in the doll’s head, to hold the pacifier in place.
Preemie reborn doll kits are available in various styles, races, and ethnic appearances. Because the skin tone can be custom-made to simulate that of its purchaser, all sorts of choices are open to you, and great art goes into creating these little masterpieces. They can be quite costly though, so internet auctions are much in demand as sources for both collectors and other people looking for a deal on a single doll at a great price.
As a rule these reborn dolls are too delicate to be used as actual toys, but older children may be able to appreciate them and still be able to play with them. It may be a craft mother and daughter can do together as well.
