I made a 20cm cotton doll! ☕

I didn’t expect that in 2026 I would pick up another hobby. Well, that part isn’t that surprising. Still, I didn’t know I’d be making dolls.

I got inspired when I ran into a short by PiyoPicco on YouTube. The style reminded me of the plush dolls you can find of anime characters, which I once tried to make one years ago as a kid. That didn’t come out quite like what I imagined… but today, PiyoPicco’s beautiful hand embroidery made me wanna give it another shot.

I call her Affogato, because her hair design is like espresso. ☕

Mistakes were made

As cute as she is, I know where I screwed up on this first attempt:

• The small bit of embroidery on her bang (left side in the picture) was supposed to hold down some of the tendril, but after removing the embroidery paper it was not attached. Oops!
• My embroidery is messy. I should have used stabilizer on the back side of the fabric where I was stitching the face.
• I used thick elastic thread on her clothes instead of something like Eloflex thread (which I purchased later). It would be really obvious on the shorts if I didn’t hide them under the sweater.
• Her makeup is so subtle because I’m afraid of overdoing it.
• Another big lesson: I have a sewing machine. At first I thought that using it would be easier, but in the end, hand sewing was the way to go because of the small seam allowance. At least my hand sewing skills have improved!

Guides and patterns

PiyoPicco

I swear I’m not sponsored! This creator just really inspired me, and had a lot of helpful video guides. One nice thing about their channel is that many of their videos have English captions or dubbing. You can also get their more “leggy” doll pattern from their BOOTH store, plus some free clothing patterns!

• PiyoPicco’s YouTube channel
• PiyoPicco’s BOOTH store
• PiyoPicco’s blog

I also ended up buying a couple of PiyoPicco’s books (they’re in Japanese, so I used Google Translate). This gave me access to the pattern I used for Affogato, plus step-by-steps that go along with their videos. They’re harder to buy outside of Japan, but I saw them listed on Etsy, eBay, and the online Kinokuniya US store.

More guides by other creators

I plan to make more clothes and other doll sizes (like 10cm). Here are some resources I bookmarked to revisit:

• Atelier Snow’s YouTube Channel – Guides focusing mostly on how to make (amazing) doll clothing patterns and accessories.
• Atelier Snow on Booth – Accompanying patterns to Atelier Snow’s YouTube.
• ぬいくるみや (Plushie Shop) on BOOTH – Free clothing patterns from creator Niibi.
• Plushie sewing patterns at Yuzawaya – Some free patterns available from a Japanese retailer.
• Searching Pinterest with terms like “20cm doll pattern” and “10cm doll pattern” also works!

Materials and tools

• Stretchy minky fabric – I ordered mine from sellers on Etsy.
• Sulky Printable Stick ‘n Stitch – This stuff is great because you can print the face design on it. It does have its limitations and makes it harder to layer the pieces of fabric, so I will be trying Craftido Clear Wash Away next time.
• PILOT FriXion Fineliner pens – These work well for tracing patterns to the fabric.
• Fabric scissors
• DMC embroidery floss
• Embroidery hoop
• Sewing and embroidery needles
• Cotton thread (for hand sewing the doll)
• Eloflex thread (for hand sewing stretchy doll clothes made from socks)
• Socks (for chopping up and turning into clothes)

I want to make more

Flaws aside, I had a lot of fun making this doll and I love the results. I’ll keep making these! (At least until I burn out and move on to another hobby.)