It’s the 4th installment in the Let’s Meet series.
This time we’re meeting Dollybird’s original doll, chuchu Hina.
We’ll take a look at: who is chuchu doll Hina, I’ll share my likes and dislikes. And we’ll end our meeting with final thoughts & recommendations.
Are you ready to meet her?
Great, let’s go!
Who is chuchu doll Hina-chan?
chuchu doll Hina’s story begins with the Japanese fashion doll magazine, Dollybird volume 23.
Inside was a section called, Print Dress Lesson. The lesson showed how to make 11cm doll clothes from printable fabric.
Doll artist, DOLCHU created the outfits & patterns for this section.
And the models for the Print Dress Lesson, were two adorable dolls called chuchu doll Hina.
The segment was a hit with readers! And Dollybird & DOLCHU continued making new lessons with each release of the magazine.
In 2017, Dollybird made it possible for collectors to welcome home & enjoy the chuchu dolls.
They offered:
I Like Hina’s
Long, beautiful, smooth hair – it’s the cutest style for this tiny girl with round cheeks.
The brown color compliments her cuteness.
And it’s easy to maintain the style.
All I have to do is spray it with a bit of oil mist, run a comb through it and BAM loveliness!
Wide-eyed and Curious Expression – it gives Hina an adorable, naivety personality.
Those big green eyes and rosy cheeks melts my heart every time I look at her.
I want to put her in my hand and carry her around everywhere.
Obitsu 11cm body – This is my first Obitsu body in this tiny size. I am super excited about it.
The body has more flexibility then I’m use to in a doll this size.
It was fun figuring out how to position her joints to create those awesome poses. But I had issues with her boots (see my dislikes).
Love Extras: Hina came with extra pairs of hands and several neck joints
What I Dislike About Hina
My 1st dislike deals with the fact that Hina is a make it yourself doll with a printable fabric kit.
What that means, is that I have to assemble her classic sailor uniform.
When I became aware of that bit of information, a wave of intimidation came crashing over me.
I never made anything that tiny before and to do it with that type of material, seemed impossible.
Since I had no confidence in my abilities, I decided to practice with a different outfit first.
I chose the nurse outfit from Dollybird vol. 25.
I figured, if I screwed it up, it’s okay
No harm done, only a few printable fabrics wasted.
So what can I say about my practice session . . . ?
It was a challenge.
It took me several days to complete the outfit.
But that was largely due to my frustration. I had to step away from the nurse outfit several times to calm myself down.
I ended up making both the blue and grey nurse uniforms.
The extra practice was needed.
By the end, I felt a tiny bit comfortable working on an 11cm outfit. I still wasn’t confident as I wanted to be but it was time to make Hina’s sailor uniform.
It wasn’t easy but I worked through my fears and completed the outfit in 3-4 day! (again I took breaks to calm myself down)
My 2nd issue deals with socks and shoes.
With her socks off, I could slide her boots on her feet. With the socks on, I couldn’t get her foot into the shoes.
I had to remove her foot to put the boots on (something I have to do with Azone’s larger dolls) but this method left Hina a bit unstable (see bloopers below).
The issue could be due to me (unable to put on doll boots) or the socks are a tad too bulky for her boots or maybe you’re suppose to remove her foot for boots. Either way it’s a minor issue.
My 3rd issue deals with Hina’s neck.
It spins around like a character from the horror movie, The Exorcist. It’s always twisting this way & that way.
I’m not sure if it’s an Obitsu thing or if something is wrong with Hina’s neck joint.
Either way, it’s annoying. The head won’t stop twisting around.
Harmia’s Likes & Dislikes
I finally get to be a big sister.
Hina’s the best lil’ sis ever!
Final Thoughts
I love my chuchu Hina doll and I’m happy she’s a part of my collection.
But it took me almost 8 months to get motivated to start on the classic sailor outfit.
I know that’s due to my feelings of imtimidation and a desire to do a great job. It prevented me from getting in there earlier & enjoying the process.
Will a buy another chuchu doll?
Yes, on the condition that chuchu doll’s hair is a stunning fantasy color.
Would I recommend Hina to others?
If you love tiny dolls, like Azone’s Lil’ Fairy dolls or their Picco Sahra’s a la mode girls or any 11cm type doll then yes. Hina’s too cute to miss out on.
If tiny dolls are not your thing, then past on her. There are plenty of other dolls that will make you happy.
Will I be making 11cm clothes in the future?
Making the 11cm outfits was a challenge.
Between the translations and gluing (I’m messy with glue) I’m taking a break from 11cm dressmaking.
But, there are several 11cm pattern books that are on the market and coming soon that are calling my name.
I’m curious about them and I do want another shot at mastering 11cm doll patterns . . . so, yes, I plan on making more of these tiny outfits in the future.
If you would like to welcome home Dollybird’s chuchu doll Hina, you may find her at the following sites:
What About You?
Do you own a chuchu doll HIna?
What do you like about her?
What are your dislikes?
If you’ve passed on the palm sized Hina, what was one of the reasons? (price, didn’t like the face, etc).
Leave a comment in the box below.
I look forward to chatting with you.
Bloopers?
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See more of the Let’s Meet series here
I love these dolls! They seems so tiny and cute~
So, the body is an obitsu 11cm… and what about the head?
It seems bigger than the obitsu 11cm heads, maybe this is the reason for the twisting around issue.
Mamachapp 11cm dolls have a smaller head, haven’t them?
Hi Amy
Yes, they are so tiny & so cute!
Unfortunately, I don’t own any Mamachapp dolls, so I can’t compare the head sizes 🙁
Your suggestion about the bigger head could be why Hina’s head twist.
Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts about chuchu doll Hina.
Tatyana
I absolutely love her!!! I feel that with all the tiny dolls the feet are a problem. Even my new nendoroid dolls and CuPoche as well.
I am interested in books that have 11 cm doll clothing patterns. I’m a sucker for a good pattern book even though I do know how to make my own.
I only found one and was extremely disappointed and ended up returning it to Amazon, it was called Dolly Bureau and the outfits were well not good at all.
Hello Mariana,
Thank you for the info about the tiny feet.
DOLCHU did a great job with the chuchu dolls but all of DOLCHU dolls are amazing.
If you have any tips or techniques for sewing clothes for these tiny dolls, I’m interested in any info you have.
I’m always keeping my eyes open and ears peeled for any helpful tips to make my sewing experience better.
Thank you for taking the time to chat with me about Hina-chan.
Tatyana
P.S. I saw you ordered the 11cm girls. Which girl did you end up going with: Ribbon, Tyrol or both of them?
I order Tyrol!! I was tempted to order both, but had just ordered Meryl and Noah as Alice so my wallet told me no ? haha. Also working with an artist to get a custom 1/6 Obitsu Violet Evergarden doll made (I cant keep waiting)
I would say the biggest tip I have for sewing tiny is to press your seams down first and then baste stitch, also get use to hand sewing because most of the time that’s your only option ??♀️
Hi Mariana,
Oh, Tyrol is a cutie.
Will the Violet Evergarden girl be your first custom doll?
How exciting.
I’ve never had a custom doll before.
How has the customizing process been so far?
Oh, I hope you’ll come back and let us know how she turned out.
Tatyana
P.S.
Thank you for the sewing tip.