I’m a huge fan of thrift stores, maybe because I’m always on the look out for that elusive Kenner! But besides my search for a vintage Blythe, I like going through the toy section to see what other dolls or doll clothes there are as well as going through the rest of the store to find some little gems. Here are some of my thrifting tips for you:

• Bring along a spare body. It’s so much easier to judge if a doll is similar in size with Blythe (or any other doll that you’re trying to clothe) if you have a model. Don’t just look for Skipper – I’ve found other dolls in cute clothes that subsequently get stripped and ignored in order to clothe my Blythes. You never know what other dolls out there have clothes that could fit Blythe unless you try.
• The craft section has knitting needles, crochet hooks, sewing supplies, fun trims and so much more. I’ve gotten fabric, trims and lovely sock yarn (a decent thickness for making Blythe knits from) all from the crafting area in the thrift store.
• Please also consider the book section! Most thrift stores have a crafting section and you can most definitely find (from time to time) books on sewing, sewing doll clothes or books on sewing clothes in general – some things can be taken from the human scale to the doll scale.
• Check out the clothes! Even if they’re not quite your style, the patterns in children’s clothing is great scale for dolls and one large adult shirt has a lot of fabric for making clothes for your favourite doll!
• Go frequently. Thrift stores get new products to sell all the time. What’s not there one day will pop up the next. Go frequently, find out when their stocking times are, maybe sign up for a newsletter so you know when their half-price days are…?
• Be prepared to be there for a while. Thrift stores are rarely well organized unfortunately and it can take a lot of time hunting to find a little gem. But that’s what makes it fun (right?). So have some time set aside for digging through the trash to find the treasure.
• Have fun! It may not be for everyone, but thrifting is fun and economical. Keep a note on pricing though – not everything is priced cheaply/to sell. Some things are heavily marked up while others are priced dirt cheap.
• Be critical – you’re looking at used things. Look for stains, cracks, rips, runs and all that fun stuff when it comes to dolly things. There’s no point in dropping $5 on a bag of doll clothes if none of it suits your tastes (or your doll’s) and none of it fits!

Exhibit A: Doll with Blythe-sized clothing I had thrifted: