Reemah Afia's Sandals, New Sash, and Cut Hair!

Reemah Afia arrived with bare feet wearing a black sash with her caftan-style dress as shown above.  Bare feet on dolls is one of my pet peeves.  Shoes, sandals, or some form of footwear is preferred.  I had also seen photos of other collectors' dolls wearing the "yellow" caftan dress that my doll wears with a gold sash instead of a black one.  I wanted a gold sash for my doll, too.

To remedy the bare feet issue, I initially planned to make a pair of sandals, which would have been easy to do; however, the square cork coasters I purchased specifically to use as soles are nowhere to be found. (I had them in one place after purchasing and then put them in another, but where that second location is, I cannot remember).

The Sandals

Plan B was to purchase a pair of sandals for Reemah Afia.  I found the above pair offered on both eBay and Aliexpress.  Based on the description and measurements provided, it seemed they would be a good fit for Reemah Afia's oddly sized feet (too small for her 22-inch height).  Because of their low price with free shipping on Aliexpress, I ordered the sandals in several colors with a plan for her to wear an orange pair to pick up the colors in her dress.  After they arrived, the brightly colored orange sandals were swapped out for the brown sandals.

The sandals, unfortunately, are not the correct length.  The sole is slightly shorter than her foot, which would not be a problem if the foot could fit inside properly, but the too-short heel strap prevents this.  Determined to make these work, I devised a quick fix. What I did is captured in the following photos and captions.

The strap at the heel was cut in half.

The initial plan was to pierce both side edges of the cut heel strap using one of the upholstery needles shown above and to use braiding cord to extend the straps.  I made one piercing with the needle, but the hole was not large enough to thread the braiding cord through.  So the ends of each heel strap were turned under and scissors were used to cut two horizontal parallel slits into both sides of the heel straps.

Two pieces of equal-length braiding cord were cut.  The cord was threaded through the slits in the heel strap starting from the undersurface of the lower slit to the top, led across to the upper slit, and taken down through the bottom surface of that slit.  This was repeated on the other heel strap using the second braiding cord.

Both cords were then tied to create a bow in back.

Voila!  Reemah Afia now has sandals that fit.

The New Sash

Reemah Afia's original black sash is shown above.

A vintage gold cloth napkin, shown folded in half, was used to make the new sash.

The black sash was placed on top of the folded cloth napkin and the material needed for the new sash was cut out.

The edges of the cut-out sash were ironed under.  Stitch Witchery was used to seal the edges.  Finally, adhesive-backed Velcro was placed on the two opposing ends of the sash.  Both sides of the completed sash, front and back, are shown in the above photo.

The new sash better coordinates with the fabric of Reemah Afia's dress.

Reemah Afia's caftan dress looks much better with the gold sash and her feet are now covered.

Cut Hair
My only disappointment with this doll is she arrived with the first row of rooted hair cut at the hairline of her brow!  I noticed this upon her arrival but did not give this much thought until another collector contacted me about her brown-haired doll's cut hairline. (She owns both versions, the brown-haired and black-haired versions).  As unevenly cut as my doll's hair is underneath, I know this was done intentionally.  Why?  I have no idea.  Was this to keep the hair away from her face?  That's possible because the brown hair is not as coarse as the black hair used for these dolls (as confirmed by the other collector who also indicated the black-haired doll's hairline is uncut).  Cutting the hair at the hairline was not a remedy to keep the hair away from the doll's face.  If any trimming had to be done, it should have been done from the ends of the hair and not at the roots or even better, at the discretion of the buyer!  Why would anyone cut perfectly rooted hair?  Just why?

With her hair pulled back Reemah Afia's cut hairline is visible.

As indicated, the hairline is unevenly cut.  My thumb holds down the longest cut piece.

I contacted Makedaa Dolls about the cut hair, but at the time of publication, I have not received a response.  So potential buyers should beware that if you desire the brown-haired doll and you do not want a doll with a cut hairline, you might think twice or ask the company if the doll you will receive will have a cut hairline.  This is very unfortunate for an otherwise nicely made doll.  I'd be interested in knowing if any other brown-haired Reemah Afia doll owners' dolls have cut hairlines.  Please let me know in a comment to this post.

My original post about Reemah Afia, written after her arrival, can be read here.


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Reemah Afia by Makedaa Dolls

Reemah Afia by Makedaa Dolls

I first saw Reemah Afia almost two years ago in Facebook postings with the caption, "Would you buy this doll for your daughter?"  I salivated over her huge Afro hairstyle and thought, "I'd buy her for me!"  After discovering that her body is all vinyl and articulated, I decided I definitely needed her,  but because I already owned another doll with the same face (straight hair, different body), I hesitated until recently to add Reemah Afia to my collection.

Reemah Afia, sold by Makedaa Dolls uses a head sculpt and body made by Paola Reina of Spain.  The back of her head bears Paola Reina's name under which is the following mold identifier:  08-2-J20-VN.

The doll arrived in a purple cardboard box with cellophane front.  One side panel reads:  Makedaa awakens The Queen that lies within each of our [princess].

The Makedaa website describes the doll as follows:

"Reema Afia is an African Princess. She is caring and a great listener. She is the perfect friend who will keep all your secrets. Reema is a stunning standing doll, the tallest of the three sisters*, 23.6 inches and 2.9 pounds tastefully perfumed with vanilla."

The website uses both spellings, Reemah and Reema.

CHARACTERISTICS:
- Reemah Afia has brown stationary eyes, applied upper eyelashes, broad facial features that are ethnically correct, and, as indicated and illustrated, rooted brown hair, styled in a huge Afro.

The website further describes her characteristics as follows:

- Vinyl standing doll
- 23.6 inches and 2.9 pounds
- moving joints (5 usual places of articulation plus wrists, elbows, knees and ankles)
- exquisitely vanilla perfumed
- Dress designed by Ghanaian designer Ehon B.


Available with brown or black hair and with a caftan-style, knee-length dress in a choice of colors, I chose brown hair and the "yellow" dress.  Reemah Afia arrived from London, England within a week after I placed my order.

Because their website did not include a buy button for the brown-haired version, I contacted Makedaa Dolls to order the brown-haired doll.  I initially tried to contact the company through the contact link at the website; however, the contact form never loaded for me on that day.  Persistent, I went to Facebook and used the message link to inquire about the brown-haired doll's availability and was informed the doll was, in fact, available.  A website glitch is responsible for the absence of the buy button for this version.  To order, I had to provide my name, mailing address, email address, and telephone number after which I received a Paypal invoice.

In addition to photographing the doll with and without clothing, I photographed the top, sides, and the top-back panel of her box prior to discarding it.  (I collect dolls; not boxes).  Those photos follow:

On the top of Reemah Afia's box is the image of a huge Afro pick.

One side of the box panel bears the doll's name.  The other side of the box was illustrated previously.

The top-back of the box bears the company's name.  Note again the Afro pick inside the "o" in dolls.  A warning that the doll is not suitable for children under 3 is included on the back panel in English and in six other languages.  Only the English script was captured in the above photograph.

Hairbrush and descriptive insert

The descriptive insert reads:  My name is Reemah Afia.  I'm so excited to get to know you.  I will listen to all your secrets and I will tell you mine.  Just like yours, my hair is my crown.  It needs to be handled with care and attention.  When you will take me out of the box, you need to fluff my hair back to [his] luxurious state with the brush that is next to me.    Remember!  You are beautiful and wonderfully made.
(The top side of the plastic brush is shown next to the insert.  There are two handles on top of the brush to easily hold it between two fingers while fluffing the doll's hair.)

The inside of the insert and the bottom of the brush are shown above.

Additional Photos of the Doll 

Reemah Afia's dress has a Velcro closure.  The wide black sash, which is removable, also closes with Velcro.

Reemah Afia wears white undies which the Velcro can easily snag.  As illustrated in this photo, this all-vinyl doll is articulated at the elbows, wrists, knees, and ankles.  Unfortunately, however, her upper arms can only move forward and backward.  They cannot abduct or move away from her body.

Another close-up of her lovely face and upper torso better illustrates her elbow joints. 

When placed in the seated position, the legs remain open as illustrated here.  Sitting is not at all ladylike.

Overall, I am pleased with this doll.  More range of movement of the upper arms and upper legs would have been better.  I am not at all fond of scented dolls, but I do know that Reemah Afia's vanilla scent will fade eventually.  I plan to make sandals to cover her bare feet, but this is not an immediate concern for me.

*Visit the Makedaa Dolls website to view Reemah Afia's little sisters.


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Thank you for following this blog, for reading the posts, and for your comments. If you are not already a subscriber, go to the homepage. If the right sidebar is not visible, scroll to the bottom and click "desktop view," locate and click "subscribe to posts." Optionally, also subscribe to comments. There is also an email subscription box for those who would like to receive posts by email.

Follow my sister blog Ebony-Essence of Dolls in Black
View the Doll Events page for updates. Check out my eBay listings here.