Jack Battat & His Clothes

     A long, long time ago. . . well, actually, it wasn't that long ago. . . but back when my children were little and played with toys, my daughters had some 18" dolls.  My girls spent hours playing with those dolls and my son, who was just a little fella, always felt left out.  One day, as he stormed through the house, I stopped him and asked why he was so upset.  He said, "I can't play with them!  They don't make boy dolls!"  

     The American Girl brand didn't have a boy doll back then.  But several years before, Target carried a line of 18" dolls and there was a boy.  When my boy needed one, however, they were no longer available.  But I remembered it and started hunting for one online.  I found several previously owned dolls, but there was a problem getting one.  It seemed that everyone wanted those dolls and it drove up the prices.  It took weeks to find one that we could afford.  

     The doll's name was Jack and the manufacturer's name stamped on the doll was Battat.  So that's what we called him:  Jack Battat.   They're still out there, and still expensive.  Here's one that I recently found on eBay (click on the picture if you want to check it out):

     When our doll arrived in the mail, though, it was naked.  That's right, Jack arrived without a stitch of clothing to his name.  I don't know how he ended up so destitute, but I would quickly remedy the situation with my sewing machine.  

     All the patterns out there were for girl dolls, but by making some minor changes, I was able to create a boy's wardrobe.  I made jeans in every shade of blue, black and gray.  I made corduroys, khakis, cargo shorts, t-shirts, button-down and Hawaiian shirts.  I made quilts with matching PJs, robes, swim trunks, sun hats, even little messenger bags.

     Here's just a sampling of things I made for Jack:

     Once a decent size wardrobe was made, I put it together in a set with the doll and gave it to my little boy.  He was overjoyed to be able to play along with his sisters (and not feel like a girl).  That phase didn't long, though, because Star Wars (and all its spin-offs) was seeing a resurgence in popularity and the Spiderman movies came along.  My son's favorite toys soon became those small action figures from the movies.

     That meant that Jack was once again left without a job.  The poor guy sat around for months not knowing what to do with himself.  He eventually accepted a job working for a small, upstart clothing company.  He became the model for the 18"-boy-doll clothing line I was making and selling on eBay and Etsy.  We worked together for several years promoting our apparel.  During that time, the Jack doll was so popular that others also started making and selling clothes for him.      

     As my kids grew older, I gradually phased out of making doll clothes.  But we had a lot of fun together, Jack and me.  He always had a good work ethic and never once complained about the jobs I gave him.  I wish his attitude would've rubbed off onto my kids. 😉