Emily, if you are making a one-of-a-kind doll, one which cannot be replaced, MAKE TWO. I speak from experience as a grandmother who gave a (purchased) doll to my new DGD thirteen years ago. As luck would have it, it became her special comfort item. By the time we realized that, the store where I bought it no longer carried that identical doll. As the original became more and more tatty, we tried to sneak a replacement in for DGD to love and go to sleep with. Nothing worked, she had to have what by then was a really wretched looking doll. If ever it had been lost, before DGD was ready to give it up, I think she would have been in major melt-down mode, she was a fussy baby and that doll was the only thing which comforted her.
I experienced the same thing with my older DD: she received a hand-loomed one-of-a-kind WOOL blanket. She latched on to that and it was the only thing which would do for comfort or to get to sleep. If it need to be washed, she was desolate, because it took so long to get dry. By the time she finally gave it up it, I had cut it into four pieces and bound it with a different satin binding. We struggled for about 48 hours with a very unhappy baby. She knew immediately that the little one weren't right. I dug out the ratty old binding and re-bound two pieces. She rejected the other two, the ones with the new binding, she knew they weren't the real deal. She wore out the two "real" ones.
When second DD showed signs of a similar favorite (but fortunately store-bought) I immediately went out and bought four more *exactly* like the original. She loved her blankies to death, and went through three of them before giving them up. I still have the fourth one, I keep hoping she will have a baby so I can surprise her with it. No luck so far. :-}
Beverly