Category Archives: dolls

Some Fiddly Drawers

Posted in crafts, dolls, Ruby, Sewing by

I’ve finally dedicated some time to work on Ruby’s drawers and they were so fussy and fiddly! I decided to use the Susan Sirkis Wish Booklet WB 23 Fashions 1880-1885.

The Wish Booklets are wonderful with lots of patterns that are relatively easy to follow…if you understand garment construction and have some knowledge of period techniques. The original chemise I made was based on a different pattern because I wanted something closer to what is shown in the Bloomingdale’s Illustrated 1886.

The drawers however are a sweet design and just fine for Ruby.

Many of the reproduction doll patterns I have seen and used include some errors, omissions and sometimes just confusing instructions. I remind myself they are written by humans (fallible as we may be) and rely on my sewing experience to fill in any gaps. In these drawers for example, there is no instruction to hem them or to add the lace trim.

Should you wish to make these drawers, I suggest you make a rolled hem before starting, and then make your pin tucks, or adjust the placement of your pin tucks up a quarter inch so you have space to hem and add the lace at the end.

Also, there’s no mention of added the bows shown in the drawing but that could be put down to it just being a suggestion. I liked the look and added silk ribbon bows.

I also chose to use French seams since voile can fray just as badly as silk! Being such a fine fabric it is very delicate, but gives such a lovely result. Another step not really mentioned is the waistband. While the instructions do indicate the yoke should be set to a narrow waistband, there is no mention to add ease stitching since the yoke has bias edges. Again, not too difficult to figure out.

They fit Ruby nicely and I closed them with a hook and thread bar. I think a button would add unnecessary bulk.

Ruby is pleased to have drawers again!

Ruby’s Body & First Garment

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I’m tickled that I can share with you the new body created for Ruby. I was very happy to save her original stockings and shoes!

Ta-da!

I’m tempted to open her up and add some more stuffing to make her body more firm. The more I work with her the softer the cotton stuffing becomes. She has been filled with 100% organic cotton.

Her head was glued with Aileen’s tacky glue. I hope it holds for as long as the original glue did. For that matter I would be thrilled if her new body lasts as long as her original did!

My name is…

I also created her first piece of clothing. It’s a sweet chemise of the softest 100% cotton voile. The lace is also 100% cotton from my favorite heirloom sewing site Farmhouse Fabrics. The button is a vintage mother of pearl with the 2-hole “eye” look.

Ah, new clothes

I looked at the Bloomingdale’s Illustrated catalog for design inspiration. The placket front was very popular in 1886.

Next I will move on to some drawers and a petticoat. See you again soon!

Ruby Restoration

Posted in dolls, Pictures, Ruby by

I am finally starting the restoration of a doll that belongs to my cousin M. This doll belonged to her great, great grandmother and is named for her.

POV when you need a spa day

When I received Ruby she was not in good shape. Or I should say, her body was not in good shape. Her porcelain parts are in excellent condition for being around 130 years old. Over the years though, her original body developed some tears and the sawdust stuffing was beginning to leak. One of the prior owners encased her entire body in a second layer of fabric. The mending job made her look a bit like Coraline. In a further insult, someone patched that with packing tape.

As I deconstructed her I realized that the original issue must have arisen because her head was pulling away from the body. Her chest plate does not have the holes for stitching the head on so it was glued. The glue held all these years but the body muslin tore away from the chest plate, allowing fine sawdust to escape.

Careful snipping of stitches revealed that the “shirt” on her torso was probably her original chemise! In the photo above, it is stitched to her body at the waist but that waist is really closer to the original shoulder of her body! It added almost 2” to her height.

Documentation

I had carefully measured and documented her body before beginning the deconstruction. These measurements will be very helpful as I start to build a body for her.

I discovered her original body was a dusty rose brown color! It may have darkened over time due to the sawdust but typically we see white or off white bodies so that was interesting.

Also a treasure to keep are the stockings and boots. A prior owner made these items. The boots were made from the fingers of a glove. I was able to very carefully clip the stitches binding the stockings to the “cover body” and used tweezers to pick those stitches.

Planning

I’m about ready to start building her – the easy part! I do have fabrics selected for her dress and I will share as that comes, but I will need to finalize the dress design first. I’m planning for an 1886-ish dress as the original Ruby would have been 8 that year. She might have received this doll as a gift and made her clothing. Bustles were the main style shown in the Bloomingdale’s catalog for 1886 so if that’s what we decide it will be another fun challenge for me.

I hope you will join me on the journey as we restore Ruby.

An 1860 style doll quilt

Posted in crafts, dolls, Misc, Pictures, Sewing by

Here’s a project I had to hold onto before sharing because it was made as a Christmas gift.

Block quilt

I followed a basic tutorial which guided me on how to press the seams inside – necessary since this is the first “proper” quilt I have made. I just noodled the previous doll quilt I made.

The pattern is based on antique doll quilt patterns from the 1860s and I also used reproduction fabrics. The quilt top is assembled from blocks of four. It’s important to stay organized. I see where I made a couple mistakes but I bet you don’t.

Quilt back

The quilt is 100% hand sewn, as would have been done by a young lady making a quilt for her dolls in times gone by. It’s interlined with a piece of flannel to give it some body.

The finished quilt is about 16 x 20 inches. Dottie and her friends will be quite comfortable with this quilt to keep them cozy. This is the kind of quilt I used to get lost in, just dreaming about the people who used it before me.

Well, that was easy!

Posted in dolls, Mom, Pictures, Sewing by

Making the doll body is the easy part. Dressing them might take time but I think Edna is going to stay basic.

I have a new body!

I feel that the torso is a bit more narrow that I would like and substantially more than her original. For future reference I will make note of this. I attached the head using waxed thread and a curved needle. I have seen this application on another doll. I hate doing the skinny tapes but that is the most common application method I have seen. Thought I’d try another method here. I found it much easier.

Sort of twins

Along side my other Dora doll, Edna seems tiny. I also noticed that the hands are very different. They look like replacement hands or Shackman hands. Who knows? I will make her a dress this weekend or so. Have some pretty cotton picked out!

Dora’s Rebirth

Posted in crafts, dolls, Mom, Pictures, Sewing by

You may (or may not) remember I mentioned last year some time that I have a doll who I specifically acquired to make a new body for – in anticipation of repairing my cousin’s doll Ruby.

Poor little Dora

This sweet Dora Tudor doll was badly damaged. Her entire body was spotted with what looked like mold. Yuck.

Ouchie

She has a broken arm.

Pigeon toes

Her feet are both cockeyed and the tips are chipped.

This past week I deconstructed her to start over. I felt in the spirit of her becoming a new doll she should have a new name.

Hi, I’m Edna!

Edna was filled with some kind of foam rubber stuff that was breaking down badly. Along with the mold I felt it necessary to just dispose of her former cloth parts.

New arms

I’ve drafted a new body pattern and made the arms. I thought I’d make her a bandage for her broken arm. Perhaps we can come up with a plausible Victorian injury. Let me know your ideas. :-)

Next time I will have her legs and maybe even her body, but for now I have to go clean my house, boo.

Follow along: Caroline’s Reveal

Posted in dolls, Follow Along: Caroline, Pictures, Sewing by

My friends, this has been quite a journey, but I am so proud to say that Caroline is now fully clothed and ready to visit the shops or take a stroll with a friend. It has been a year of work off & on. I have challenged my skills and learned so much through this project. I hope you will enjoy the big reveal!

Silk brocade and taffeta

I have previously shared the skirt, made of silk brocade. Paired with this turquoise silk taffeta, the ensemble is going to make some of my other dolls positively green with envy.

Shopping ready

The book I used, A French Fashion Doll’s Wardrobe by Louise Hedrick, included instructions down to the little details such as how to make covered buttons and the “easy” way to make a rolled edge.

Back view

While the directions called for pleats at the hem of the skirt and polonaise, I really didn’t want to make a mile of tiny pleats. I chose this fluted silk ribbon to contrast and tie the pieces together at the same time. I used some 4mm buttons that are nonfunctional on the front, and hooks & thread bars to close the polonaise.

Chemise
Drawers
Corset
Hoop
Petticoat
Skirt
Complete

The pattern for the reticule came from Brown House Dolls – BHD 334 Purses & Muff. It is a silk outer with silk lining.

The bonnet was inspired by a Susan Sirkis Wish Booklet but I don’t remember which one. I traced out the pattern ages ago and just upsized it for Caroline. The bonnet is made from silk taffeta in a gorgeous rust color with a lining that is shot with cream and rust. It uses hat wire on the front brim to hold its shape.

So there you have it. Caroline came to me naked except for the necklace she is wearing, a hole in her leg and who knows what else in her past. I wanted to dress her in finery, and while it was a long journey, we have made it!

Bonus – remember that dressing gown? :-)

Follow along: A Finished Skirt

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We are in the home stretch now! I’m quite excited and already working on the next piece of Caroline’s wardrobe, but thought I’d take a moment to pause and share the finished skirt.

Front view

The skirt is a lovely silk brocade that I bought from a costuming friend a few years ago. The pattern is cranberry colored paisleys on a tan field with small golden threads shot through to frame the paisley motifs. I believe the pattern expected readers to use a lighter weight silk than this but I don’t thinks it is too much of a problem.

Back pleats

It is fully lined with white cotton batiste. this gives the skirt quite a firm body. I managed to get it to stand on its own.

Facing hem
Center back opening
Center back seam
Whipped side seam

The seams must be whipped to control the fray – either pressed open and whipped to the lining or whipped closed. On the lower hem, I chose to use bias tape as a facing to cut down on bulk. It has the added benefit of making it easier to curve the hem – it’s not straight – so it doesn’t ripple. If you used a lighter weight fabric you could easily make a standard hem. I also chose this fluted ribbon trim instead of pleats or fringe. It suits my style and Caroline likes it too.

Side view

I will share the polonaise soon. It’s coming together quickly and I will hopefully be finished with it by next week! Exciting. There may be a hat and maybe even a reticule. Fun fact: in French reticule means ridiculous.

Follow along: math

Posted in dolls, Sewing by
Numbers numbers

That’s a lot of math. As I prepare for the next steps in Caroline’s wardrobe, I had to work out the new measurements for the patterns. She is slightly larger than the actual patterns. 18.18% larger, in fact.

I had to ask my teenager for help. It’s been a long long time since I could easily work out the changes. If you are up scaling a pattern piece, here is a relatively easy method courtesy of high school algebra.

Find the measurement of one straight area of the pattern – I used any straight edge I could find.

Convert this measurement to decimal if you use fractions (US people, everyone else in the world uses metric, sigh). Multiply that new number by the percentage increase. Now add that number to your original measurement.

For instance, if your measurement is 2 5/8, this converts to 2.625.

2.625 x .1818 = .4772

2.625 + .4772 = 3.1022

Round that new number – 3.1

You can convert back to fractions if needed OR do what I did and eyeball those small numbers. .1 of an inch is a around an 1/8 plus a smidge.

A time saving tip is to add a 1 to your multiplication to save the addition step – 2.625 x 1.1818 = 3.1022

Once I completed all the math, I used my Pixelmator Pro to enlarge the pattern pieces, then printed them, traced onto tissue, and made all notes. I’ve also made a paper towel mock up of the bodice because the instructions just didn’t make sense at first. They include no illustrations of the sewing method, so gotta make sure I go slow and understand each step.

Hope this math workshop helps you in some way. Happy sewing!

Follow Along: Empire Hoop

Posted in crafts, dolls, Follow Along: Caroline, Sewing by

This is another piece of Caroline’s wardrobe that came together fairly quickly. Unfortunately this is the first piece I don’t completely love.

Front view

I made this piece from lightweight linen and the three basic pieces are fast to construct. Frankly, the casings for the inside of the garment also came together easily and quickly. It’s not a difficult item to construct.

Side view

The frustration began with the overlapping of the wires at center back. This was sooo fidly. The instructions say to overlap by 1/4” and bind the two pieces together with thread. I found this to be tricky at best. Because the gauge of hat wire used, it is not very flexible and so quite difficult to manipulate into place, then get it to hold still while tying it together and not accidentally stitching the piece to the body of the garment. All this machination mangled the raw edges of the casings. Since the instructions are a bit sparse here, should you want to make this item I recommend leaving some length at the ends of the casings, shaping the wire as desired, and then sewing the casings closed. These are doll clothes and it’s not like Caroline is going to be walking around causing the wires to shift. I wish I had thought about that before I spent so much time at this juncture of the project.

Back view

The second area of frustration was the binding of the side openings. I believe this pattern is based on recreating an original and honestly, maybe this bit should have been updated. Rather than four individual pieces of binding, it might be easier to use one longer piece that would also encase the lowest point of the opening. This raw edge is left exposed by following this pattern and I would prefer it to be encased.

Final critique, no where in the instructions do they tell you to hem the garment. I recommend doing this before you add the boning. And maybe even add the lace trim at the same time. Once the boning is in, the skirt behaves very differently from an unstructured garment. Just my two cents.

I don’t super love the outcome based on these issues and I can’t seem to get the wires shaped the way I want them. Maybe I’m overthinking it.

Yes I put the petticoat over it