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!
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.
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.
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!
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.
I made this pretty blue jay for my mom. She now has a cardinal, a hummingbird and the blue jay. Hopefully soon I will find the time to make a nuthatch. My mom is in a care home and these and other crafts from my sister brighten up her room.
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.
ChemiseDrawersCorsetHoopPetticoatSkirtComplete
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!
The next bird in the Squishy Cute line that I made recently is this beautiful hummingbird.
My mother really liked it and it was pretty simple to make, so double win. If you decide to try some of the Squishy Cute patterns, I recommend tracing the pieces onto the felt rather than pinning. For dark colored felt use chalk. This particular one calls for a black sequin and a seed bead but I didn’t have a black sequin. I used a black button.
Find them on Etsy here. They have more than birds, too.
I threatened you with a tutorial on how to make these cute $2 craft boxes into hat boxes for your dolls, and here it is!
Naked boxes
To make these specific hat boxes (also called band boxes) you will need 1 larger sized piece of fancy wrapping paper – 18×24 is plenty. The reason for this is the outside measurement is greater than 12” which is the standard large size you will find at your local big box store. Original Victorian hat boxes came in many different shapes and sizes, but the ones we are most familiar with today are the round variety. I found reference to an enterprising young woman who created beautiful boxes covered with wallpaper so I tried to find papers that looked a bit like doll-sized wallpaper. Unfortunately I lost track of the website where I read this and can’t give you more detail.
If you are looking for a source of large format paper, you might be interested in the site Mulberry Paper and More. It’s a bit overwhelming at first, but they have an amazing selection of papers that would be perfect for this use case. This tutorial is being shown with Japanese Chiyogami Yuzen paper. I’m visual so there will be a lot of pictures to illustrate this project.
Supplies
You will need:
Tape measure
Pencil
Scissors or exacto knife
15” ruler
Sewing ruler for small, precision measurements
Craft glue
Paper towels
Craft paper
Measure your box carefully. Allow for overlaps and edges! These boxes from Dollar Tree are 3 5/8” diameter on the lower box portion and 3 7/8” diameter on the lid. The circumference is equally important. Use your tape measure to find the circumference (outside and inside) plus a 1/2” overlap. I wound up cutting the following pieces:
(1) 12 1/2” X 3 5/8” rectangle (box outside sidewall)
(1) 11 3/4” X 2 1/2” rectangle (box inside sidewall)
(1) 13” X 1 1/4” rectangle (lid outside sidewall)
(1) 12 1/2” X 5/8” rectangle (lid inside sidewall)
(2) 3 5/8” diameter circles (box inside bottom and underside)
(1) 4 1/2” diameter circle (lid outside)
(1) 3 3/4” diameter circle (lid inside)
Each piece was labeled so I would know where they went.
Pieces
Once you have everything cut the assembly goes quite quickly.
1. Glue in the box inside bottom circle (for fun you could make this piece from a newspaper print which was done in the past)
Inside bottom
2. Glue in the box inside sidewall. Be careful to overlap and press out any excess glue. I forgot to take a picture of this step, sorry!
3. Glue the outside box sidewall. This piece should extend past the box edges on both top and bottom. These extended sections will be folded down.
Lower edge extension
4. Run a bead of glue where you will fold down the extended section on the bottom of the box. Then press down the paper into the glue, making overlapping wedges so the paper confirms neatly to the round shape of the box.
Lower edge gluing & folding
When it is folded down, press the paper flat firmly so the glue squishes into all the places it needs to be, and then use a paper towel to wipe off any that oozes out from under the paper.
Upper edge extension
On the upper edge, run your glue onto the paper extension. This piece is going to be folded to the inside of the box. You may want to prefold it before putting the glue. Once you have run the glue, fold the paper inside the box and press, making sure it conforms to the shape and working the glue into place with your fingers. Wipe away any that oozes out.
5. Turn the box upside down and glue on the circle to the underside. All the folded edges should be covered by this circle. Set the box piece aside to dry.
Bottom of the box
The lid will follow a similar method, except in a slightly different order.
6. Glue in the inner circle to the lid.
7. Glue in the inner lid sidewall.
Lid inside
8. Glue the outside lid circle. It may be helpful to trace the lid onto the plain side of this circle so you place the lid right in the center.
Lid centered in the circle
Next, place the glue onto the box side and fold down the paper around the circle of the lid, again working the glue evenly and wiping off any excess.
Lid edges
9. Glue the outside lid sidewall. To do this, put glue on only half of the paper – the other half will be folded inside the lid.
Lid sidewall
Place the paper edge just a smidge under the top edge of the lid.
Lid side placement
As you did with the box sidewall, carefully fold the paper edge to the inside. Press firmly and wipe away any glue that oozes out.
Set the pieces aside to dry thoroughly. The lid will be tight at first but as you use the box it will ease. Use the box for hats or any other storage.
Your finished fancy box!Filled with doll treasures
I was watching an eBay auction recently of a doll listed as a 19th century antique. I screenshotted all the posted images because she was lovely and I found inspiration in the clothes perhaps for Ruby.
The doll was only $9. How is that even possible? Poorly listed? Not photographed or described well?
I threw a bid in there and promptly forgot about it. Until I won it. Whoops! At least she wasn’t hundreds of dollars.
As yet unnamed
When she arrived I discovered she is the largest doll in my collection at 25”. She is lovely and I’ll have the ability to study her clothing at my leisure and close up. It looks to be silk and machine sewn. There’s a bustle and drape, putting it into the 1880s fashion wise. Her foot is broken but I really don’t care.
My accidental $9.00 treasure could use a name. Have a suggestion?
Notes from the Melody Maker 