Tag Archives: historical doll

More undergarments

Posted in Crafts, Dolls, Martha Tudor, Sewing by

I kept working on Martha Tudor the last couple weeks and completed two more items. First up was a set of stays.

18th century stays

I used the Susan Sirkis WB14 stays pattern, upscaled it, adjusted it to fit, redrafted the adjusted pieces and then went to work.

I chose to make it in two layers as I find the garments just fit more authentically with enough fabric in them. So I cut all the pieces, transferred the marks and then assembled an inner and an outer layer.

Partially completed stays

The pieces are sewn from the top edge to the waist marking. This allows for the creation of the tabs which were seen on 18th century stays. All seams are pressed toward the back. I found turning to be fiddley mostly in the tabs. I think making these stays in their original size (approximately Barbie doll size) would really be a big pain.

Final steps

I used this white cotton Petersham to bind the top edge and also stitched down all the seams. I also stitched in mock boning channels on the center front panel. I was able to use my machine for some of this work which saved so much time and gave a really clean finish. The final steps were then to stitch the eyelets and the shoulder straps.

A blood sacrifice

I quite like making eyelets for some reason. It’s a sort of zen process to me. But this one got me and I left some of my blood in the stays. That surely portends the rest of the clothes will come together easily, right?

Back lacing

Here you can see I laced the stays from bottom to top which was apparently how they were done in this era. I’ve seen multiple videos and photos of people lacing their stays this way.

Padded panniers

Here are the padded panniers I made. They are basically a figure 8 shape, then folded over the waistband and stitched together. They kind of look like saddlebags to me. The panniers are lightly stuffed with cotton to give them body, but not so firmly they won’t give a little under the weight of the skirt.

So that’s the completed undergarments! I’ve been working on the skirt – it was called the petticoat in this era but didn’t hide underneath the main skirt, it was the main skirt. Interesting how terminology evolved. Stay tuned for that garment coming up next.

Martha Tudor – Part 1

Posted in Crafts, Dolls, Martha Tudor, Pictures, Sewing by

As a fan of Tasha Tudor dolls I regularly check eBay for new items listed. The most common dolls are Meg, Emma, Sally and Nell. Less common but still occasional are Molly and Dora. I have seen Amy, Julia, Lady Patricia, Trudy and Martha only once. When I see these uncommon dolls listed I usually put on a really high maximum bid because I don’t want to lose them.

While I was finishing Julia, I saw an auction for Martha, placed my stupidly high bid and waited for the auction to close. I hate auctions lol. Anyway, I won her and waited with great excitement to receive her because I have only heard of her from a site visitor – never seen before the auction.

The box arrived. Crushed.

Martha had a visit to the French Revolution via USPS or UPS or however she was shipped.

The seller has refunded me.

I lamented this happening to my family and my daughter suggested trying to glue her back together. Could I do that?

I found a number of articles online about fixing a broken chest plate on a doll. A couple referred to this porcelain and ceramic glue.

It comes with some very fine tube tips for highly precise glue application. I felt a bit like one of those artisans at a museum putting together shards of pottery. Ok not really. I actually was thinking of all the moms and dads through the years gluing dolls and cookie jars after the kids got too rambunctious.

Fortunately Martha’s head is intact! I carefully removed the pieces from the body, then tried to figure out how the parts would fit together. A bit of glue on the broken edges, then pressing them together for 30 seconds created the basic bond. This glue needs to cure up to 24 hours.

I’m not thrilled with one seam. I didn’t want to force the porcelain into place and the seam is off just a smidge.

I applied glue to the cracks inside and outside as well. There are a couple of holes where bits of the porcelain has been lost.

When it comes time to reunite her head with her body I may use glue instead of sewing tapes because I don’t want to put too much stress on the china. I am also considering strapping over her shoulders. I had to do that with Julia as her chest plate had cracked between the hole and the edge. There may be a few other alterations in her future as well – painting on gold shoe buckles, stitching in elbows and knees, little things like that.

Needless to say, Martha will have a high necked dress. I will also be trying to style her in Colonial attire. That’s an era I know nothing about clothing wise, so this one will really be a learning experience for me!

I was going to dress Lady Patricia next, but I think she’s going to have to wait a bit longer!

I also need to do something about her linebacker shoulders haha.

Better Petticoat

Posted in Crafts, Dolls, Pictures, Sewing by

I talked myself off the ledge and I’m not making a wired bustle or cage for Julia. I really just don’t have the time and as I always remind myself, she is a doll. A beautiful doll, but a doll nonetheless.

Instead, I am using the small bum roll I previously made, the petticoat I didn’t love, a second petticoat I made a bit longer than the first, and finally a petticoat made from the skirt pattern.

I think this gives the posterior enough fullness to achieve the look of 1872, while also giving me experience with the skirt pattern.

One thing I discovered from this exercise is that the pattern does not tell you what to do with the side-to-back fullness at the waist. And, the pleats in the front do not take up enough fabric to evenly distribute the front between the two sides.

Now, luckily, I have made human sized clothes with these same design elements but better instructions!

I added two pleats on either side of center front. This serves to take up enough fabric that the side panels of the skirt are actually on her sides. They were previously more to her back.

Second, I used 1/4” pleats on the back and then pressed them toward the center back. These are similar to cartridge pleating except the pleats are pressed toward the back, where cartridge pleats would hang from the waistband. Anyway, that’s what I did.

I used bias tape to create the hem because it is curved. You can see the nice train the finished wedding dress will have. I suppose I will start on the bodice mockup next but probably with paper towels.

Better Petticoat

Posted in Crafts, Dolls, Pictures, Sewing by

I talked myself off the ledge and I’m not making a wired bustle or cage for Julia. I really just don’t have the time and as I always remind myself, she is a doll. A beautiful doll, but a doll nonetheless.

Instead, I am using the small bum roll I previously made, the petticoat I didn’t love, a second petticoat I made a bit longer than the first, and finally a petticoat made from the skirt pattern.

I think this gives the posterior enough fullness to achieve the look of 1872, while also giving me experience with the skirt pattern.

One thing I discovered from this exercise is that the pattern does not tell you what to do with the side-to-back fullness at the waist. And, the pleats in the front do not take up enough fabric to evenly distribute the front between the two sides.

Now, luckily, I have made human sized clothes with these same design elements but better instructions!

I added two pleats on either side of center front. This serves to take up enough fabric that the side panels of the skirt are actually on her sides. They were previously more to her back.

Second, I used 1/4” pleats on the back and then pressed them toward the center back. These are similar to cartridge pleating except the pleats are pressed toward the back, where cartridge pleats would hang from the waistband. Anyway, that’s what I did.

I used bias tape to create the hem because it is curved. You can see the nice train the finished wedding dress will have. I suppose I will start on the bodice mockup next but probably with paper towels.