I thought I would do a post about my original Mary Poppins doll which was given to me when I was about 2 years old. I got it a few years after the movie came out (yeah, showing my age). Here is a photo of my doll, showing a lot of playing wear and tear:
The sewer made a couple of modifications to this doll which were to add a separate piece of pink fabric to the face and line the jacket.
Surfing around on ebay, I thought I would look for some Mary Poppins memorabilia to add to my collection, and I won the original version of the pattern I got from Cloth Doll Supply, circa 1964 (no, I am not quite that old). I was so excited. It actually states on the front of the pattern envelope that it is 'Inspired by Walt Disney's new full length motion picture'.
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| Front view, original pattern |
And here are some photos from inside the book. The suit she is wearing below is closest to the one my doll is dressed in.
I think the art work is just delightful.
The red suit Mary Poppins is wearing in the picture below is all over the promotional posters in Melbourne at the moment.
Finally, some of you might have noticed that the title of this post mentioned Mary Poppin's friend. Well she probably couldn't have been as this cloth doll design was released 10 years before in 1954. This is another gorgeous pattern from Cloth Doll Supply for a Betsy McCall doll. Look at the lovely skirts on her outfits; a separate pattern is included just for the petticoat.
Look at the shaping they have given the doll to give her more of a 'grown up' or teenage look. I bet little girls would have loved to have been given this doll.
5 comments:
Cool doll. I collect these Mary Poppins dolls. I find it interesting how each person, using the exact same pattern, makes a wholly individual and unique doll that nonetheless still resembles the pattern. Variation on a theme. Love it, love it, love it! I have about 14 of these dolls.
Only one of my Mary Poppins dolls is blonde like yours. the rest are brunette and some are missing their hats or their bags, or scarves. I am about the same age as you, and so for me, Mary Poppins has an iconic mythical magical air about her, as do such things we remember from our early childhood.
Hi Becca, thanks for visiting and leaving your comment. I would love to see your dolls made from this pattern. Alas I still haven't made one using this pattern; perhaps some day....I had not thought about her being a blonde Mary Poppins. You are right about each crafter giving each doll their own interpretation.
Lizzie.
Hi Lizzie, have you made the doll yet? I have collected about 4 more this year, so I now have about nineteen or twenty. I really should make one too. If I do, it will be interesting to see, just how bad it will turn out. I tried to make a doll from a pattern a while ago and it was a simple pattern and I totally screwed it up. The doll is really jacked up looking. I was pissed when I finished because I tried so hard to do a good job and I still screwed it up. I have to stick to simple crafts like coloring or bean and noodle pictures. I am still going to try to make a Mary doll though. Even though my other doll is screwed up, its sort of cute and people like it because it is funny looking. So things can be a success if you try to look at their value in another way.
I do know that after having so many of these dolls, I like them to have more violet colored coats (rather than the purple that some of them have). I would try to follow the pattern exactly and get the the color of the clothes just as it is in the pattern cover
Hi Becca, No, I have gotten side tracked with a million other projects, hence the lack of posting on this blog. I am studying a subject from a course at Uni for my work, but after this one, I think I will give it a rest cos I am missing my creative projects. I am making a bit of simple beaded jewellery at the moment so I don't go crazy, and would like to experiment with clays and creating my own beads.
I do not think there is ever a badly made doll. In fact every hand made doll has something special about it, much more so than the mass made in a factory type doll. Have a go at making the Mary Poppins doll, I would love to see it. Don't stick to 'simple', keep trying, that is part of the creative journey. By the way, what the 'ell is a bean and noodle picture??
Nice to hear from you,
Lizzie.
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