Dolls! Jacket for my 1950's 21 inch Sweet Sue Doll and the Pierre Cardin Connection

Here is my Sweet Sue doll in her new jacket. I have been wondering whether I will put the 3 buttons down the front, as called for in the original pattern, and  have decided I will. I searched right through my button jar but could not find the right ones, so I will have to get some this week. I won't have to rush though because she is going off to the doll hospital tomorrow to get new eyes! The 'doctor' said he has some from an old doll that should do the job.

To recap, this is a copy of the original 1950's pattern that I used. I made the dress too - you can see what it looks like here.

And here is the back view:

And finally, just to make sure you can see how wide the jacket is cut from waist to hem:

Now you are probably wondering about the 'Pierre Cardin' in this post title. Well, on Boxing Day, I dragged my poor tired self back into the city to go to the Clegs remnants sale. I had never been before, and spent a pretty penny by the time I got to the checkout. I nearly put this fabric that I used for Sweet Sue's jacket back, but decided against it at the last minute. A week later when I was undoing the remnant, I pulled out the piece of paper with the details of the fabric content and care instructions, and there in black and white was Pierre Cardin as the designer!! And just in case you missed it, it is woven (not printed) into the selvage of the fabric. An added bonus is that the fabric was made in Italy. I almost decided against using such an illustrious design house's fabric for this doll, and figured that as she is 50+ years old, she is worth it!

And for those readers that have come at the end of this dolly make-over, here are the before and after shots:

     



Now I am thinking about getting a price on a more appropriate wig for her. More on that later!

Happy Sewing!

Fabric Free February Pledge

I am pledging to not buy any fabric in February 2012 as I have soooo much of the stuff. So you might ask, why have I chosen to show you a picture of fabric in this post? Well it is still January, and I have not been to Mary's shop in ages, so I thought I had better go before February. So I did, and this pic shows the results; 2 gorgeous floral print fabrics perfect for 1950's fashion doll dresses.

One of my fabric buying buddies at work just laughed at me when I said I was going to buy less fabric this year. And one of my sewing club friends is going to buy less this year as the coat cabinet she uses to store her fabrics in has never seen a coat!

Have a look at that nifty 9mm or 3/8 inch bias binding maker I got at Mary's as well. Very useful for making the narrow bias binding called for in this 20 inch 1950's fashion doll clothing pattern.

That cute green swimsuit and cape in the top right hand corner calls for loads of bias binding.

So wish me luck in keeping to my Fabric Free February pledge. I know I can do it!

Dolls! New Dress, Hair and Hat for my 21 Inch Sweet Sue Walker Doll

You might recall the 21 inch Sweet Sue Walker doll that I got at an auction last year. She was sorely in need of a makeover. Well here she is wearing her new dress, which is pattern McCalls 1983 from the 1950's. I made the pink dress, the hat and I am just working on the coat.

This is the back view:

To recap, this is how she looked when I got her:

As you can see, I changed her wig to a much better one, but it is still not like the one she would have had when she was made. There is a very talented lady on the internet who sells replacement wigs that she custom makes to each doll, but it would have ended up costing me more than the doll cost in the first place.

It is the eyes that bother me the most though - the previous owner put these terrible blue cheap looking ones in, and they are nothing like the beautiful eyes that were used on these Sweet Sue dolls. I am going to make inquiries about having better eyes put in, but that will depend on the cost.

Finally, here is a photo of her in her new hat. The pattern did not call for any interfacing, but I used some iron-on on the brim. If I made it again, I would line the part that fits around her head, and possibly interface that too.

I will post photos of her coat when I finish it, and the story behind that gorgeous red wool crepe fabric that I used.

Christmas Gingerbread Biscuits

I don't bake these days, but when asked to make Gingerbread Biscuits for a Christmas party, this is what I made. It took hours. My Mum asked me what colour icing I used. Turns out that I made it too thin. Oh well, they taste alright and I had fun decorating them.

My sewing is non-existent with all of these Christmas festivities, but I am planning on sewing up big when the holidays arrive at the end of this week - I can't wait!!!

Dolls! A Step Closer to Solving the Mystery of my Glamour Doll's Identity



Doll re-dressed by me using pattern from the 1950's



I received my copy of British Dolls of the 1950's by Susan Brewer in the mail today and was elated to see on page 94 a picture of a doll nearly identical to my one.



My doll in her original under-wear



Due to copyright, I can't show you a picture here of the doll in the book, but the earrings are the same and her hair, blush and mouth are nearly identical. Unfortunately there is only a head and shoulders shot in the book. The mystery as to my doll's identity is not quite solved as the mark on the back of the doll in the book is UP and the mark on mine is as follows; Made in Hong Kong (British Empire) No. 8110. Beneath this are the letters W P W inside a diamond shape which is kind of on it's side. There are 2 arrows pointing out of the diamond shape, one on each side. My guess is that there was a manufacturer that made these dolls for various companies who just had to put their stamp on the back of the doll and perhaps specify things like hair and eye colour. Like mine, the UP dolls were also made in Hong Kong.

The author writes that these dolls were very popular in the 1950s. She thinks they were probably sold at small toyshops and markets. The dolls came with a plastic bra and silky pants ready to be dressed at home. I think all of this fits in with my doll, although I would like to find out a bit more about the W P W company. If anyone out there knows anything, I would really like to hear from you.

I bought a little toddler doll with Made in England stamped on her back at a doll fair a couple of weeks ago, so I thought it was about time to delve into the British doll making scene and buy a reference book on the topic. I think Susan Brewer's book is wonderful for reading about the history of individual manufacturers, but it does not have the number of pictures that some of my reference books on American vintage dolls have. It is still a worthwhile addition to my collection though.

My sewing has slowed down with Christmas around the corner, but I am just sewing up the hems on my bargain Coles supermarket wide leg trousers. I was going to take some of the width out (as well as the 5 inches I had to take off the hems), but thought what the heck, I will wear something a bit different and leave them wide.