Dolls! Rich Girl, Poor Girl, Part 2

Here is Rich Girl in all her finery. I used a coat of gloss lacquer over her hair and 2 coats on her shoes. It has not come out as glossy in these photos as it appears in real life.

Here is a close up of her face and the hair flower I made from 100% wool felt:

Back view with heart shaped button:



And here are the girls together:

I feel that I achieved my aim of making one doll look worn and old and one look new.

My next project is to make a Barbie dress for my artist friend Di's original early 1960's Barbie. Although she still has the original box and stand, somehow the clothes were given away.

Dolls! Rich Girl, Poor Girl; a Very Red Pair of Shoes

Here are Rich Girl's shoes. I like this red colour; I applied 2 coats to get it to this strength. I will let it dry overnight and then apply a couple of coats of clear gloss over the red. I had to paint on the socks to cover a spot of red paint that flicked off the brush when I was painting her shoes. I quite like the look of these socks and I will attach some gathered lace to finish off the tops.

Here is the completed doll body waiting for her face and clothes. You can see how I have used one of my new Lizzie's Arty Crafty labels. They are really lovely woven labels which are made in Belgium. Of course I would always give the designer credit when I use one of my labels. I would like to have a go at designing my own dolls eventually though, so watch this space!

Dolls! Rich Girl, Poor Girl, Part 1

Here is the first of the two dolls I spoke about in my last post. I have tried to make this one look old by using soft colours and tea dyeing all the fabrics including the embroidery thread I used to highlight the shape of her shoes. It was great fun to try this dyeing technique.

I used the pattern for an attic doll from the book Making Cloth Dolls edited by Dorothea Hall. I changed the pattern so that my doll looked like a young child. My inspiration for the outfit was from the children's novel The Family From One End Street by Eve Garnett. I think this story was set in the 1930's and all of the children's clothes look baggy and well worn.

I used artist's quality pens and pencils and a white gel pen for the highlights on her eyes. I initially applied the colour very lightly, but it did not stand out enough. Perhaps I should have left it a lot lighter in keeping with my vintage doll theme. The rosette in her hair is made from the selvedge of her bloomer fabric.

My reference books of antique and vintage dolls show some wonderful ideas for faces. Here are some quick sketches I did of some of them:

The back of her head shows how I lifted off some of the paint to make her look old, and even sanded it back in some places with an old pumice stone, of all things.

I used acrylic paints on her shoes and hair.

Now it is time to start working on the Rich Girl version. She will get nice shiny shoes and her clothes will not be faded. I am not sure what her face will look like, as I find that evolves as I work on a doll. It will be interesting to compare the dolls and see whether I have managed to make one look old and one look new.

Dolls! Reproduction Ponytail Barbie Gets A Dress

I bought my reproduction Ponytail Swirl Barbie doll without an outfit, and as I had made a new costume for my 1950's doll, I thought Barbie deserved one too. I had been getting a lot of those sideways looks from Barbie lately, so I thought I had better get moving. So much for sewing for myself.

I used this pattern which is a copy of one from the late 1950's or early 1960's:

I made the bodice according to the pattern using the contrast fabric, but it frayed like mad around the armholes, so I made it up again without the contrast. I lined it using white muslin and made up a belt in the same spot fabric.



Pattern Review

The dress I made for my 1950's doll was huge in the bodice area, however the bodice on this one was too small around the waist. From the pattern covers, they both look as though they were made for the same doll. The skirt was a little too full, so I would advise on taking out some of the width so that it is easier to attach to the bodice piece.

Not in the pattern, but to me a necessity for the 1950's gal, is a tulle petticoat, which I made as a separate garment:



A big thank you to the expert doll maker Elaine over at McNally School blog for signing up as a Follower to my blog. Her dolls are amazing and inspire me to make some more. Make sure you go and have a look at her beautiful dolls. It is great to make a connection with someone so far away over a shared interest.

It is a boiling hot day here in Melbourne (40 degrees has been promised), so I am going to spend some time today selecting fabrics to make up 2 very simple cloth dolls. I would like to make one look old, so I am going to try tea dyeing the body and clothing fabric. I have not done this before, so it will be interesting to see how it turns out. The second doll I would like to make a lot brighter and modern, and maybe use some gorgeous wool felt I have. Actually, I might make both look old. I will have to play around with my extensive craft fabric stash, and see what I come up with!

I really should be making Burda jacket 7814 for myself, but I really feel like creating a doll so I will do that next.

Happy New Year to all,

Lizzie.

Dolls! Finished Dress & Capelet for my 1950's Doll

All finished!

I used this pattern, which I think is from the early 1960's, or late 1950's.

The pattern called for 1/4 inch seams, and I lined the bodice in the lightest cotton polyester fabric I could find. I washed all fabrics to ensure that any chemicals used in the dyeing and finishing process were removed as I did not want them to leach into the doll. Washing the fabrics also made them sit better on the doll, which is just under 11 inches tall.

Taking measurements

Cutting out the bodice lining

Shaping the bodice on my dressmaker's ham.

I lined the capelet.

Jaunty little capelet

The Pattern Review.

Barry Sturgill wrote an article in Haute Doll magazine (Vol 7 (1) February 2010) reviewing some vintage patterns made for dolls in the 1960's. It's an interesting article, so track it down if you can. The author writes that a few of these patterns were drafted way too big. He suspects this is because Mums and kids were able to sew and dress the dolls if the clothes were a lot bigger, but this sizing issue is not acceptable to the modern collector seeking to replace a missing outfit for a vintage doll. Simplicity rates highly for good designs and fit. From my experience, I think that you need to test the fit of the patterns first.

Here is a picture of my reproduction vintage pony tail Barbie wearing the dress. While it fits her better in the length of the bodice, it is still way too big. The pattern did come with a belt, but I did not make this as I did not want the dress to be too tight on my vintage 1950's doll as I wanted to preserve the original underwear.

Gaping bodice

My reproduction vintage ponytail Barbie requires an outfit, because she will have to give this one back to the 1950's doll. I will do a post on her new outfit at a later date.



Best wishes for the holiday season to one and all, and thankyou to all those people who have visited my Blog in 2010!

 Lizzie