Mina In The Red Dress

Ooo I love my weekends. I totally undeniably, definitely enjoy each and every minute of them.
No day job to go too, spending time with my lovely husband and the kitties, and spending as much time as I want working on my dolls. What could be better :)
I have to admit to only getting half of my To Do List done, but as it was a mammoth one with no realistic possibility of getting it all done in one weekend I think half is quite good. I sanded and painted up 8 little peg dolls, and sculpted a further 12. Finally got the pleats for Mina's skirts set and attached, and fitted her skirts. And got everything ready I needed to send off to Lovely Linda full of templates and bits and bobs that she needs to get her beautiful wire lace made up for Beth and Cerridwen.

As you can see Cerrid now has her hair and her sleeves have been trimmed with soft pink velvet that really picks out the colour in her eyes and the flower tapestry ribbon I've used as a sash. Linda is planning an elaborate Cleopatra style necklace for her and a Juliet cap, both trimmed with stunning Labridorite crystals. So while I'm waiting on bits from her I think I'll start making her her traditional Welsh hat.
In the end I we both decided that to work on her fully we both needed to know exactly who she was, so I gave Linda her full story and the plans I have for also making her a Welsh hat instead of a pointed witches one, a long cloak, caldron and spoon and all the other bits and pieces she may need. I was so glad that Linda was happy once she knew her too. I'll write up her full story for you once she's a bit further along.

I was asked to make up a little peg doll for someone who I've been chatting to through Twitter so thought I'd better get my bum in gear on my list of those too. Emma has asked for a little Victorian Asylum Peggy, and also mentioned an Elizabeth 1 for maybe in future. I love making Asylum dolls as they have such stories to tell. And how could I miss out on a mini Elizabeth so I can perfect my ruff making techniques. So it looks like I'll be making up both :)
While I'm at it I really need to get started properly on the project I'm working on for my best friend Sarah. For Christmas I gave my two favourite girls a set each of Dickens's ghosts from A Christmas Carol, and they looked so cute in Sarah's tree that she's asked me to make her a peg doll for every month of the year. It's quite a challenge, but I can't wait to see them all on her Christmas tree.
I've had a handful sculpted for a while, but just haven’t had chance to paint and dress them. So I'll be working on her Snow Queen for Jan and a fully gothed up Cupid for Feb.

My larger doll Mina Murray / Harker has proved a bit of a pain over the last week as one of my least favourite tasks in setting pleats in fabric that doesn't want to cooperate. A you can see the fabric needed small pleats all around the hem of what is quite a wide skirt, but now it's finally done it looks amazing. I'm so proud I actually managed it, and just need to reset one or two with the iron to get it perfect.
I added an extra flounce to the inside of her silk petticoat so that it would hold the weight of her skirts better. And I'm glad I thought of it now that her skirt has been gored and fitted as the gathered section at the back is rather heavy.

If you've seen Winona Ryder in Dracula I'm sure like me you'll remember That red dress.
I'm pushing myself with this one, but I just couldn't resist it any longer and am determined to at least try my best to make it.
After searching around the internet I found a lovely blog by a lady named Christine with pictures of Mina's dress that she had made - http://ckhall.com/reddress.htm. And she kindly agreed to let me share them with you here so you can see what I'm trying to make.

Christine's detail is absolutely stunning! Every element is just as it should be and every fold and flounce of fabric perfect. I can't even imagine how much time and skill she used to make this creation, but it was all worthwhile to get such a beautiful result. As you can see the original dress was a bright rich red where as mine is burgundy. I decided on the colour change because of the scale of the doll as a bright colour could have made her look a bit brash. And now that I'm making her sleeves I'm thinking of making them a little wider and longer to try and compensate a little for my dolls skinny long limbed body.
Just don't ask me how I'm planning to make that pretty ruffle that runs through the gown and edges the neckline as I have no idea yet. Don't tell anyone but I make this stuff up as I go along ;)
xxx