Natasha Morgan Art Dolls

Arms & Legs, Paint & Varnish

2012-02-26T12:39:00.000-08:00

It's been a while, but I've been a busy girl!

After finishing Hyacinth Plum and sending her on her way, I wanted to get started sculpting some new dolls so that I could make my next custom order, The Lady in John Waterhouse's beautiful painting The Shrine, from scratch to make sure I could get the details exactly how I see them in my mind.

I was running low on my largest and large size dolls as I've made all the ones I last sculpted apart from one (I'm waiting to find the perfect flat wire to make another crinoline), and I like to sculpt in batches as I always seem to have a long list of dolls that I want to make, and know who they will be. Sculpting one doll or 10 doesn't seem to take any longer because of the drying times needed on the layers of paperclay. So, after checking my doll making To Do list, I decided to make 9 of each size.

I spent a lovely evening doing one of my favourite things - Shopping for all the supplies I'd need to make these 18 dolls, add their hair and string them together. I also found the loveliest pale cream soft silk for my Lady of The Shrine's gown at one of my favourite fabric stores online - The Silk Route. I highly recommend them if you need silk for any of your projects as they have a great selection of textures and colours, and do lots of different sizes so you can buy just the amount you need.

As I had to wait for the wooden balls I needed to make the body armatures for my dolls, and the dowels to make their arms and legs, I started as I usually do and started making up a plan of work so that I could keep on top of what needs to be done each day. I've got a habit of forgetting to varnish things that I need to be ready next day. So have learnt that I need a list to keep me going when I'm making a large amount of dolls.

The dowels arrived very quickly so I knew my first task would be to cut all the pieces I'd need to make up the 18 pairs of arms and legs. I have to admit that making limbs is one of the most boring bits of doll making for me. It takes quite a while to cut each piece to the right length, sand and shape them, drill the holes that are needed for stringing the doll together, adding layers and layers of paint and three coats of varnish to each piece.

I have made lovely anatomical hands and feet in the past for my dolls. But they don't seem to fit with my style of dolls.
I like them to have the feel of old, antique, handmade dolls, which is why I make every layer of their costumes as well. And the simple down curved pointed toe feet and mitten style hands seem to fit much nicer.

I worked on getting every hand and foot sculpted to the ends of the leg and arm dowels. Setting them to dry on accordion folded corrugated cardboard drying boards that I stand on top of my living room radiator so that they cure slowly and evenly.

I hang each piece on the boards with large headed pins so that they touch nothing as they dry. I also find that this makes them easier to handle while I paint them as I can hold onto the pin instead of the wet paint.

Every hand always ends up different, each having it's own unique shape that adds character to the dolls. When they are finally strung together I always find there are dolls that just demand to have something to hold, or others that look like they are wringing thier hands together or waving at me shyly just because of a certain angle or tilt of a hand.

Every leg gets many thin layers of paint over a base coat to build up the leg colour, white stocking and lastly the shoes. Later, when the dolls I'm dressing tell me what they want I sometimes add stripes to thier stockings or a pretty spangle or bow to their shoes, or even repaint their stockings in a different colour. But for now I leave them all plain white.
I've spent a week of evenings after work, my hands covered in a sticky mix of paint and varnish getting each piece of arm and leg finished. And they're finally all done, and as you can see in the photo below all strung together at the knee and elbow joints with one of my favorite reels of strong vintage thread.

All they need now is some bodies to attache them too. Which is where I found a problem.

I was sure. I was positive that I had a large packet of paperclay in the dresser where I keep all of my supplies. I looked and searched and pulled things out all over the floor. I even had hubby digging around trying to find it as well, but no joy. I was a doll maker without the clay I needed to get on to one of my favourite parts of the whole process. Sculpting the faces.

As you can see my arms and legs hang in matched pairs waiting to be attached to bodies that I can't sculpt yet, making me sad. And my bodies all lay there with the armatures built up with foil covered in masking tape waiting to be covered and shaped with layers of paperclay, the tilt of thier blank heads already accusing me of not being organised enough.
It's been over a week since I ordered three new large blocks of clay, and I'm still waiting for it. All Saturday morning I sat listening for the postman to approach my door with my parcel, but by 1pm I had to give it up as lost. I'll be very disappointed if I can't work on the faces this week and get them done by next weekend. My fingers are itching to push and pull and shape that lovely soft smooth clay into the shapes that I want, and add the first little injection of life into my dolls. It's only then that I see who will be sad, and who will be cheeky, who will be shy and who will be demanding.
Soon. Please arrive soon!

A New Rag Doll Called Hyacinth

2012-02-05T10:35:00.000-08:00

Last weekend I had a lovely e-mail from a lady called Neiau Shie asking me to make her a special rag doll called Hyacinth. So how could I say no. I started straight away.

It'd been a while since I made a rag doll, and it's been really nice to work in all cloth and not have to wait while clay and paint dry for a change, although I know I'll always return to paperclay in the end. It's always fun to do things that I'm not used too.

I know she looks like some sort of strange alien now, but I promise she starts to look more normal in the photos below once she has hair. The pattern I use for my rag dolls is one I've worked out and refined myself over a few years. And I've pretty much got it the way I want it to be now. Made from two flat pattern pieces of strong calico with inserts added to the bottom of her feet to fatten them up, I sometimes make the legs separately like I have for Hyacinth to give them a better floppy feel.

I like my rag dolls to be stuffed quite firmly, and I reinforce their necks with a piece of small dowel so that the weight of their hair doesn't drag the neck back and make them stare at the sky.

Hyacinth has two black vintage button eyes attached to her flat head with a precious piece of the strong vintage linen thread that my Nanna gave me. And her hands have been sewn through to create her fingers. Her socks, shoes, facial features and tinting around her eyes are painted on with thinned acrylic, and I've stained the whole doll with a concocted mix of stuff to give her a more aged mottled look.

It doesn't really show properly here as the winter weather in Wales doesn't really provide the right light to take photos very often. But Hyacinth has a soft blush on her cheeks, and I've painted her lips in a deep purple red colour to match her dark outfit.

Hyacinth is to be a Regency Gothic lady with an empire line gown and pelisse or coat. Neiau Shie has asked me to make her in the image of the wonderful characters written by some of my favourite authors, Austen and Bronte etc., and showing the darker side of the lives these writings portrayed.

Women of the Regency era led very restrictive lives where the appearance of a calm serene gentle countenance was much more important than the true feelings they were made to hide away.
The wonderful Miss Elinor Dashwood of Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility is a perfect example of how her proper behaviour ensured her torment over the man she loved. She had to watch him be claimed by another while being helpless to do anything about it. Her behaviour was considered proper and correct, even though she was considered cold and passionless by her careless younger sister. Elinor had to carry her pain hidden to herself, watching silently as her love seemed to slip further and further away from her.

There are so many written characters that have this darker tormented side to them, often in the midst of a much lighter tale. Not all of them as obviously troubled as Cathy in Wuthering Heights or Mr Dickens' Miss Havisham. But all of them showing us now how life was for women during the times they were written.

Making Hyacinth to fit with this image is making me think of wind-swept mores and rocky hillsides, driving rain and feelings poured into journals so the writer can manage to hold them in and carry on without showing them.

I gave Hyacinth very long dark brown wool hair by sewing on doubled lengths of wool in rows along the back of the dolls head. I always make sure that I add a lot of hair to give them a full thick look, and to give the dolls head a rounder better shape. I've tried making their heads round and not flat, but couldn't get the hair the way I wanted it then, so went back to the flat pattern again. I'm not too sure how I'll style it yet, if at all, but she's starting to have a very distinctive character of her own.

So far I've made Hyacinth her nightgown, but haven't trimmed it yet. And tonight I'll be adding a lace collar and ribbon trim to finish it off. Maybe a few buttons at the front too, before I go on to make her overcoat.

The reasons behind why Hyacinth will be wearing her nightie under her coat is something that I'm not too sure if her new owner would want me to share as it's quite personal to her. But I'm very touched that she felt that she could share her reasons with me. It's really helped me to make sure that Hyacinth will be truly unique, and as special as I can possibly make her.

I can't wait to see Hyacinth all finished and ready for her quite walk through the dark night contemplating her own thoughts. I'm really enjoying making a doll from ideas that have been given to me to play with in my own way. I'm not too sure yet how I'll finish her off. At the moment I'm thinking of giving her a shawl to keep the night chill away, but we'll see what she decides when the time comes.

Nancy's Almost Finished - A Victorian Harlot

2012-01-28T12:03:00.000-08:00

It's taken me all week, but finally Nancy has her skirt all finished. It took well over a meter of fabric to create the right width, and double that each for the two ruffles at the hem.
I think I'll have to admit that I'm a bit overloaded on ruffles after this doll and might have to avoid them for a little while.

Now that Nancy is almost finished she has a lovely weight and feel to her when I pick her up. Her skirts fall in a lovely full bell shape, and the silky fabric feels lovely and soft. Now she has her hair she seems to have calmed down a bit and developed quite a gentle nature. She's not half as demanding as she was.

I made Nancy's blouse from a soft, white cotton voile and gave it the same wide gathered almost off the shoulder neckline as her shift. The sleeves have deep three quarter length cuffs and baggy puffy sleeves. I've had to tie the bulk of it down around her body so that I can fit her bodice over all the folds.

As she was so outspoken and bossy, clamouring inside my head demanding to be made so urgently, I chose my favourite dark cherise feathers for her hair, and added in bright red highlights to give it some texture. Almost immediately she started to settle down and became almost a totally different person. Much calmer and content now that she felt more like herself.

It really is weird how things change as your making a doll. How each new layer and element that you add does something special and lets the doll herself speak to you and tell you what it is she wants next. Sometimes the bossiest and most urgent dolls turn out to be the sweetest and most likable, and sometimes those that stay in your mind quietly developing over a period of time suddenly turn out finished from your needle what seems like seconds after you start them. I don't like to think of those that sit staring at me and stubbonly refusing to dress as I want. Demanding something that I just can't see. But they do happen to us all.

Even though my husband thinks I'm nuts I'm not the only doll maker that can hear the little voices that come from my dolls. And not the only one that knows how bossy they can be when you try to dress them in a way they don't like.
I have to say a major thank you to all the doll makers out there that share these stubborn frustrating times with all of us as it really makes me feel better that I'm not the only one :)

I flew though getting Nancy finished today once her skirt was fitted and sew into place, and managed to get a few photos of her half way to the end once her bodice was done.

I added an extra layer underneath her tight black bodice of a flowery fabric that just peeks out from the top to give a little bit of extra detail, finishing it in a heavy black cotton fabric. Then, I got completely stuck!

I sat in my chair today with boxes of lace, ribbon, fabric and trims around me wanting to finish Nancy and give her all the little bits that would make her complete, and was totally stuck. She just refused every pretty little scrap I offered up, and in the end I turned to all the lovely people I've met through Twitter and Facebook.

As always I wasn't let down and got the little prompts that I needed to set me off again in the right direction, and an idea for a brand new doll of a little street urchin selling violets from a basket. Seems my brain was having a nap without me as all she actually wanted, instead of all those fancy bits, was a simple black bow for her bodice, a steel grey ribbon for her neck, black lace mittens and a warm woollen shawl, and she's now sitting pretty on my table waiting until tomorrow's daylight allows me to take some decent photos of her.

I'm always amazed by the kindness of strangers. And I hope I can offer the same support to others along my way too.

A Harlot Named Nancy - Work In Progress

2012-01-22T05:08:00.000-08:00

Right after finishing Mr Darcy and Elizabeth the young Nancy shouted out loud and started nattering away about being dressed and brought to life.

She's been very specific about what she wants and what she'll wear. The only problem I've had has been keeping up with her demands and very sore fingers from all the stab wounds I've given myself as I sewed all her ruffles (I'm starting to hate Ruffles!!).

Nancy is a Victorian Harlot. A street walker, a lady of the night, or, more bluntly, a Prostitute.
She's a very pretty young lady, and has had quite a bit of success because of her good looks and easy smiling charm. She's been lucky enough to gain the attention of the better class of men and has become quite popular. And she thinks herself quite a cut above her street corner sisters.

Nancy doesn't realise that the attention she receives won't last, and those that she looks down her nose at look back with sympathy as they know the disappointments she'll face just as soon as her looks begin to fade.
For now she earns her living entertaining the wealthy clientele that frequent the smarter Gin Shops and Inns, occasionally accompanying a gentleman to one of the private clubs, and sometimes having easier nights earning a few pennies singing by the fireside of a tavern in her sweet lilting voice.

Even a Harlot needs underwear, so Nancy has the usual set of long crotchless drawers and a knee length loose shift that she wears with the neckline gathered wide on her shoulders.

She insisted that her corset was black, even though I offered her white, red and blue. And I fitted her Chemise sleeves tight even though it's not in the right style so that the loose gathered sleeves of her blouse will look as good as possible. She's showing off a lot of her fair complexion with her shoulders almost bare and a very low front.

Nancy has very little, and works hard to maintain as fashionable a way of dressing as she can. Her rich patrons are generous with their gifts, and her clever nimble fingers help her alter the second hand fine gowns discarded by affluent ladies.

She wears the usual type of plain white cotton under petticoat to help protect her legs from the heavy layers of her skirts. And a second petticoat of stiff cream cotton voile that I've made with three ruffles at the hem. All the ruffles are of different lengths, but all fitted to be floor length to make it appear like she has many more petticoats on than she really has. It's a clever technique that I came across in one of my books a while ago. And I've been waiting to try it out on a suitable doll. It really does help to give the skirts the proper shape without the weight of extra layers. It uses much less fabric than full skirts that I'm sure that poorer women would have used it to save money.

I made Nancy's last petticoat from a bright red cotton fabric with another ruffle at the hem to add bulk and support. Trimmed with a peachy coloured tapestry style ribbon. The layers look so pretty when she sits. Like a mass of frilly lace hidden away.

I want to make Nancy look as I've pictured her in my head, which means giving her a slightly gypsy look with lots of layers and mixed texture and patterns. So have decided to give her a skirt, blouse and bodice combination, with layers of shawls and lots of extra detail that she may have added thinking it made her look more fashionable.
I've already started her skirts in a very patterned dark blue and white fabric that has a silky feel. And am working on even more ruffles to decorate the hem to add as much detail as possible.

It might be a bit difficult to get Nancy to look how I want as it has to be the most overboard costume I've ever attempted before. I'm hoping that I manage to get her looking as I see her, and I hope you like her too :)

Mr Fitzwilliam Darcy and Miss Elizabeth Bennett

2012-01-16T13:31:00.000-08:00

It seems as though I've been dressing these dolls for ages. So much has been happening, and we've been so busy, that I just haven't had as much time as I would have liked to create and comfort myself with my dolls. I'm still trying to recover from a very low dip in my iron levels on top of everything else and my dolls are the one thing I know will always make me feel better and give me a sense of achievement.

Christmas is always a busy time in my house, and this year was no exception with our home full of family and friends and lots of visiting to do. It was a relief to spend a quite night in with Cris and quietly see the New Year in by ourselves.

Since then we've both been back to our day jobs, and have been busy buying stock and setting Cris up with his own Etsy shop - www.CuriousCris.etsy.com
He loves to treasure hunt at all our local thrift stores, car boot sales, house clearance shops and vintage and collectible fairs for small hidden Vintage, Retro and Re-Found objects and treasures. So we've set up Curious Cris so that we get to share what we find, and stop filling the house with stuff I love but have no room for :)

Mr Fitzwilliam Darcy and Miss Elizabeth Bennett both capture the heart. As he changes from proud snobbish spoiled brat to the best romantic hero, and she learns to see past her first impression to see the man behind the attitude we all fall in love with the wonderful story brought to life by the wonderful Jane Austen. Pride and Prejudice has to be my favourite book of all. I read it at least once a year, as well as watch the wonderful BBC adaptation (staring a very sexy Colin Firth) regularly – It’s even on my iPod!

I’ve wanted to make Mr Darcy and Miss Elizabeth Bennett for quite a while, but have always been put off by all of the tiny tailoring I knew they would involve. I finally plucked up enough courage to make them both and am so pleased with how they came out. Elizabeth in her soft empire line simple gown, and the tightly laced My Darcy in his chin high collar and tight waistcoat and trousers, a tall top hat making his imposing height even more distinguished.

I made Darcy wearing a long white fine cotton shirt that has baggy sleeves and deep cuffs and a separate collar over long drawers. He has long tight fitted trousers with a high waist and flat front, a gold satin waistcoat, high collar, long white cravat tied high under his chin, and a sage green double breasted tailcoat that’s pleated in the back. I made his top hat from layers of thick cotton fabric formed around an oval base so that is keeps is correct shape, which has a black satin ribbon band.

In comparison to Mr Darcy's straight laced tight buttoned looks Miss Elizabeth seems floaty and soft in her gown of layered white and cream cotton voile with a peach bodice and sleeves with a pin tucked hem. Underneath she has a long shift that has a gathered wide neckline and short tight sleeves, with a set of short stays to support her figure. Her dark red short jacket has sleeves that come down over her hands as they would have been styled during the Regency period, with lace at her neck to protect her dignity. I trimmed Elizabeth’s cream stripped bonnet with satin ribbon, lace and a satin flower.

After spending so long getting their clothes just how I wanted them I was so happy that they actually looked quite pretty, and stopped looking like aliens, when I finally put their hair on.

It makes such a difference to how they look, all those soft feather fronds drifting in the breeze. I normally like to add their hair first before the clothing, but on the last couple of dolls I've made I've left it off until the very end so it wouldn't get in the way when I was adding the sleeves and back of the bodice. Think I prefer this way for the dramatic effect, but they do look really odd and I'm not sure I can carry on worrying about if they will turn out ok or not until the very end.
Before I start my next doll I'm going to have to decide which method works best. But my brain doesn't seem to work yet this year.

I have managed to learn a lot about the tiny tailoring I'm always so scared of while making these dolls. A lot of it to do with making sure I have enough fabric to do things over if I need to and not knotting off all my threads until I'm totally sure things are right, but I've picked up a few new sewing trick's too.

Fitting Elizabeth's and Darcy's coat sleeves took some working out as they are very fitted right up to the shoulder. It's never so tricky with softer fabric, but the thick cotton I used wouldn't behave at all. On Darcy's I held them in place with pins which was a bit awkward in such a fiddly spot. And I found a better way when I sewed Elizabeth's first coat by tacking the very top of the sleeve to her shoulder before sewing on the body, then folding that back and taking out the tacking stitches.

You may have noticed I said Elizabeth's first coat, which was a long pelisse with a pretty pleated back and rounded corners at the front. I was really pleased with it until it was all done and I took a good look at my handiwork.
I looked like a raincoat, and not a nice one!
In fact, it looked like the kind of raincoat a very unfashionable granny might insist wearing everywhere, even in the heat of summer. It was terrible!

I made her a short jacket instead with the deep collar and double breasted front and I think she looks much younger and fresher now. I couldn't even bring myself to show you all the horrid Granny Mac as it was just too bad.

Even though I've only just finished these two my mind has already wandered off to my next doll. I want to make a large sized doll again as I've not made one in a while and have the perfect doll waiting for me all curled up naked in a box. In my mind I keep coming back to a Victorian Street Walker, all decked out in bright colours and tatty round the edges. In some rich woman's cast off gown that's been badly altered to fit and overly trimmed with extra lace and ribbon to try and attract custom. Her whole outfit made up of slightly mix matched layers as she trys to do her best with what she has available and can afford. Her legs flashing and too much of her bust on show. I've not got so far as the details yet, but I know she just has to have thick red hair.

A New Year and Darcy & Elizabeth Finally Have Clothes!

2012-01-01T09:10:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year to one and all :)
I hope that 2012 brings you all nothing but happiness and comfort.

It's the first day of the new year, and I've spent it quietly at home with my lovely husband, relaxing and steadily getting a few bits and pieces done to properly launch the January sale at my shop - www.NatashaMorgan.etsy.com
There are a lot of my little ladies there that now have 25% off. And a few that have been reduced even further, up to 60% off, as I'm trying to make room for all the new dolls I'm planning on making this year.

The very first dolls of 2012 are my Mr Darcy and Elizabeth Bennett. After waiting so long to get started on them, and after a bit of a delay while I found fabric for her gown, both finally look somewhat respectable and have some clothes on. Although there's still a way to go on them yet.

Mr Darcy now has his fitted straight black trousers that have a flat flap front and a high waist, giving him a very trim narrow waist. And I finally found the perfect fabric for Miss Elizabeth's gown, of all places in a home furnishing store.

It doesn't show up to well in these photos as Wales hasn't seen proper sunlight in a few weeks now. But Miss Elizabeth's dress has long narrow sleeves and a bodice of peach voile fabric that has a textured finish with some thicker shiny threads. She has a second petticoat and gown skirts on cream cotton voile. And I've added some detail by adding pin tucks to her hem. Around her waist in a darker peach satin ribbon.

I spent some time with test pieces of fabric trying to find the perfect patten to use for the pin tucked section of Elizabeth's skirts. And had a little trouble with the scale at first. Women during the Regency where fantastically talented when it came to making their simple gowns. Although they look very basic, every detail of their dresses was carefully created to make sure the finished product fitted perfectly and conformed to the latest fashions. All of the detailing was done carefully by hand in a great range of fabrics. And as Elizabeth was a young women when she first met Mr Darcy I decided to keep with tradition and use pale soft colours, and delicate opaque muslin-like voile.

Sewing pintucks is both a very simple technique to decorate fabric, and complicated to do at times. You can get a special foot for a sewing machine that sews perfect straight tucks every time, but I sew even clothes for myself by hand, so getting things straight can prove a bit difficult, especially if your using a very pale thin fabric that you don't want to wash afterwards as it means you can't draw lines on the fabric and have to measure everything repeatedly and rely on pin placement to mark where your going. To sew a pin tuck you fold the fabric and measure down from the folded edge how deep you want your tuck to be, then sew across the width of the fabric. To make the next, you measure from your first sewn line the distance you want between tucks plus the depth of your tuck, then fold at that measurement and sew across the width of fabric again at the depth that you want. Repeating until you have as many as you want.

I experimented with alternating depths of pin tuck, and different distances apart. As well as copying the beautiful complicated pattern as seen worn by Fanny Brawne in the film Bright Star (a great period film if you get the chance to see it).
In the end everything I tried just seemed too over the top for Elizabeth. I never think of her as a showy character, and even though you get the impression she likes fashion I always think her tastes are more simple and elegant.

My husband bought me the 2007 ITV version of Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey for Christmas, and just as I was giving up on what to do for my Elizabeth I thought to watch it for some inspiration. Right at the beginning the young Catherine is wearing a beautiful simple white muslin dress with a deep pin tuck hem of 5 or 6 rows. Each tuck the same distance apart and quite deep. It was perfect. Exactly what I wanted for my Miss Bennett. Simple and elegant, and just the right kind of detail. What I'd been trying to do was much too elaborate, and now I knew exactly what I needed to do to finish Elizabeth's gown.

These too will soon have hair to make them stop looking quite so alien. And I still have Darcy's sage / olive green tail coat and tall top hat to make. As well as a long pelisse coat and bonnet for Elizabeth. Tiny tailoring is always scary, but I hope I can make what I have in my head come from my hands.

Best Wishes for the new year ahead of us.
xxx

Elizabeth & Darcy, And The Sale Starts Today

2011-12-27T12:25:00.000-08:00

It's been so long since I posted I can hardly think what to start with. December has been a ridiculously busy month, all leading up to the last few days of festivities with my wonderful family and fabulous friends. And it seems like an age since I last picked up a needle and thread and got down to the serious business of making dolls :)

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas of your own, and are looking forward to a fantastic Start to the New Year ahead of us. I can't say I'll be sorry for this year to end. There have been too many sadness's and hardships for my friends, family, and myself this year to make me sorry to see it pass away. And I hope that the new year can go some way to make right what can be made right, and to soften the pains that exist.

New Year is always such a strange melancholy time. With the passing of another year I always feel that I should try and take stock of my life and make plans for the future. I'm not one for new years resolutions, but having a goal to work towards always helps me to keep myself going in the directions that I want, and not those that I fall into. Like so many of us I get caught up in the petty details of life and can forget to focus on what's important to me and my loved ones. It's an important time of year, this passing, and one that I intend to make full use of to plan out the next twelve months ahead of me.

This time of year is so cold and miserable in Wales. The roads will freeze and the snows come. Everything will be pretty and white at some time or another. But the days will be short, and the nights extra long even though the shortest day has already passed. Being a Summer baby I'm not keen on this time of year as I hate to be cold. The only good thing about January, after all, is the Sales!
So, with my plans for next year already involving making sure I improve each and every doll that I make, and my wish to make many many more of the characters bubbling away in my head come into reality, I've made one decision early. To have a big 25% OFF SALE and make room for all these new lovelies in my shop, and on my shelves.

From now until the end of January I've reduced over two thirds of my dolls by 25%. Including some of my very favourite dolls - I'm very proud of the stunningly dramatic Mary Shelley, with her hand corded petticoats and tons of layers with her tiny waist. And the pretty Elizabeth Armistead with her lace applique gown and pretty bonnet. Some dolls that I've reduced are some of the first that I ever made, and they'd already been reduced once. I decided to reduce them further to make them even better value for money, and so that you can now find one of my dolls to suit any budget. You can see all of them here at my shop. I hope to find many of them new and loving homes - www.NatashaMorgan.etsy.com

I can finally show you the secret Christmas gift doll project that I've been hiding away so that my cousin (and one of my best friends) wouldn't happen to see it around somewhere.
He's been nagging me for years to make the creepy twins from his favourite film - The Shining. So, this year, I finally got around to making them for him.

If someone had asked me to describe what these two creepy girls where wearing before I actually checked I would have been convinced that they wore pinafores. And I wasn't the only one to be surprised that in fact they actually have quite plain blue dresses with white lace trim and a white sash. I couldn't quite get one of the details around the hem right, so decided to leave them plain. And I finished them off with white bead hair-clips, black shoes with white bows, and long white cotton socks. And I'm happy to be able to say that he loved them.

I've also finally, after a long long wait, started on my Miss Elizabeth Bennett and Mr Fitzwilliam Darcy dolls.
These two have waited ever so patiently in a box among my tools and fabric, waiting for the day when I would actually let them out and give them some clothes so they wouldn't have to suffer their embarrassing predicament.

I've been putting off working on these two as I'm a little scared of the tiny tailoring and details needed to make them look just as I want them. But after managing to get Joel's tiny tail coat together for my friends wedding cake toppers I'm feeling a bit braver, so thought I'd give it a go now before I loose my nerve again.

Miss Elizabeth Bennett is looking a bit odd in this photo, I know. She really is much prettier than this alien snapshot suggests, and I can't wait to be able to give her some hair.

As I usually do I started with the underwear she'd need to keep her decent under her flimsy gown. And she wears a long shift with short tight sleeves under short stays.Her floor length petticoat has a high waist just under her bust which has two straps over her shoulders to make sure it stays in place.

I've already had the first of my troubles with these dolls as the pretty cotton fabric with teal flowers on that I bought for her just would not work out. It was too bright, even under a voile overlay, and the scale of the flowers was just too big. She unfortunately looked much too much like her sister Mary, so I had to take the whole of her bodice and sleeves off again and have to wait to dress her any further until I find a fabric that will work for her.

Luckily, Mr Darcy hasn't given me too much trouble yet, apart from an issue I've had with the front of his trousers since these photos were taken, which I've now happily resolved.

He wears long drawers that are gathered below the knee, like women's underwear of the same time they are split into two separate legs attached to a waistband.
His long fine cotton shirt has wide baggy sleeves and a split at neck, front and back so it can be tucked more neatly into his trousers. He has a separate tall stiff collar that comes right up to his chin, tied with a long cravat or tie that's been wound around his neck quite a few times before being tied neatly in the front in a smart knot.

I'm quite proud of the way his waistcoat has come out, keeping contained the big baggy shirt beneath and giving him his proper stiff backed, narrow waist look.

I found a scrap of the lovely champagne gold silk that my Godmother gave to me to make it. Left over from my cousin's wedding accessories, it was the perfect colour to go with the sage or olive green I've bought for his coat. It has the textured matt side of the fabric in front, and I've used the shiny polished side for the back. I gave it tiny pearl bead buttons, a high neck over his white collar with deep lapels in the front, and the straight square waist that will show beneath the front of his coat.

I still have a lot to do before both are finished. I decided early on that I wanted to dress them in outfits as they would have worn when visiting or taking a walk rather than in evening wear. So I've got a few layers of clothing to go before they can be considered properly dressed. Miss Elizabeth still needs her gown, as well as maybe another petticoat, a pelisse (coat) and bonnet. And Mr Darcy needs his morning coat and a tall top hat now his narrow straight trousers are finished. I've not decided on the finishing accessories yet, but I'm looking forward to figuring out what they'll be :)

A Special Offer to Say Thank You

2011-11-30T14:20:00.000-08:00

I'm offering Scarlet, my own little doll that's kept me company on my work table since I first began making art dolls, FREE to anyone that purchases one of my largest dolls or makes a purchase of $200 or more before Sunday 4th December.

I found out today that my last shipping date to the USA, Canada, or Australia is Monday 5th December according to the UK Postal Service. I'm really disappointed that in this day and age Britain can't do any better than this. And it makes this my last chance to offer all of my wonderful customers the chance to get my own little Scarlet free of charge and get her to them before Christmas day arrives.

I've met many wonderful, kind and friendly people through sales I've made through my Etsy store - www.NatashaMorgan.etsy.com
And have learnt just how kind, supportive, and truly amazing people that you don't know can be. So this is my small way of saying Thank You.
I just wish I was in a position right now to offer you more. Which is why I've decided to give up Scarlet; my patient companion that has always listened to me babel away when I'm trying to decide which direction to go in when I'm stuck or when I'm trying to refine what I'm doing.

Scarlet is a small (approx 20cm) doll that has jointed shoulders, knees, and hips. She's dressed in scraps of fabric and lace, and wears a mix-match of tiny jewellery pieces. But she's very special to me for so many reasons.

As I've said, Scarlet is my own doll. I made her for myself, and she's never been listed for sale anywhere before.
She's the very first jointed doll I made. The first that I sculpted in paperclay, and the first doll that I managed to perfect applying marabou feather hair on. She's not one of the first of her kind - She is the very first!

I agonised over how to attach her legs and arms before finally being brave enough to drill the holes in her limbs, hips and torso. Only after practising on little scraps of dowelling did I finally manage to do it. Still, there was quite a bit of trial and error before I was happy, and I unfortunately wasted quite a bit of the strong vintage thread from the wooden spool given to me by my Grandmother. And I still string my dolls in a very similar way.

Before I made Scarlet I'd made a few really awful fabric dolls that quickly got discarded, and a few fixed position clay sculpted dolls. But I dreamed of being able to make a doll that could be positioned, that could sit down and be animated, and that came somewhere towards the stunning old dolls that until then I'd only ever seen in museums (which is why I make my dolls in the way that I do).

I'd also used feathers on some of these earlier dolls as they remind me of a tattered little clown with feather hair I owned as a child that I loved dearly. But Scarlet was the first doll that I managed to get the very full, wild, and in this case mixed colour hair, just as I wanted it - even down to the tiny sparkling gems cut from a piece of a broken old bracelet that I used as a hair clip for her.

Scarlet wears a tiny black bodice under a high waisted tartan tutu with a wide lace petticoat, and has white and turquoise stripped knee high socks. She has perfectly stripped black, dark cerise and white hair. And has lots of bracelets, a sterling silver coker necklace, a diamonte hair clip, and a tiny faceted glass bead hanging from her waist.

She's imperfect, small, and has overly pointed feet. But she's my own, my friend, and my first.
Scarlet has helped me come such a long way in making my dolls, and I'll miss her greatly ( I don't mind at all if i get to keep her). But I can't think of a better way to say Thank You.
I wish I could offer more.
Natasha

Tiny Fairytale Hanging Art Dolls

2011-11-30T08:08:00.000-08:00

Before I start this post I just wanted to give anyone out there that's interested the coupon code currently available for my shop for 10% off any of my dolls until 24th Dec. please use code GIVETHANKS at checkout if you'd like one of my dolls for yourself or to give as a gift.

I couldn't resist making four of my very smallest dolls as hanging decorations for the Christmas tree this year. And as I wanted them to be suitable to hang from a shelf or against a wall or object after the holidays, and after making my Little Red Riding Hood, what could be better than more Fairytale dolls. So instead of choosing the most popular or well know characters I went with my favourites. As well as having a ribbon to hang them from anywhere you can think of, all these tiny 20cm dolls can sit on any ledge or on top of books and other objects among your treasures. The first can also stand unaided if you puff up her skirts and petticoats.

I knew I had to make the Princess and the Pea because I've always loved the story of the lost Princess that comes across the castle where the King is trying to find the perfect bride for his son. I love the rich detail and imagery of her being tested by being asked to sleep on a huge towering pile of mattresses and blankets under which they have hidden a tiny pea. Even as a child I always got annoyed that she had to be tested at all. Why should she have to spend a night being frightened of falling off this huge pile of bedding when the Prince faced no challenges at all!
But I still always loved it :)

My Princess is dressed with layers of petticoats in crisp cotton lawn, with a deep ruffle around the hem of her topmost fancy one; which is why when they are puffed out a bit she can stand unaided. She has a white chemise under a cream stripped bodice. Her high waisted silk dress is a rich paisley of sage green, blue, gold and white with long pointed medieval sleeves. In her arms she carries a silk cushion trimmed with lace and red satin ribbon to hold the tiny offending green felt pea.

The story of The Little Match Girl is one I never let my Mother read to me when I was little. How was a story about a poor abused child out on a freezing night and so afraid to go home again that she ended up sitting in the dirt and dark having taunting visions and dieing alone in the cold suitable for a child? But now I'm older my opinion of this sad tale is so very different, and I can see the small joy and happiness at the end of the story. It is really a happy tale at the end, all be it in a very strange way.
This young girls devastating life and hardships ended in the joyful reunion with her much loved grandmother. After her seeing beautiful images in the tiny flames of her matches she saw the one thing that made her happiest of all things. When they found her they thought she had used the spent matches in her lap to warm herself. When we know she had used them to hang onto her last vision long enough to be able to pass over and go to be reunited with her family.

My little Match Girl wears a simple cotton shift and bloomers under a plain dark burgundy blouse and grey tweed like check skirt. She has a thin ragged brown paisley shawl and a dirty white apron with her bundles of matches in the pocket.
I left her with her shoes on, before she lost the thin too big hand-me-down slippers in the snow. And cut the matches themselves from real ones, painting the ends and tieing them together with vintage thread.

This little doll even smells Christmas-y as part of what I used to stain her apron was powdered cinnamon from my baking cupboard. And for a change I tied up her hair. But if you prefer it down and wild like my other dolls the thread holding it can be snipped, and the feathers blown around to make them full again.

My next little doll was The Steadfast Tin Soldier. A story full of romance and adventure that ends very sadly when the petulant little boy discards the little soldier in the stove, and then the wind catches hold of the love of his life and blows the Dancer into the flames with him - leaving only a heart shaped lump of melted tin and the spangle from her dress.

His little life is a sad one again. After starting out with only one leg after being the last to be made from the tin ladle and there not being enough left. Then falling from the window and not being found, being sent through the drains in a paper boat and having to fight off rats, and being stranded in the dirty gutter among the rubbish. He is rescued by a kitchen maid and taken back to the very place he had started from, with his love still there waiting for him, standing on one tiny foot with the other stretched behind her in the doorway of the play castle.

I've no idea why so many children's stories are so sad. I know the old ones always have some moral or lesson for the young, and this one is trying to teach it's young listeners not to be like the nasty ungrateful young boy that owned these little toys. But there really is a lot of cruelty, death and frightening events in them. Even with all that I'm not the only one that still loves and treasures them I know.

My Steadfast Tin Soldier has dark blue trousers with one leg folded up neatly and tacked in place to account for his missing leg. His uniform is made in the style of a period Victorian soldiers uniform, with a red jacket trimmed with white epaulets and straps for his equipment bags, with a white high collared shirt underneath. He has gold coloured bead buttons, and I gave him a tiny heart shaped blue enamel charm on his breast as a medal. I made his hat from black felt with a strap under his chin and decorated it with more gold beads.

This little man didn't stay with me long once he was finished, and is currently on his way to the lovely Nancy in Canada. I really hope that she likes him when he gets there, and that he looks just as I pictured him on her tree this year.

The last of my little hanging fairytale dolls was the Steadfast Tin Soldiers very own Dancer as I didn't like to make one and not the other.

Over her lace trimmed bloomers and shift she wears a pretty dress that has a blue pattern with sprays of pink and purple flowers, with a tight bodice and puffy sleeves. She has a wide pink satin sash trimmed with white ribbon and her glittery spangle attached in the middle.
She has really full gathered skirts and petticoat to make her look like a ballerina. And they stand out around her in a soft folds. Near one hand she has a small metal heart attached to her skirts so she can't loose it. I imagined it as a gift to her from the Steadfast Tin Soldier before he left on his adventures.

I'm not sure what it is that I'll be making next. I have one project to finish as a Christmas gift, and then I'd really like to work on something a little larger again. Maybe I'll get to work on my Mr Darcy and Elizabeth Bennett.

My Little Red and Childhood Memories

2011-11-19T14:05:00.000-08:00

I don't mind admitting that I got really stuck for what to make when I wanted to pick up my needles and tools to start my next doll. I'd really enjoyed finishing off Jane, but didn't want to start in on the project I've had put away for a while now as it meant another Regency dress, and I really felt like doing something different. So I had a tough time trying to change my track and move past finishing off my Elizabeth and Darcy until I have the right fabrics and am in the right mood. For now they are back in their box waiting until I find that perfect piece of cotton lawn for her dress and suiting for Darcy's morning coat.

As always my husband has been wonderful and truly supportive, nursing me through a few tough months that I'm finally coming through. And the one thing that keeps me sane when I feel unwell is making something, so I've been making a point of making my dolls my main priority after my health so that I can see that I am actually getting something achieved each day.
Everything was leading me to do something different and new. Something of pure fantasy and imagination, letting me do what I wanted to do in a way that happened spontaneously rather than the way I usually plan everything out. So I looked in the one place that always provides tons of inspiration and looked through my book shelves.

Me being me I still couldn't decide.
I love fantasy and fairytale, but don't really ever turn to it when looking into what dolls I'd like to make. For some reason I turn to real women when I decide to make a new doll, and love to share the little known lives of the women from the past to give them a voice, even though it's only a tiny one for a little while. So when I spotted the three ancient fairytale books standing on the bedside table in my guest bedroom I knew straight away who my next doll would be - Who could be better than Little Red Riding Hood!

I was already feeling a little nostalgic for my childhood years. My mother has just been back to visit for three days from her home in Spain. And it's the first time I'd seen her face to face in the longest time. Picking up the very books that she read to me from as a small child, full of my own tiny dirty fingerprints and the odd scribble where I've tried to colour in a few of the black and white pictures brought back a lot of happy memories. I've had these books since I was very small. Proper big colourfully illustrated hardbacks, still in quite good condition for their age. And the best of all, in the best condition, was my favorite fairytale book - A Gift Book of Enchanting Fairy Tales. Full of stunning romantic fantasy illustrations in rich colours with lots of details.

I can still clearly remember the day when I was four years old when I first met my little sister and was made to sit far far back in my dad's chair so that I could hold the big wriggly red headed bundle on my lap for a few minutes while my mother perched on the arm making sure I had her safe. And getting woken up by this same little sister when she was about 6 at 5am on Christmas morning because she couldn't sleep anymore, she was just too excited to see if Santa had been and if he'd left her any toys. I had to try my best to keep her quite so as not to wake our perants, and we both sneakily took one small wrapped gift from the stockings my mother always left at the end of our beds. Both of us under my quilt whispering and eating chocolate coins.

This little sister of mine has just turned 30, and part of me feels that I really should feel more grown up by now. She asked us to get her a tattoo for her birthday gift, and I think that after Christmas I'll go and get another one myself to mark the occasion. It feels important somehow.

As soon as I'd made the decision I had a bright shining idea burning in my mind of just how I wanted my Little Red to look. I knew she had to have a pure white dress with a red sash, and a red satin cloak. I knew that I wanted her to be a young lady rather than a little girl, so started by making her a pair of lace trimmed bloomers, a corset and lots of white cotton lawn petticoats so that she'd have a really full calf length skirt. And an chemisette or blouse under her bodice in tight gathers with a lace collar.

I gave my Little Red layered sleeves with puffy tops and a tight bodice made of layers of lace pieces and a pure white crepe. Her skirt is the same white crepe with pieced lace applique around the hem with flowers spreading up towards the waist. I gave her her red sash with a bow in the back, and made her hooded cloak from rich red satin with a cross-body tie to keep it in place. The very last thing I had to do was add her soft brown feather hair and make sure that there were no loose threads.

I love the way my Little Red turned out. It was such a joy to do something so different I'm planning to make four tiny dolls as hanging decorations of some of my other favorite fairytale characters that can be hung on a Christmas tree, against a wall or from a shelf. There will soon be The little Match Girl, the Princess and the Pea, The Steadfast Tin Soldier and his Dancer all finished and ready :)

The Wonderful Jane Austen's Miss Bennett

2011-11-13T13:10:00.000-08:00

I can never really explain to anyone why I love Jane Austen's books. There's just something about them that always appeals to me.

Every character she writes has been so carefully thought out that even the hardly mentioned have a life that jumps from the page and sticks in your mind. And even though there doesn't seem to be much meaning in her books for our modern lives I always take something away from them with me that lasts much longer than it takes to read them. And I always go back to read them again and again.

Like many my favorite is Pride & Prejudice. And the large family of girls, all different and unique, somehow always draws me back whenever I need a little comfort and gentle entertainment.

The awkward family relationships and courtships, the mistakes made and waiting needed, and the power held by a few over their friends and relations tell a deeper story of life during those times than the romantic tale that sits on the surface. And the very different way in which women then lived thier lives can really be seen in her novels.

I have two dolls put away for a rainy day that I've sculpted but have yet to dress. And one day I will finally finish my Darcy and Elizabeth. But the gentle smile I managed to sculpt into this gentle face reminded me so strongly of the passive, delicate, kind Jane Bennett that I couldn't wait to find the perfect piece of cotton lawn and start work on this Regency lady.

As gentle as she is she still had strong opinions of what she should and would wear, and gave me a few problems along the way.

Of course you can't dress a doll without starting with the underwear, and even though she's a fantasy character I wanted to make sure she was dressed as Miss Austen would have intended. So had to suck it up and do without the one thing I'd never leave the house without - Knickers!

No matter how many times I think about it or look into it it just somehow goes right against the grain not to give a doll a pair of knickers or bloomers. I know very well that people are going to look up her skirts because I do it myself. And I've no idea why we do it even though I've tried to work it out many times. But there it is. Jane Bennett has no pants on!

She does have a long white cotton shift worn under a set of soft stays and a long petticoat that sits just under her bust with straps over the shoulder. Over that she has her soft checked cotton lawn day gown that I made with a gentle rounded V neckline.

The Miss Bennett of the fabulous BBC TV series of Pride & Prejudice (with the lovely Colin Firth) always wore this kind of neckline instead of the square neckline favored by Lizzie. So when I think of her I always she her this way. Her gown has narrow sleeves and a narrow satin sash, and the hem is trimmed with lace applique.

Over her shoulders she has a small lace cover tied in front , and she has a cream stripped shawl to keep her warm.

Jane should have had a cream crush treated silk pelisse coat. And I made two attempts at making one for her. The first went very wrong and had to be redone from scratch. But I was very pleased with the second as I'd managed to sew in an extra detailed puff at the shoulder and a shaped hem in three points. She's not wearing this lovely coat as she just refused to look tidy in it. And instead looked boxy and restricted like I'd made her a silk straight jacket instead.

I've saved it for another doll and another day after a bit of a fight. All Jane wanted was a shawl to sit in with her arms crossed. And I have to admit she does look more like herself.

The second problem she gave me was today when I started taking photos. I'd forgotten that in her pale dress with her pale blonde hair that she would almost disappear into my cream backdrop. And I missed the brightest part of the day to try and make sure that the photos wouldn't just show her round eyes.

I was really pleased that I thought of getting out my Jane Austen book collection and arranging her on top among the pages of the story that she came from. I think she looks quite sweet, and it did the trick of making sure you can see her soft wild hair.

I really enjoyed making another Regency doll as I love the style and simplicity of the clothes. Once I've finally plucked up courage I'll get started again on Darcy and Elizabeth, but for now I'm working next on a true fantasy - My take on Little Red Riding Hood :)

Joel & Hazel Jones - My little Cake Toppers

2011-11-06T06:45:00.000-08:00

Now I've had chance to edit a few more of the photos from yesterday's wedding I wanted to share them with you.

It was a beautiful day, and as you can see the Bride and Groom looked fantastic!

The ceremony took place in a rustic converted barn, and after dark the guests send paper lanterns floating into the firework laden sky. The sun shone all day long, and the music and company was fab. It was a really lovely wedding.

I'd never seen the cake that my two little dolls were to stand on, and was really looking forward to seeing how they looked.

I was amazed to see that my little figures looked fantastic. They suited the Burtonesque wonky tipsy purple and black cake as if they had been made together. And I was relieved that after only seeing a few photos of The Dress I hadn't done too bad a job of making it's tiny doll copy.

It was so nice that they got a lot of admiration throughout the day. And I can't wait to see the photos the professional photographs took of them, rather than the few snaps I managed to take on my phone.

You won't ever see many photo's of me as I hate being in front of a camera and not behind one. So it's worth pointing out that the blonde in the blue faux fur you can spot in the mirror behind the cake is actually me. Not a very flattering photo mind you, but I can't deny it's me :)

I have to add as well that I love the little bugs made of icing that were positioned flying around the cake. It's a really nice touch, and really made the whole thing fun.

My Little Cake Toppers

2011-11-05T15:07:00.001-07:00

Just wanted to share my first look at my little bride and groom cake toppers on the wedding cake. They looked fab. Ans the wedding was fantastic. How often do you get to go to a wedding where the happy couple, bride in her fab glam purple dress, get up on stage and perform with thier metal band :-)
Lanterns were sent floating into the air. The roller derby team where looking fab in vintage style with sick tattoos. And I got to wear my blue faux fur. That's me you can see in the mirror behind the cake :-)

Ivy May - A Little Raggedy Asylum Doll

2011-10-23T11:47:00.000-07:00

I've been reading quite a few different books and accounts about the treatment that women received at insane asylums through the Victorian era, and how that treatment changed as science and medical knowledge grew.

It's still amazing to me how barbaric some of the treatments were. It wasn't that long ago, but the "experts" knew very little about how to treat even the simplest mental conditions. Resorting to horrific procedures that more often than not only made the poor patients worse, and gave them further problems to deal with.

The book Women Of The Asylum by Jeffrey Geller and Maxine Harris is a very moving collection of the experiences that 25 women went through during the Victorian age in America. Each account written by the women themselves either during their commitments or after their release.

Each of them felt it necessary to share what had happened to them with the world. Either to try and make sense of it for themselves, or to try and open the eyes of the ignorant public to what was actually going on behind those big locked gates. Some of them even campaigning for reform of behalf of those they had left behind.

It's a truly touching book that deals with many aspects of life at a Victorian Insane Asylum. and as each account is written by the women themselves, everything is written in the gentle, refined tones of the time.

The descriptions of what they went through is enough to bring tears to even the hardest heart. The experimental surgery, the harsh treatment and beatings by attendants and nurses that themselves had been promoted from among the patients, the water treatments, mental torture and often filthy conditions...

These women went through Hell and were somehow still strong enough to re-visit their ordeals by writing them down for others to read.

One of the things that stuck with me after finishing this book, other than the main women that were sharing their stories, were the glimpses they shared of the other women that they saw around them.

Total lack of understanding about mental conditions meant that most of the women writing these accounts were perfectly sane. Probably even more so than most of us, convicted to the care of asylums because someone wanted them out of the way, or because they held views that their fathers and husbands did not agree with. Some even for being too fond of clothes or for just not being as pretty as they once were.

But the women they describe around them are the ones that actually had problems. The ones that needed care and proper treatment, but received cruelty and abandonment instead. Left to fend for themselves in filth and confusion while the lazy staff forced them to scrub floors and do laundry to avoid being beaten or starved.

I know that this has to be one of the oddest subjects for a doll that there is, but these glimpsed snapshots of asylum inmates just stick with me, yearning to be made into something tangible, something that can be cared for and looked after. Something that can be given a good home, maybe a pretty view for them to look at, or a generous heart to help balance their minds.

So when one of these poor creature gets louder and louder in my mind, begging to be made into reality, who am I really to say no to them.
Why shouldn't they be made?

I know that I'm not the only one that has suffered from some sort of mental condition form time to time. We've all experienced stress at some point during our lives, maybe a period of depression, or even the occasional outburst of hysteria or panic.
Then there are those that struggle with greater problems such as long term depression, nervous breakdowns, or horrible phobias . And know we know enough of these awful conditions to know how the treat them, to have sympathy for the sufferers, and to treat them with respect.

I've seen what happens to people that suffer from depression and stress up close quite a few times through my life. And am always amazed how people manage to carry on and live their lives.

I've been there when family members and close friends have been suffering beyond anything I could do anything to help with. And I've seen them come out of the other side of the most hideous experiences and illnesses to be an even stronger more beautiful person than they were before.

I'm always amazed how my loved and cherished family and friend always manage to amaze me more as time passes with their strength and courage.

Just recently I know that I've been suffering from a form of depression brought on by very low levels of iron in my blood. Although I've been anaemic most of my life, these sudden drops always leave me tearful, confused, prone to panic attacks, feeling ill with no energy and tired beyond the point of sleep, which of course only makes matters worse. Add to that external pressure from my day job, worries about how I'm going to manage to fix my living room ceiling after a big chunk fell in, and having problems with my back again and I'm surprised I've got anything done at all.

But we do, don't we?
We carry on and make the best of things.
And that's why humanity is so amazing. And why I'll continue to make these sad little creatures when one decides it's time to be made. And I hope that someone out there can understand why I do it, and open up their lives to a doll like Ivy May.

Adriana Brinkle

2011-10-15T13:10:00.000-07:00

Adriana’s life was a sad one. Convicted to an asylum for two very small reasons: firstly, she was extravagant and very fond of dress, and secondly because she made a mistake that threatened to bring disgrace to her family. She was naturally gay and intelligent, and knew that she had a father and an uncle there to help her out of any financial difficulty, so was extravagant in her use of money.

The particular event that led to her incarceration was that she became involved with buying furniture on part credit to furnish the parlour she had rented in the house of two old ladies that were distant relations. She had no room there for a piano, so moved to a larger house in the same neighbourhood which was already furnished, so went ahead and sold the previously bought furniture. The dealer that had originally sold her the furniture heard of this and prosecuted her. She was naive to financial matters, and was unaware of the difficulties that her father and uncle were experiencing with their business. Before the time came for her appearance in court her Physician father decided that she would be placed in an asylum and the insanity plea used in court in her defence. She was questioned briefly by both her father and another doctor who she had never met. They asked about her general bodily health and if she would like to go on a journey. It was later explained to her that the purpose for these questions was to decide if she should be sent to an asylum. Her father told her that they did not believe her to be insane, but under the circumstances it was all that could be done.

She knew where she was going, and was told that it was preferable to being put in jail, but she did not relish the thought of being shut in with the insane. The judge that took her to the asylum where she would spend so long talked openly to the doctors of her extravagance in her presence, as if that was reason enough to commit a young woman to the terrible life she would experience at the asylum. Everything was strange there, and as an intelligent sane woman she could see for herself that the nurses and attendants at the hospital were not themselves rational beings, and some of them had even been promoted to their positions after being patients there for some years. Her father visited and commented of her health looks and promised that she only had to wait there until the troubles had blown over. It was the last time she ever saw him, and he died four years later. Her release turned out to be more difficult than expected.

At the typical asylum where Adriana was committed the untrained staff were violent to the patients, who couldn’t understand why they were being beaten or how to avoid it. The only way that you could get on their good side was to do their work for them, becoming their slaves. Any bruises caused by the violent attacks seen by family visitors were always explained away as accidents and falls. The lucky ones were the ones whose family did not believe these stories and removed them. The rest had to learn how to cope in this strange insular tyrannical world. Suicides occurred, and even the dead went without compassionate treatment and were treated with great disrespect.

After new laws were passed in 1884 which gave inmates the freedom to write with any grievances they had to the Committee on Lunacy Adriana wrote to one of the medical members named on the notice posted in her ward. Along with other women Adriana waited for some replay or visit, which never came. After months she wrote again, believing that the first letter must have gone missing, and this time her case was looked into at once, and her appeal for liberty given the first serious consideration it had ever had. She was visited by doctors of the committee and her release was ordered immediately. Her board at the asylum had always been paid from funds left to her, and after being at the asylum for so long she hardly knew what to do or where to go. She went to a Convalescents’ Retreat where she spent many years being looked after by the kind staff, and where she wrote and published the account of her life as an inmate in the hopes of improving the treatment of those she had left behind locked away – doomed to a living death with no chance of freedom. Adriana was 60 years old when she was finally released. And she devoted many hours trying to improve conditions for those less fortunate than herself.

As Adriana knew where she was going and what was ahead of her, even though she had little choice in what was happening to her, I think that she would have tried her best to dress as simply as she could. She would have been aware that she would have no attendant of servant to help her dress, so I chose to dress her is a well fitted cotton day dress, but without the trappings of bustle cage or too much structure. The kind of dress that would have been worn for comfortable days at home, but because of her extravagant nature I also decided to make it in an impractical, but beautiful, light blue fabric, when a darker colour would have been more suitable, and trimmed it with lace and long ribbons, with a high lace collar. Her white cotton underwear and corset are worn under a soft cotton lawn corset cover to protect her dress from the sharp edges and ridged form of her corset, with one plain cotton petticoat under a cleverly constructed one that is gathered and has ruffles down the back to help give her dress some of the fashionable bustle shape, all worn over a stuffed moon shaped bum pad instead of the usual restrictive cage. Her fancy last petticoat of my favourite stripped cotton lawn has a ruffle around the bottom and is again gathered in back to provide shape, trimmed with a pink tapestry ribbon. Her gown has pretty three quarter sleeves with deep cuffs and lace trim. The crossed front has an almost Kimono style, and that along with the gathered apron front to her dress are both trimmed with navy satin and more lace. She wears a navy velvet sash finished in a large bow in the small of her back and left trailing down her skirts, which has a slight train to give it a soft finish.

She Has A Name - Adriana Brinkle

2011-10-09T12:19:00.000-07:00

After getting my tiny wedding cake toppers mostly dressed I had a real need to work on something a bit bigger. The tiny details I'll have to create on Hazel's wedding dress need to wait until I can shake off a big nasty cold I've had for a while now and concentrate properly on those tiny stitches. The perfect doll to keep me busy was just waiting in the dark corners of my mind, quietly calling to me.

If you follow my tweets you might have seen me mention the work I've been doing on a doll with no name. It's odd for me not know who my dolls are while I'm dressing them and giving them their character. But this time around I just had no name.

I knew who she was, her story, her background and what had happened to her. I had a clear image of her in my head and knew what she would wear down to the last details, and I was getting really frustrated not knowing who she was.
I had to go back through a big stack of books to try and find her, and in the end I found her name - Adriana Brinkle.

Adriana had a sad life. She was young, gay and inclined to be extravagant. And her love of fashionable dress and a financial mistake led her to be locked away in an insane asylum. At her fathers insistence she had been tried at court and a plea of insanity used as her defence to keep the family from disgrace.

Even though she was a bright young woman she was held at the asylum and treated as though she were insane. Subjected to all the indignities and poor treatment that was normal at institutions during the Early- Mid-Victorian era.

Adriana suffered quietly, and with as much dignity as she could. Her only hope were the promises made to her by her father that she would be released as soon as the troubles caused by her debts had blown over.
Little did she know that she would spend a total of 28 years locked away, hidden from sight.

I finally tracked down Adriana's name with her whole sad story in the book Women Of The Asylum by Jeffrey Geller and Maxine Harris. A brilliant book containing 26 first hand accounts of women that were placed in mental institutions against their will between the years 1840 - 1945. Too many of these women were completely sane, and all of them where misunderstood. The rough handling and poor treatment they received, along with the truly barbaric practices carried out by doctors and attendants, left many of them weak, bodily ill and experiencing mental problems they had not had before. But all of the accounts in this book show how strong, intelligent and focused they were. Determined to tell their stories to others to try and make some difference to the worlds they had left behind.

Adriana Brinkle was one of the lucky few that may have had some knowledge of what was happening to her before she was committed. She knew where she was going and why, being convinced that the asylum was better than being sent to jail.

Too many women had to endure the shock of being suddenly torn from their family life and thrown into a new world among a mixture of the helplessly insane and the tormented wrongly committed with no prior thought of what was coming.
The Victorian Insane Asylums were truly horrible places where even the doctors had little understanding of how to treat their patients. And the suffering was made all the more horrid for those that were trying to hold on to the sanity that they had had when they entered the system.

I've dressed my Adriana in a Victorian day dress from around the late 1860's to early 1870's. She has on her split drawers trimmed with lace and ribbon, a short shift, corset, plain petticoat, and a checked trimmed corset cover as she was a very fashionable young lady that would have worn the best fabrics she could get, and wouldn't want the stiff hard edges of her corset damaging the delicate fabric of her gown.

Over these she has a moon shaped bum pad and another white cotton petticoat with ruffles down the whole of the back to try and provide some of the shape missing from the lack of a bustle.

At first I made Adriana a metal band bustle, but had to think would she really have been able to keep up with this level of fashion in an asylum, so decided to removed it. I have to keep reminding myself that she knew where she was going, and even though she was young and admits to being very fond of dress, I just don't think that she would have been so impractical to think she would be able to manage this level of dress at the asylum. I really want to make her dress as accurate as possible, but with all that I've read of Victorian asylum life I know that there would have been no-one to help Adriana dress each morning, and no-one to help tie her into the cage bustle. So even if she had worn it she would have soon had to do without it. I'll keep the bustle for another doll on another day.

Because she was intelligent I think Adriana would have chosen a more practical dress. The things she would have taken with her into the asylum would have been practical, and simpler than the high fashion she loved. Things that she was sure she would be able to manage on her own with no help, but still with as much fashion and clever shaping as was available to her. Both her ruffled petticoat and stripped cotton lawn fine petticoat are gathered cleverly to hold their bulk at the back with a very slight train. The kind of dress that could be worn around the home to allow a little more comfort while still giving a fashionable silhouette, all kept neatly in place with hidden tapes and tied easily in place.

Her dress will be of a beautiful vintage sky blue cotton lawn with a navy pattern that I've had for a while and have been really looking forward to using on the right doll. I've finished off Adriana's three-quarter lace trimmed sleeves, and an oriental inspired cross front bodice trimmed with navy satin and white lace, with a high lace collar worn underneath. Now I just have to sew together her skirts and learn how to make a swag gathered front for her. I think I'll have a go at doing something for the back of her gown I've not tried before too, but I'm still thinking about what that might be :)

Joel and Hazel's Wedding Dolls In Progress

2011-10-01T08:13:00.000-07:00

Since finishing Maria Manning I've been working on a pair of cake toppers for our friends and neighbors, Joel and Hazel. Please forgive my photo's. We're having a very odd hot bright start to Oct here in Wales, and they are a little sun-bleached.

At first I thought these little dolls were going to be easy, but how wrong I was. I've made so many large dolls over the past few months I totally forgot how hard it would be to work on tiny 5in dolls in much detail. And,, of course, wedding dolls need lots of details. The other issue was that neither Joel nor Hazel is what I'd call Traditional. He with his long red gold hair and goatee, and she with her dramatic black hair and individual stunning sense of style. Both are members of a heavy rock band and while she's one of the Swansea City Slayers Roller Derby Team, he is their referee. I knew from the start that this wouldn't be your typical white fairy tale dress type wedding, and I was looking forward to something a little less main stream. And that's just what I got :)

I can't say too much about "The Dress" of course, but it is very beautiful. Just how I'm going to recreate it on this tiny doll I have no idea. And so far I only have the under-layers done, but already this little mini-me of Hazel has a real drama about her. As a nod towards her actual hair style I've cut a fringe into the feathers of the dolls wild black hair, and have added shape and layers to the under-dress to try and get this fab dress to sit something like the original.

Part of it has that lovely crushed / gathered look to it, so after managing to get the look on pure silk for Lizzie Siddal, I had a go on a synthetic satin similar to what I'm using for her dress. It worked out quite well, but there where a few changes in how I did it.

With the pure silk I wet it thoroughly and ring and crush all the water out before leaving it to dry hung on the radiator. After that I ironed it to lessen the effect a bit. The synthetic wasn't so easy. Again, I wet it through thoroughly, but just ringing it by hand wasn't enough. In the end I scrunched up the fabric and clamped each end in small woodwork clamps. My grip is rubbish, so I had to ask my husband to finish of keeping the fabric taught and twisting it as tightly as he could until it all twisted in on itself in a hard tight knot. Then another clamp to keep it all still and I left it to dry a bit overnight. When I opened the fabric this morning to spread it out to dry properly so I can sew it tonight it has the perfect creased texture ready for me to use on "The Dress" :). This bit is the example piece.

Joel had a few ideas about what he was going to wear before deciding on a classic all black Morning Suit. I managed very nice tiny cuffs, and even a wing collar and satin cravat, waistcoat and trousers before coming almost totally unstuck with the tailcoat.
If you could have heard me swearing at the stupid thing you would have been ashamed of me I'm sure. Between the collar going wrong, the tails not being even and somehow the sleeves ending up different lengths I finally got it done. The took another look and realised it was all too bulky and boxy for the slim figure I needed. I had top do the whole thing over. Cursing to myself that I hadn't realised sooner what was going wrong. But these things happen sometimes and at least now I have a good idea how to get a tiny jacket made up quite reasonably. He's looking quite good now :)

I still need to add a few more details to my tiny Joel doll. Like painting on just a little stubble, tinting his eyes, adding cuff links and a pocket handkerchief and flower, and painting on the classic black converse trainers he'll be wearing. But I'm very happy that the real Joel is happy with him so far. Now I just have to hope that Hazel likes hers.

Maria Manning - Hung For Murder 1849/50

2011-09-19T14:20:00.000-07:00

I've had a bit of a problem with my back for years now. And last week it decided without my say so to have a bit of an "Episode". So I had to stay home from work at the day job.

To keep myself occupied I sat in my comphy upright chair, stayed warm, took my tablets, watched hours of period dramas, and sewed until my fingers hurt. Not only did I manage to finish my Maria Manning doll, but also managed to get my mothers Christmas present, a Spanish Flamenco Dancer doll, dressed and wigged. So here they both are.

Maria Manning was born in Switzerland and emigrated to Britain to work as a lady’s maid to the wealthy Lady Blantyre, who was the daughter of the Duchess of Sutherland. She developed a taste for a luxurious lifestyle amid the elegance of her employer’s homes and general finery. She dreaded the idea of poverty, and resolved she would never live like that. She met Patrick O’Connor while travelling with her mistress. And as a custom-house officer at London’s docks he was independently wealthy, as well as his being a well-known money lender. Maria was also involved with Frederick Manning, who did not have a very well paid job. Both men proposed to her at around the same time, and Maria had to decide which one of them would make the better husband and provide for her better. After promising Maria that he was soon to come into a large inheritance, the younger Frederick ‘won the day’, and he and Maria were married. At first the couple afforded a fairly stylish house, but she soon realised that the inheritance was not to come. She continued to see O’Connor, and renewed her affair with him; apparently with the acquiescence of Manning.

On 17th Aug 1849 two policemen discovered a body under the flagstones in the kitchen of Mr & Mrs Manning’s home in Bermondsey. The skull was fractured in two places, and a bullet protruded under the skin of the right eye. The deceased was Patrick O’Connor who had been a frequent visitor to the house, and had often joined the couple for dinner at their home. Maria had hatched a plan to kill her rich lover and take his money. It’s known that she purchased a sack of quicklime and a shovel before inviting him to dinner on the 9^th Aug 1849. When he arrived she suggested that he might like to wash his hands before dinner. And as he did so standing at the kitchen sink, she shot him in the head with a pistol. The bullet did not kill him, and Frederick finished him off by battering his head with a crowbar. The couple then buried the body in a pre-dug grave below the kitchen flagstones, covering it with plenty of quicklime to try and speed the body’s decay. The following day Maria went to O’Connor’s lodgings and managed to con her way into his rooms where she systematically went through his belongings and stole railway shares and other valuables, returning the next day to take anything more she had missed. She was the power behind the murder, although her husband had helped.

Two days later two men claiming to be O’Connor’s colleagues came to the Manning home looking for him, giving them a nasty fright. They suspected that they were detectives, and so decided to leave London immediately. After sending her husband to try and sell their furniture Maria packed everything of value she could find and that she could carry and left for Edinburgh. Maria’s motive was pure greed, and while she was willing to grant O’Connor sexual favours it’s clear all she really wanted was his money. Mrs Manning was eventually found and arrested in Edinburgh, where she was trying to sell the railway shares she had stolen from the murdered man. Her husband was found in Jersey. The contrast between Maria and her husband was great, her with a proud, cold demeanour and he unimpressive and weak, which left him widely despised for hiding behind his wife.

At their trial each tried to blame the other, and as the verdict was passed Maria showed the only emotion that she had shown throughout the whole of her arrest, trial and finally her execution – She lost her composure and screamed and raved at the judge, shouting “Damnation Seize Ye All” as he tried to pass the death sentence. Although she apparently asked the wardens escorting her back to gaol how they had liked her performance in court. She was considered a suicide risk, and had 3 wardenesses that slept in the cell with her, very much to her disgust. She lulled them into a false sense of security, and after letting her nails grow long tried to strangle herself and puncture her own windpipe. To prepare her for the gallows her arms where bound behind her with cords, and her stiff starched and corded petticoats would have been taken away so that her gown and legs could be bound on the platform to prevent the wind causing her skirts to blow up. She asked to be blindfolded by a black silk handkerchief, and had her face covered with a black lace veil to conceal her features from public gaze. Walking to their death at a public hanging she walked to her doom with a firm, unfaltering step, while his step was ‘feeble and tottering, and he had to be supported by two turnkeys’. On their way a singular coincidence occurred. The Manning’s walked over their own graves, just as they had made their victim do in the kitchen.

Maria Manning made it into Madame Tussaud’s famous waxworks. And it’s likely that they were sold the actual dress that Maria had died in. She was an attractive woman. Her gown as she walked to her death was of black satin, and it was widely believed that it was because of this that black satin became unfashionable immediately after her execution and stayed so for nearly 30 years.

Charles Dickens described the sight of the hangings – “The man’s a limp loose suit of clothes, as if the man had gone out of them; the woman’s a fine shape, so elaborately corseted and artfully dressed, that it was quite unchanged in its trim appearance as it swayed slowly from side to side”.

My Maria wears white cotton bloomers and shift under a corset and lots of petticoats. Over her sage green under petticoat she has one with lots of cording sewn tightly tucked inside by hand to help hold out her huge skirts. This was before the introduction of the cage crinoline, and skirts were held out with as many petticoats as a woman could bear to wear or carry, sometimes as many as 20 plus layers of petticoats, all sewn to one or two waistbands, using different techniques to stiffen them and lots and lots of starch. After this corded petticoat (which actually lets this doll stand unaided if you get the balance right), Maria has a heavily flounced dark red petticoat before her black satin under- and over-skirts. She has a black lace shoulder covering small shawl and false sleeves, and a black satin bodice with fashionable almost off the shoulder low arm seemed shoulders. The sash she wears around her waist is purple satin, and her hair had a touch of navy blue to add some colour. A lady at this time would not have gone out in public without a bonnet or hat. And there are illustrations that picture Maria in a white cap trimmed with black lace. So I made my doll a similar cap of ivory silk cotton and trimmed it with black satin ribbon and lace. And I've made her her own rope noose to carry to the gallows.

After all that darkness it was a real change to sew the bright red spotted cotton into loads of ruffles for my Mother's Rosy, a traditional Flanenco Dancer with a fitted long bodice, ruffles at her neck, sleeves, wrists and all over her trailing skirt, with a white lace shawl for good measure. She was fun to make, even though not really my style. And I really hope my Mam likes her :)

Maria Manning - The Killer of Black Satin

2011-09-12T05:32:00.000-07:00

After having a total panic when I realised I have 3 commission dolls to finish by the end of October, and then another pair before Christmas, going on a shopping mission to gather all the fabric I need together, and planning out my activities so strictly I could tell you what I'm doing on the Monday in three weeks time, part of my brain decided that I had time to fit in one more doll before I had to start them.
I must be nuts!

To make things just a little more difficult for myself, the only doll I wanted to make right now was the scandalous Victorian Murderer Maria Manning.

Maria and her husband were convicted and hung in 1849 for the murder of Patrick O'Connor - Maria's Lover!

Maria was a Lady's Maid working for a great English lady. And she'd acquired a taste for the richer things in life during her career.
She had been in a relationship with both O'Connor and Manning when both proposed to her. She had to choose between the already rich customs officer and loan shark O'Connor, and the poor Manning who had told her he would soon be coming into a large inheritance. She chose the later, and soon found that the inheritance would never come, and she was stuck living a poor life without any of the extravagances she wanted.

She began her affair with O'Connor shortly after; some say with her husbands knowledge. He was a frequent visitor to their home, and one night when invited to dinner, Maria shot him in the back of the head, Manning battered him around the skull to make sure he was dead, and the couple buried him in a pre-prepared grave beneath the kitchen flagstones, covering the body with quicklime.

After twice talking her way into O'Connor's rooms and stealing everything of value, Maria then tricked her husband and left for Scotland with all the valuables they possessed and her stolen loot.

She was a heartless, cold , and calculating woman who dammed the court as her sentence was read after trying to blame the whole murder on her weak, pathetic husband. As she walked to the gallows, ironically passing over her own grave site as she did so just as O'Connor must have walked over his in the kitchen, she held her head high and walked with a firm step. She chose to wear a fashionable black satin gown with black lace veil to her hanging. And as there was so much publicity and scandal surrounding the case, it being reported in every newspaper and journal throughout the country, the popularity of wearing black satin suddenly declined, and it didn't come back into fashion for 30 years.

Maria isn't the easiest doll to have decided to make in a limited time because of the period of clothing that she'll need. 1849 was still 5 or 6 years before the invention of the cage crinoline, and the huge bell shaped skirts favoured by women of the time were created by multiple layers of petticoats alone.

Two of Maria's petticoats are just finished. So along with her baggy bloomers and long scoop necked chemise and corset Maria now wears an under-petticoat of green cotton to protect her legs from the stiff coarse calico fabric of her corded petticoat.

As the two women were living during the same period, Maria's corded petticoat is constructed in the same way as I made one for my Mary Shelley. Just on a smaller scale as Maria is quite a bit smaller than Mary is. Each cord has been individually tucked into the calico and hand sewn into place, with the next cord folded in very close to the first with some gaps left between groups of rows to give some flexibility. When all the cords were in I then sewed a panel of calico to the back of the cording panel to stop them curling up and to keep them in the right shape. A real full-sized corded petticoat would have hundreds of lines of cording sewn into it to create the support needed to keep the voluminous skirts held out in the fashionable bell shape. And I really can't imagine having to hand sew one of these garments for myself as women did then. It must have taken months to complete, and must have been very tough on the fingers. I have a hole in my finger after just sewing in 21 cords, and remember having many small injuries after finishing Mary Shelley's larger corded petticoat.

Now I'm on to the next layer to help create bulk and soften the shape of Maria's skirts - a dark red flounced petticoat. I know that women during the 1840's would have worn any number of petticoats, from six to thirty in varying layers of plain, flounced, corded and ones stuffed with horse hair. But Maria's size is limiting me to how many I can get away with in her costume. After this next flounced layer I think there will only be room for one more plain one, and then her underskirt and gown. I'm looking forward to sewing in the nice floaty black sating I have ready for her. But that low scooped neckline is going to be a real challenge :)

Terry's Grandmother

2011-09-04T14:07:00.000-07:00

Terry’s family originates from Germany and Yugoslavia. They travelled as Gypsies throughout Europe, and through the stories told to him by his Grandmother it’s clear that the strongest sense of magic in his life came from her. In Terry’s Grandmother all of the knowledge and skills of generations came together, and sadly no name is given for her in the account I read in A Victorian Grimoire by Patricia Telesco.

She had many magical things around her home such as a Ouija board that was still used on occasion when Terry was a child. It was a unique object; round with protective symbols at the edge and a pentagram in the centre. The family believed that the best wood for such a board was oak or yew, and this one was oak. The most unique feature of this board was that instead of a planchette it employed a blue crystal hanging from a chain. In this way there was no real physical contact with it other than when setting it up. There were traditional alphabet letters imprinted on it, but it lacked the “yes”, “No”, and “End” seen on more modern boards, and it was stored away in a special velvet cloth and left undisturbed when not in use. The crystal itself was left sitting out as decoration. Another tool, a two-hundred-year-old Tarot deck was sadly destroyed when one family member converted to Catholicism. It was reportedly made of cloth and slightly larger than the decks we use today.

Terry’s Grandmother was known as a wise woman and a psychic reader, often employing flower petals for divination in a perfectly Victorian manner. She had a talent for communicating with spirits, seeing into the future, interpreting dreams, and of course, healing love-sick hearts. For pregnant women she often advised different types of teas for each month, and her commanding demeanour usually kept them listening. In matters of love she had a very special, distinctive recipe, passed down to Terry himself, for spaghetti sauce. Made as if one were arranging a blind date, and then given to those who needed it. Most of the herbs involved were for love, sex and longevity. And Terry remembers times when the sauce was specially prepared and given to people they knew – they being none the wiser of its attributes.

She had a way with animals, and like a majority of superstitions from the Victorian era, a particular way with birds. She could still feed the birds in the city environment she lived in when an old woman, by Hand! She had unusual pets, like a pet bull that only she could lead, cats with seven toes, porcupines and skunks. And she had kept a kitchen garden at her home when she was younger, stocked full of herbs and useful plants. She had shelves filled with jars of all types of spices, and did her own herb gathering and drying. Usually, the herbs were dried by hanging, but certain herbs had to be dried in the oven at very low temperatures. Unfortunately as she aged memory failed Terry’s Grandmother, and she was unable to recall which herbs these were when Terry had asked her.

Terry’s Grandmother’s home showed a rich magical tradition. There were candles of every shape and colour wherever you went. Tables throughout the house where adorned with hand crocheted doilies, which, if examined closely, contained tiny magical symbols. There is still a brass vase in the family that no one is allowed to touch, but it draws children and adults alike to stare at it; energy radiates from the metal like a beacon. Visitors to her home still remember Terry’s Grandmother warning them of fairies in nearby fields.

I was so inspired by this account of a strong, caring, true Victorian Witch that I couldn’t resist making her as one of my dolls. I pictured her as a smart, intelligent lady. As mentioned in the full account I dressed her as she would have been at the turn of the century. And my Terry’s Grandmother wears sweet lace frilled long knickers and a mid-length white cotton chemise that has a lace frilled front to help emphasise the fashionable shape desired at the time. After a tightly laced corset to show off her still tiny waist Terry’s Grandmother wears a plum coloured petticoat that has a slight train and is gathered in back. Her crisp, high-necked, cream cotton lawn blouse is trimmed with lace to match the lace frills on the three-quarter sleeves of her dress. Which is made of a soft sage green checked fabric, and has a pleated cross front, tailored skirts with an elegant train, and a contrasting purple satin sash.

For this special lady I’ve made her own little scene to sit in, surrounded by some of the things she would have used in her daily life. Tiny jars of spice sit next to jugs of mysterious liquid, with her cauldron nearby ready to cook up the pumpkins picked fresh from her garden. Tucked away behind her handmade stool are two jars of her special spaghetti sauce, and her distinctive Ouija board can be set up for use by setting the curved twisted metal arm holding the blue crystal into the hole right next to the A.

Terry's Grandmother Sneeky Peek

2011-09-03T13:20:00.000-07:00

I've been busy all day today getting all the little bits and pieces put together for Terry's Grandmother.

She's now all dressed in a smart gray / green check gown with a cream blouse and rich paisley shawl. And she looks really sweet sat on her little stool with all her magical bit's and bobs spread around her.

After getting Terry's Grandmother dressed I sculpted three tiny pumpkins to go along with the other little things I had ready for her. And this morning I sat down at my table, woke up while I looked through some e-mails, and got to work getting everything together so she can be finished this weekend.

I've stained a plinth base a dark brown and added a delicate patterned rug from a dolls house to make my little scene seem a little more homely. Then painted the pumpkins and the little stool that I made for her last week. Adding faux liquid and sealing spices and seeds from my kitchen cupboard to the tiny jars and bottles.

Woodwork is really not my thing. And it took me a while to figure out how to make just a simple four-legged stool.
My handy Husband helped me figure out how to fix everything together, and I started with a few lengths of thin hardwood dowel, a wooden disc, and a real of vintage carpet thread.

Cris helped me to drill four angled holes through the wooden disc, then helped me again to hold the dowels still while I cut them into the four legs and four cross pieces. After gluing in the legs I shaped the ends of the cross bars with a small round file so that they fitted against the legs, and then glued them into place too. When everything had dried I cross wrapped each joint with the vintage thread to make them stronger.

Now that it's painted and ages this little stool looks quite sweet. And underneath I've hidden two jars of Terry's Grandmother's Love Potion Spaghetti Sauce.

Scattered around my smart Victorian Witch are three pumpkins grown in her abundant kitchen garden, a small black cauldron, a jug and bottle filled with mysterious liquids and a few tiny jars of spice and dried herbs.
Leaning against the leg of her stool is her unusual round Ouija board with the beautiful blue crystal hanging from a twisted metal hook, just as Terry described it himself in his account of her in the Victorian Grimoire.

Tomorrow just to finish everything off I'm going to add some tiny labels to the bottles and jars, find something to put in her cauldron, and cut some tiny herb bunches from my garden to add in among the pumpkins (you can still see the varnish drying on this one).

I've really enjoyed creating a tiny piece of Terry's Grandmother's world. and I'd love to make more little scenes for my dolls in the future. My only problem will be trying not to get too carried away with making more and more tiny little things to add in to tell their stories :)

A Very Busy Month & Terry's Grandmother

2011-08-30T07:51:00.000-07:00

I really couldn't tell you where my time has gone this month. It's been too long since I blogged, and so many things have happened.
After getting all of my new dolls strung together I've been caught up with getting some of my research written up, had a week with a stinking cold so could get hardly anything done at all, changed my hours at my day job, had a request from my mother in Spain to make her a Flamenco Dancer doll (no I don't really know why, but if that's what she wants), and best of all had my little vampire Billy, better known as Mommy I'm Hungry, featured in Art Dolls Quarterly :)

Billy was the first full hard sculpt doll that I ever made, and he's still with me. He's the kind of doll I fell in love with as soon as I turned him to face me once he was finished. The type that you just know that you'll never be able to part with. And I was so pleased with him I sent his photo off to ADQ and then promptly forgot all about it. I was so surprised to get an e-mail from the lovely Jana Holstein saying that they would like to add him to the Autumn issue of Art Dolls Quarterly as it's always my favorite issue of the year. All that's best and brightest in the world of creepy Halloween dolls, and I'm really honored that one of my little dolls has been included with such a fantastic collection this year. Best of all, there were loads of other Art Dolls Only team doll artists in this issue, with a big feature on our Captain Nicole of Mealy Monster Dolls - http://www.etsy.com/shop/mealymonster
My dolls have changed so much over the years that seeing this first little doll of mine on the glossy pages of ADQ has really made me feel all over again that what I'm doing is worth it somehow; that I may actually be reaching others with what I do. And I really hope that I can reach my dreams and continue to improve.

After spending so long sculpting, painting and getting ready I found myself at a complete loss when I started thinking of what doll I wanted to make next.

I knew that I wanted her to be a smaller doll this time. The sewing involved in the big dolls I've just finished has left me with holes in my fingers from all the stab wounds, so a nice small Victorian Lady so I could practice my small detail work sounded nice - but which one?

I've been planning out a load of dolls while I sculpted: Victorian London Prostitutes tricked into service by ruthless Procuresses, some of the highly publicised Victorian scandals reported in the press of women accused of murder and adultery, an Asylum inmate committed for understandably loosing her wits under the pressure of caring for her ungrateful family, or the Asylum nurse finally charged and convicted to an Asylum herself for mistreating her patients... Hundreds of women that truly show the side of Victorian society that we never hear about; the side of that society that has done so much to shape our own.
But with Halloween only just around the corner now, what could be better than a Victorian Witch.

A witch from the times that I like to create my dolls in is not an easy thing to find, as Witchcraft is said to have died out years before. But if you think about it, that really just can't be the case. What would have been called Witchcraft 200 years ago we'd all recognise now as Herbalism, Alternative Religion, Clairvoyance and skills in reading other peoples behaviour and attitudes through reading tea leaves or palms. With the death of Witchcraft the Georgian and Victorian people turned to table-tipping, Spiritualism, seances, and Mediums. But in my imagination I wanted something more of the traditional witch bending over her cauldron cooking up some kind of smelly remedy for one of the neighborhood that was brave enough to knock on her door. I wanted a black cauldron and pointed hat, jars and bottles of herbs and things no-one wants to think about, a black cat and a pet toad, and a hunched old lady that scares all the local children. But I couldn't find her.

I knew it was a long shot, but surely there must be a proper witch out there without having to go back as far as the 17th or 18th century.

Could they all have really disappeared? And was I really just living in dream land again with my wild ideas? Sometimes I know I live in a fantasy world where everything seems possible, but it just didn't make sense that we all somehow still know that honey is a good antiseptic, and that mint will calm a bad stomach, but that the women that practiced this herbal remedy "witchcraft" had actually disappeared when modern history tells us that they did.

We all know a few herbal or natural remedies for everyday ailments passed down from out grandparents and great grandparents. And the women that where Swum by scared villagers and the authorities spent hundreds of years passing down their knowledge from generation to generation, I knew there had to be a real woman out there somewhere. And just as I was about to give up and go back in time to the Pendle and Salem Witches, or resort to traditional fantasy (which I really didn't want to do), I found her - Terry's Grandmother!

I looked everywhere for an account of a true Victorian or Georgian Witch; in every book I have, all over the internet and even my local library, and all the time the perfect lady was right under my nose in a beautiful book I've owned for years called A Victorian Grimoire by Patricia Telesco.

This book is a fantastic reference to Victorian life that covers everything from Healing Rituals, information on The Grand Tours, gathering and drying herds, Meditation, Celebrating the Seasons, Herbal and Flower Remedies, Ouija Boards, and even making Poppet dolls to use as luck charms and love tokens. And tucked away towards the back is an account of Terry's Grandmother - a true Victorian Lady, and a true Victorian Witch.

If you have any interest in gentle magic and enchantment, spiritualism, the supernatural and the occult I can really recommend this book as practical A-Z type book that gives you a great starting point to start looking into things further. It's full of really useful information on loads of things that can be used day to day, such as remedies for colds and how to make sleep pillows, and gives you just enough information to get you started on more detailed subjects.

No real name is given for Terry's Grandmother, but as soon as I read about her I knew that she had to be my next doll. The account given of her is a loving portrait of a gentle, kind woman that still practices the spells and makes the potions that have been in her family for years. And gives a lot of detail about the life she lead and some of the magical items she used as part of her every day life, like a distinctive round Ouija board and her kitchen garden jammed full of every kind of herb and useful plant. Even down to the hand crocheted doilies used on every table of her home that had tiny magical symbols worked into them, and her kitchen full of jars of spices and herbs with bunches hanging to dry slowly in the warm and comfortable room.

Terry's Grandmother is just the kind of woman I was looking for. No pointy black hat and wart on the nose, but a real woman. Even though I'm guessing she still had a broom in the corner for sweeping the floor, and a cauldron of some sort for making up her closely guarded special recipe for spaghetti sauce that used herbs for love, longevity and sex which she made and gave to new couples to help them along their way without them ever knowing she was casting her own spell on their happiness, and giving them her blessing for a happy life.

Terry's Grandmother now sits looking at me as I type in a state I have to call Undress. She has long knickers (closed crotch knickers for a change, not open crotch bloomers) with a lace trim to the gathered legs, and a short mid length shift that has a lace gathered bosom to help the fashionable S-bend shape that was just emerging at the end of the century. In my mind I have an image of a very smart older lady, so have given her grey hair streaked with silver, and have made sure she has her shape perfecting corset to show off her still trim figure. With a plum colored petticoat gathered in the back with a very slight train.

The clothes at the change of the century were somewhere in between the classic high bustle straight skirt look and the later S-bend shape with the tight skirts. And I've chosen to make this doll with a pretty dress that has with slightly flowing softer skirt with a gathered back and detailed cross-over bodice worn over a sheer blouses or chemissette.
Now all I have to do is find the perfect fabric in my stash, and she should be dressed by the end of the day.

I wanted to make Terry's grandmother with a few of the magical things that were mentioned in the book. And although I don't normally set my dolls onto bases, this time I thought I'd make a little scene for my doll to sit in. I came up with a loads of ideas, and ended up back at the first one I came up with. And have to say a big Thank You to my Twitter friends and fellow doll makers for helping me work out what I wanted to do.

Now my plans are to make Terry's Grandmother her Ouija board and hanging crystal, as well as a few of her jars and bottles, and a little stool for her to sit on - all on her own little base so that she can be sat in amongst all her possessions and removed if wanted.
I did think it would be nice to make a small box scene for her with wallpaper and shelves, a rug on the floor, and her things neatly tidied away. But for the size of doll I'm making the whole thing would have just drowned her completely, so I think I'll have to save that for another time, and another doll. I can't wait to see the tiny glass bottles I've bought for her so I can start making up tiny labels and filling them with ground dried herbs from my own garden. And, as suggested by @fairiesnest, I'll have a go at making her a few pumpkins as well :)

Naked, Bald, and Beautiful!

2011-08-14T15:15:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since my last post. And I've been a busy girl getting a whole heap of new dolls painted, varnished and strung together.
Now all my new girls are sitting quite pretty, waiting for their turn to be dressed and finished.

24 lovely new dolls in four sizes are now waiting for me. And now is the time I like the best.
New faces and personalities just waiting to tell me who they are and what they want to wear. A new doll is very demanding. And only the exact right fabric and colour will do.
Some of them are cheeky, some happy, some sad, some quiet, and some loud.
Who will be the next to have a brand new handmade outfit to show off?

Among all the skinny arms and legs on my work table I can see now an Elizabeth Bennett and Mr Darcy (a rare boy doll for me). The twins from the horror film The Shinning as a gift for a friend as I know he particularly wants them. A sunny, smiling suffragette, eager to join her sisters in the struggle with her purple satin sash worn with pride. A murderous early Victorian asylum nurse that was even more insane than her patients. A fantasy steampunk vixen, and a tiny delicate fairy. All waiting for me to go to work with needle and thread to create exactly the right clothing.

Possibilities are endless - and I can't wait to get started.
I've too many ideas already!

As always, each stage to get me to this point has taken me longer than I wanted it to. I love to sculpt faces in a big batch so I can explore lots of different things all in one go. But, of course, making dolls also means that the bodies, arms and legs also need to be sculpted to make these dolls complete. And that all takes time.

Each limb has to be cut from a hard wood dowel, sanded, drilled and the hand or foot sculpted (I like sculpting the tiny feet on the end of it's leg and shaping the pointing toes :). Each body has to be made from a dowel with a wooden ball mounted on top to give me something to build a face upon. Layered with foil to create bulk. wrapped in tape and then covered with rolled out sheets of paperclay. And only when this is dry do I get to start on the faces, sculpting the neck into the shoulders as I go.

I've overcome a few problems while making this new big batch of dolls. And have discovered some new tricks that have saved me a lot of time.

I like to create a very simple body shape, most of which is just a long thick rod shape, as I find the stiff Victorian styles that I love seem to suit this straight backed posture. Making creating the look that I want much easier. Ladies didn't slouch back then. They couldn't. I'm truly glad I don't have to wear the tight, restrictive, permanently damaging corsets that women then wore. But there is something about the posture, elegance, and detail of the clothing they wore that i never get tired of.

This simple shape with its thread strung limbs is something I've developed after being inspired by the beautiful carved, moulded or stuffed ancient dolls that can still be found in Britain's museums - A very basic construction with layer upon layer of rich detailed clothing. The simple doll itself transformed into something intricate and outstanding.

One of the new tricks I developed during this round of sculpting was how to get a hole through the shoulders of each doll without having to drill them. It's always been a pain to get a hole that goes straight through the shoulders so that the arms can be attached in my preferred way - with vintage linen thread. But I've never been able to get this straight or true without countless mistakes and repairs.
But now I've figured out how to get this and get a nice flat place where the arm joins all in one go.

I'd never thought of it before, but now I know it seem obvious. And all I had to do was use a long strong needle and some wire.

This time I drilled the hole in the armature before adding any layers. Through this I held a long strong soft sculpture doll needle and built the armature, and then sculpted the body, around the needle. Sliding it back and fore as needed so I could get the shoulder shape I wanted. When I was done with a body I replaced the needle carefully with a piece of strong wire so that the whole thing could dry. And I've had not one problem with mis-drilled holes, feeling through a shoulder with needle to try and find the way through when stringing a doll together, or the horrible wonky shoulder issue. Simple!

I've spent all this weekend getting all of the arms and legs sewn together and then attached to each doll body. It's something that I never think will take very long, but of course, it always takes longer than I could ever imagine.

A nasty surprise this morning left me with 8 of my new dolls with arms that hung below their knees and looking very odd. I'd somehow managed to measure the arm dowels wrong for one of the sizes I was making, so got delayed cutting each painted piece, sanding, painting, drilling and re-varnishing the lot before I could be done. But seeing them all sitting so cozy on a big pile of my damaged vintage books was worth the effort it took me not to scream and give up this morning.
Just look how cute they all look :)

For a while now I've been being pretty tough on myself. Pushing myself to get more and more done in shorter and shorter spaces of time. And as you'd expect, I've been failing to get things done. I'm always so disappointed that I can't get this or that done, out of the way, so I can move on and get on with things I enjoy more. But I'm slowly starting to realise that yes, I am only one person.
As you'd probably expect of a creative person I'm not too keen on the daily admin type tasks that selling my dolls needs. You think I'd find this easy seeing as I spend each day during the week working at a day job in an office. And I really am quite organised and systematic. But when I'm doing my things and what I want all i want to do is create. Failing to get things done in the impossible time limits I set myself has left me feeling really down. So to try and show myself what I can achieve I spent one Friday night earlier this month tweeting everything I was doing. I really was surprised how much I got done in one night. And it's made me feel so much better about leaving a few things waiting. Take a look below how my typical Friday night turned out. I'm really not exaggerating. I got all this stuff and more done in one night, and now I can see what I really do.

My Twitter Feed - Fri 5th Aug - Starting at 6pm - @NatashaDolls

- @John_Helvin :-) Have a great weekend. Hope you have nice stuff planned.

- Thinking my next doll should be one of the Victorian asylum inmates I've been reading about. What do you think? #artdoll
- My to do list is getting scary. It's swollen off the paper and is now standing towering above me making horrid growls and gurgles :'(

- Wouldn't normally do this, but thought it might make me realise how much I get done tonight. Everything I do I'm going to tweet!

- First, to re-set-up the years challenge tally for the Art Dolls Only membership records as I accidentally lost it last night :-S

- Bless you Melinda and Shauna, this would be so hard without the work you put in collecting these figures for me. I'm almost done!

- And Jan, your my rock :-)

- Spreadsheet is done thanks to help I get from three lovely people. Now to upload pics for the Aug ADO Half and Half challenge

- Apparently, he don't want my help putting shopping away as I don't do it right! I'll take five and answer more email then.

- Time for dinner :-)

- @reddskingyal Thank you so much :-)

- Dinner over. Half an hour of Dr Who, then upload my last two dolls to Flickr, the ADO Website, ADO Ning, and Facebook. I've been very lax.

- New Photos Uploaded to Flickr - http://t.co/dB5eqiG

- All my photo uploaded now, and a few more e-mails answered. Now to go try and work out this Linked-in thing. Wish me luck!

- That's as much of the Linked-In thing as I can take for tonight as I don't really get it. More to do in future. Now to look up some things

- Things looked up. Somehow managed to half watch a film tonight as I work, and it's now 11.16pm. Time to start making some changes to my Blog

- I'm worn out. Time to log off and think about my blog design in a 2D world. I'll make the changes tomorrow.

- I've been a very busy bee, and it's time to relax a bit before bed. Nos Da everyone, Good Night :)

Not bad for one night :)

Sculpting in Layers - Work in Progress

2011-07-24T13:12:00.000-07:00

I've been spending my days sculpting, relaxing, and listening to music. One of the nicest ways to spend some days off I can imagine.

I've had a lovely holiday off from work, and today is my last day. I've spent my time with my dear husband, getting all the little chores done that get missed during a normal week, having some lovely days out, and spending time making new dolls. We even got to go visit the National Botanical Gardens of Wales, and the National Museum and Art Gallery in Cardiff. It's been to long since I went to the art gallery and I really enjoyed getting to see wonderful works by the best artists in the world. Including a favorite Van Gogh of rain soaked fields, and beautiful soft Claude Monet visions of stunning gardens and classic architecture. But my favorites, as always, were the portraits from tiny miniatures to massive full length portraits. All those faces gazing out of the canvas of people long since gone. Each telling it's own tale of the times in which they lived, the Sunday best clothes of the poorer classes, and the lavish get-up's of the rich. All staged in a setting befitting the social standing of the person shown - some in a studio dressed with the highest care and depicting carefully chosen objects and refinements that can be viewed as a puzzle to the life lived, and others shown in their true settings of everyday life with the dirt and grime of their own society there for all to see. Like the poor hardworking miners of the Welsh valleys captured as they sit quietly alone in the crowd of their local pub, taking a hard won rest and well earned pint while still covered in the black ink dirt that sticks even to their eyelashes like make-up and will never wash off, so deeply it's ingrained. I really must find myself more time to enjoy all the wonderful things the galleries in this country hold. And some day soon maybe I'll get to re-visit some of the fantastic galleries of other countries that I've visited before, and find new treasures in new countries too.

My table has been covered with bit's of dolls all week. And after cutting and sanding what seemed like thousands of bits of dowelling things are starting to look a little bit more doll like now.

Above (first photo) is just some of my new girls (and two boys this time), some almost finished and some still waiting for further layers of paperclay to fill out areas that have shrunk during drying and to re-shape lips, noses, cheeks and eyes. This next week I'll be spending a lot of time finishing these off and getting them sanded ready to be painted next weekend.
I've managed to get all the hands and feet sculpted for all 26 dolls, all of the bodies, and all but 6 of the faces. I was a bit annoyed to find I didn't have the right colours or sizes of eyes I needed for the largest dolls so I'll need to take a trip out button shopping before I can finish those 4. And the two small ones at the front (left second photo) need a very specific eye colour as they're to be cake toppers I've been asked to make for my neighbors wedding. I'm a bit worried about making them look like actual people, so if you have any tips I'd be really grateful for your help.

All the arms and legs have been sanded, wet polished and finished. As well as this one little body that's one of my small 5in dolls. I've given up trying to sand paperclay with sandpaper. All it seems to do it tear up the clay and leave horrible scratches, even when I use the finest grade I can find (which clogs up and I end up using tons of it). So have gone back to my trusted Basic Grey file set, which never seems to wear and always does the job - no matter what I use them on. I really should get another set of them, and I really recommend them if you need to sand or file small bit's and bob's as they have very good points to them, and all the shapes have been really useful, especially the round file, the curved - flat file, and the slightly tapered flat file that's just a little thicker one one edge than the other. To get rid of the very faint lines left by sanding this way I then wipe over everything with a damp cloth. I've no idea where I found out how to do this, but through trial and error with different techniques I've found that if you "polish" and rub dry paperclay after sanding with a damp cloth you get a very nice smooth finish. I use a 100% cotton face cloth as it's just rough enough to take off those rough spots but doesn't leave any marks. While the clay is still damp I then rub it all over with a damp finger to make sure it's totally smooth. Which seems to give the clay a sort of seal so that the paint that comes next will sink in, but not so far that it'll take loads of layers to get them finished. Then they get pinned back up on these concertina fold corrugated card boards that I salvaged from packaging that was being thrown away. I've no idea how I'd dry anything without it loosing some of it's shape without them.

My husband pointed out to me that my dust jar is a bit odd. I suppose that to some it could seem a little bit strange, although I don't really see why myself. He's not the only one that's asked me why I have a jar of dust, so I thought I'd try and explain.

Anytime I make something from paperclay I always sand it over a sheet of newspaper to try and control some of the mess. I was getting a bit fed up of throwing away this Dust as I was sure I could find some use for it. And once I started looking I found loads of things I could use it for, so now I save it all in my dust jar.
This fluffy white dust is fantastic stuff, and as paperclay can be expensive in the UK as I have to get it shipped from the US I think it's only right that I don't waste it.

It's oddly heavier than you'd think it would be. It's not that it has a weight, as it doesn't. It's just that it doesn't move or puff up everywhere if you move slightly or a mouse breathes in the next room like the sandings that come from a lot of air dry clays and other things, so you can play about with it without holding your breath, and you don't have to worry and clean up every two seconds when your in the middle of sanding something in the first place. It is possible to turn it back into clay if your careful with how much water you add to it. But it doesn't have the same texture as a nice new block of paperclay does, so it doesn't really work for the same things. I have used it to make some lovely casts by mixing up the dust to a stiff consistency and pushing it onto rubber stamps then leaving it to dry before removing. They came out really nicely with a lovely aged look because of the slightly rougher texture it dries to. I've also used it as a filler for fine cracks in other clay projects by mixing it up to a sort of jam consistency and rubbing it on with my fingers in a few coats. This was fantastically messy in that lovely child-like mud-pie making sort of way, and gave a really nice finish. I really do use this dust on all sorts of things, and it's very versatile - You can add it to acrylic paint to get a thick gluey textured paint that holds brush marks and scratches like a think oil paint - Layer it onto paper or canvas with your fingers to get a smooth surface like plaster or lay it on thick and scratch into it - Mix it up thinly and wash it over projects to give them a ghostly milky matt wash (so long as you get out all of the lumps, or not if you prefer) - It can be used in any consistency to add a little fill to bed items onto things and stop them looking like their floating on the surface - Or brushed dry onto painted plastic as a blotter to get rid of that horrid sticky thing that happens sometimes. There are tons of things to do with this dust, so I'm going to carry on collecting it and find as many uses of it as possible.
Do you keep your sandings?
What do you use yours for?

Catherine Walters

2011-07-19T16:32:00.000-07:00

Nicknamed ‘Skittles’, and called Katie, Kitty or Skittsie by her lovers, Catherine Walters was a familiar site riding along the fashionable Rotton Row in London’s Hyde Park. Riding a chestnut mare, the simplicity of her Princess riding habit was cut so perfectly it looked as if it may have been glued to her. So perfect was the fit, and so tight, it was even rumoured that she wore nothing beneath.

Catherine was original, inventive and flamboyant. She loved the outdoors, and was physically daring. She was classically lovely, sweet, yielding and as delicate as a flower – she also inspired romantic hopeless passion. Dark blonde with blue eyes, clear skin and a pure complexion, photographs of her show her to be a ravishing natural beauty. Catherine had an aristocratic air and was an expert horsewoman. Her perfect figure shown off to its best advantage when riding side saddle in her famous outfit and pork pie hat.

Born in Liverpool to a sea captain and his Irish wife, Catherine was far from the aristocrat that she appeared to be. She was raised a Catholic and was sent to a convent school at the age of 4 when her mother died. From which she ran away after a fight with the mother superior. She found employment at a livery stable displaying the animals on the hunting field. And her nickname Skittles is said to have come from this time because of her skill at the skittles alley.

At the age of 16 she became the mistress of Lord Fitzwilliam, and when they separated a few years later she received a very generous settlement of £300 a year with a further £2000 lump sum. She then transferred her affections to Spencer Compton Cavendish, Marquis of Huntington and heir to the Duke of Devonshire, he was known to friends as Harty-Tarty. This relationship was deeply affectionate on both sides. And letters survive to show that they wrote to each other up to 3 times a week over a four year period. Catherine was just 19 when she met Hartington, and he 26. He wrote bluntly but with real feeling, often very husbandly.

Both were passionate about hunting and the site of Skittles riding so daringly and expertly was a powerful aphrodisiac to the men around her. Her skills found her acceptance in a part of society that denied her everywhere else. And when she moved to London for the season when Hartington did, she filled her time taking lessons from a governess, and learned quickly to portray the image that she wanted to portray. Hartington was always very generous – providing her with horses, hunters and a house in Mayfair. Rather than he be jealous of her, it was her that showed jealousy when they were apart. But sadly their relationship became harder and harder to maintain.

By 1861 Catherine was a famous site riding through Hyde Park, attracting a lot of attention. The fashionable ladies did their best to imitate her style and dress, but none where as beautiful as her. Although the women of society couldn’t acknowledge her existence, even The Times and Daily Telegraph featured articles about her. It was too late for marriage now even though it was said that marriage was what Hartington had intended.

Her fame ended her relationship with Hartington without the consent of either of them. Although it was he that ended it he still showed her great care, and Catherine’s determination showed when she followed him to New York to persuade him to take her back. Their relationship floundered on for a further year, on and off again, but she knew it was over. She was genuinely unhappy and moved to Paris, selling her house, horses and carriages. Generous until the end, Hartington and his relieved family settled £500 a year on her, which was continued after his death by the Devonshire estate until her own death.

Immediately after this difficult break Catherine met Wilfred Scawen Blunt. She purposely seduced him, and their whirlwind romance lasted approx. 4 weeks – a summer romance. His most famous poem Esther was written about Catherine later in his life. He was naive and believed her as devotedly in love with him as he was with her, and was totally devastated when she broke it off. Pleading with her she allowed him to go with her back to Paris from Biarritz, but it would not work. In Paris he found her a very different woman.

After shunning all other society at Biarritz for him alone, Catherine now actively encouraged her admirers. Blunt convinced himself this was not her true character, and while she tried to protect him at first from the jokes and comments made by others, she too joined in the fun. The split, and to Blunt it was a shattering experience. Years later, in Paris again, Catherine wrote to him calling him back to her. And he found her in very different circumstances. She was still beautiful, but very ill looking and almost ill-dressed. No-one knows what her misfortunes were, but she convinced Blunt that she wanted to set up a life with him and live in a poor quiet way. And that he should find an apartment for them while she finished some business in London. Catherine took a long time to come back to Paris, and when she finally appeared she was exactly her old self and living in a stunning apartment of her own at 123 Avenue des Champs Elysees that had somehow been set up for her and her sister Caroline. She told him that he would see her as much as he liked, but it wasn’t to be. Instead he found that he could only get to see her very early in the morning for breakfast and a short ride.

By the afternoon Catherine was no longer the women he loved. She was at the height of her career and was one of the most celebrated courtesans in all of London and Paris. She still sometimes disguised herself to spend an evening with Blunt as she had once claimed she wanted to live, but it was impossible for her to live the life she really wanted. Blunt couldn’t bare to ask her how she spent her time away from him, and their final break came when he arrived at her apartment to find a man there with her; her protector, the man that paid for her extravagance. She tried to comfort him but of course it ended.

It isn’t really known if Catherine had been leading Blunt on. She’d always been generous and given to him rather than took. Later in life she began a correspondence with Blunt again that lasted for nearly 40 years. In this latter part of her life she threw elegant Sunday afternoon tea parties that were attended by her friends. Old lovers such as Hartington, Blunt and even the Prince of Wales attended her, and she always took particular pride in bringing friends together.

She had the rare skill to turn former lovers into committed friends. She was often very ill in her last years, and on the advice of doctors she spent more and more time abroad, and ended at 81, her gift for friendship never leaving her. During her last illness both Blunt and The Prince of Wales (now King Edward) continued to visit and write to her. Her death marked the end of the golden age of British courtesanry. She was the last Great Courtesan.

I hand sew all of my dolls clothes from a mix of brand new and recycled fabrics; designing each piece individually to ensure a unique period outfit. I make each layer of clothing that would have been worn by real women to make a truly unique doll. And even though many of these layers can’t be seen they really help to create the right shape and feel to the outfits, as well as giving support to the finished layers. I research not only the lives of the women for my portrait dolls, but also the styles and fashions they would have worn, making each doll truly special.

Catherine’s clothing is full of details, and she was dressed in each layer to create an authentic outfit. To fit in with her flamboyant lifestyle I made both her bloomers and shift from pure silk in cream trimmed with a deep red ribbon, with a closely fitted cotton under-layer to her corset to protect her skin from the ridged support.

As a riding habit is a practical working outfit it doesn’t have the layers of petticoats, bustles or hoops that a usual outfit of this time would have. Instead Catherine wears a pair of wool felt riding breeches beneath her riding apron that have been tailored to enhance her perfect figure, being flat across the stomach and gently gathered at the sides and back with an extra layer to protect the riders delicate behind.

She has a practical black blouse with tightly cuffed balloon sleeves and a high ruffle under her chin, layered with black lace that has a teal flower pattern. Her riding habit itself has a very fitted jacket with a double collar and wide pointed cuffs detailed with hand embroidered frogging. It also has period square tails and a pointed front that shows off her tiny waist.

Catherine’s double layered riding apron or skirts has the traditional odd shape with a shaped, longer section to one side which creates room for the rider to raise her legs elegantly over the side saddle riding horns. As well as ensuring that her skirts will lie evenly and not flash her ankles when riding, this extra length drapes very prettily to create a train on one side which can be hooked up to allow her to walk without tripping. Both jacket and skirt are made in a soft grey with a plum lining to her skirts.

I made Catherine’s black pork pie shaped hat from wool felt, shaping the brim to create an elegant curve. It has a dusky pink and silver ribbon band trim with a large bow and trailing ribbon at the back that has been decorated with tiny blue and cream flowers.

This doll stands at 49cm tall, weighs approx. 230g

Bits & Pieces - How My Girls Start

2011-07-15T10:33:00.000-07:00

All of us that make dolls start them differently, with our own methods and materials. And for me starting new dolls is always a time of sawdust and sandpaper. Which to tell truth - I Hate!

I've been cutting all of the bits that I need to sculpt a whole load of new dolls. I have a little time off from the day job, and thought it would be a good idea to get all of this messy work done now so that I can concentrate more on the fun stuff when I have less time again. I've sawn, shaped, drilled and sanded tones of birch wood dowel into enough arms and legs for 26 doll! And mounted wooden beads onto dowels for around half of their bodies until my order of smaller beads arrive, when I'll be able to finish them.

I know I've been a bit ambitious, but I'm really not intending to get all of these dolls sculpted and painted before I return to work next week. I'm only planning to get all of the arms and legs sculpted, and a few of the bodies and heads. That way I'll have arms and legs ready any time I want to make a new doll, and won't have to get caught up sculpting the limbs as I'll have them all ready. Left is all of the lower arm pieces I've cut, and below all of the lower leg pieces. If you look close you'll be able to see that some of the pieces shown in the top photo are shaped on one end as I round them to fit better against the bodies.

Sometimes I still get asked where I get the parts for my dolls from. And now and again where I get the dolls themselves from. And it feels odd to have to explain that I make them all from scratch - from start to end. It's not something I ever thought I'd be doing. To think that I've found what it is that I love to make after trying so many different things. And that thing turned out to be the one thing that I always loved as a child - Dolls! Even though I hate the sawing and sanding. Even though I still hate waiting for clay to dry. I do truly love making dolls. They just make me happy :)

I'm still planning out who these dolls will be and have a number of characters that I'd like to make. The more I read the more I fall in love with the Georgian, Victorian and Edwardian eras, so there will be a few more period styled dolls. As well as a few characters from favorite films and books, and one inspired by a favorite song.

I'm also just finishing off the great Victorian Courtesan Catherine Walters in her famously tight riding habit, and only have her hat left to make. Just another thing I'm planning to get done during this holiday. I'm going to be really busy, just the way I like it.

Catherine Walters - Work In Progress

2011-07-10T14:06:00.000-07:00

Catherine Walters, better known as Skittles, was the last of the great Victorian Courtesan.
She was famous for her beauty, style and riding skills. And remembered by many riding one of her magnificent horses along Rotten Row in Hyde Park in a perfectly tailored riding habit that fitted her so well, and was so tight, that it was rumoured she wore nothing beneath it, and had to be sewn into it.

Skittles set high fashion trends, was rumoured to have had intellectuals, leaders of political parties, aristocrats and a member of the British Royal Family amongst her benefactors.

During her life as a courtesan, her discretion and loyalty to her benefactors became the focal point of her career. There were many rumours about her being involved with certain wealthy men of the time, but she never confirmed or denied these. This gave her great weight in the courtesan lifestyle, and made her a sought after commodity. This also gave long life to her career, and helped her to retire a wealthy woman of society around 1890.

There's something about Skittles' life that has really interested me. She inspired so much loyalty in the men that were her benefactors: many of them becoming her life-long friends.

She was also one of the very few great Courtesans that was truly successful to the very end of her life. So many of them ended in sad circumstances, with no money and very few friends. Ending their days living a life that was totally devoid of the riches they had once been used to, or dying alone and sometimes tragically. But Skittles was different. She retired with a great fortune, and owned homes in London and the country. She still had her loyal friends and the society she had always been used to, and lived in the style that she always had.

I don't know what made her different from many of the others. Maybe she was just much better with her money. Or maybe she was just lucky. But there is no doubt that her life was interesting.

I wanted to make Catherine in her perfectly fitting riding habit, and started with her underwear.

The pair of legs on the Victorian bloomers, joined only at the waist with ties or sewn to one waistband (and why we always say a Pair of knickers) are starting to get a bit easier now that I've made a few pairs of them. It's quite hard to get the baggy legs and the baggy sack like bum sections that mean that the gap between stays closed on its own. And I've tried a few different designs to get them the shape that I want on my skinny dolls and finally found a design that seems to work. Making each leg horizontally to the body section rather than vertically makes them look quite daft, but does provide the bags and folds, as well as meaning you can tailor the legs to how wide you want them to be.

Catherine would have had the best of everything - clothes, jewellery, horses and homes. So although Victorian underwear would have most certainly been made of white cotton with very little trimming so that it could be scrubbed clean I thought that as one of the richest women of her time, with fabulously rich patrons who may have bought her very expensive gifts, I made all of Catherine's underwear from pure silk, and trimmed it with a rich dark red satin ribbon.

I made a bit of a mistake when I made Skittles' chemise as I made it quite long before realising there was no way that I'd be able to tuck all that fabric into her riding trousers. I'm so used to making girls in dresses that I forgot that underneath the specially shaped and tailored riding habit skirts a woman riding side saddle would have worn wool or chamois bloomers so she would be better able to grip the saddle horns with her legs.

I shortened her chemise and made a soft cotton lawn lace-up body to go under her corset and protect the fine silk underneath against her skin. I know these were worn under corsets, but I'm not too sure what they were called as they seem to have a number of names. Corsets were expensive and needed protection from sweat and dirt from the body, as well as the wearer needing protection from the ridged boning and metal fittings. Although a lot of corsets were well padded with quilted interiors for this.

Next came wide elastic to simulate the corset itself, and fawn coloured wool felt riding bloomers.

Catherine was said to have the perfect figure, with a tiny waist and perfect curves, so I had to decide how I could give her this shape without using pads or bustles.

I'm sure that some women would have used a little extra help in the shape of the usual bum pads. But I wanted to try and give my Catherine her shape just using the shaping I could provide by structuring her clothing.

I rounded out her hips by pulling the gathers in the wool felt of her riding bloomers over so that the stomach of them was flat before attaching them to the waistband. The felt is thick enough to provide enough structure to keep their shape even under the layers of skirts. It would have been nice to make them from chamois leather, but I was worried that the leather might pick up moisture and become hard and brittle which would stop Catherine's legs from moving freely and spoil the bend at her knee.

My next problem was to somehow round out my dolls flat bottom. Some of the riding bloomers I looked at on the internet seemed to have an extra layer of fabric sewn to the bottom - something like the leather patches you see on tweed jackets. Which were probably meant to give a little extra protection for the rider. So I added a second layer of felt to the back of Catherine's riding bloomers, and stuffed it a little to create a more rounded bum and give her her proper silhouette.

I made Catherine's riding blouse from a smooth black fabric with tightly cuffed balloon sleeves and a high neckline. To try and make it look a little more interesting I layered over black lace that has teal coloured flowers. Fitting it around her bust to gather in a tight ruffle under her chin to give her that tightly buttoned up High Victorian look.

I'm almost finished dressing Catherine now. And only need to add the final embroidered details to her jacket and skirt. Hopefully I'll have finished photos of her soon. It was difficult to create the specially shaped skirt that has an odd construction to allow a rider to have extra room to draw up their knee over the saddle horns and still allow the skirt hem to lay even and protect the riders modesty, hooking up on one side so that the trailing side this strange shape makes doesn't drag on the ground when walking. For once I actually took the time to make a few draft versions to make sure I could get it right.

Her habit skirt is made of a soft grey suiting fabric, and has a dark purple lining. And I made her single breasted jacket to match, purposely sewing her into it as the rumours of the time suggested. It has wide pointed cuffs and a double collar, and when I'm done it'll have an embroidered frogging closure down the front to give it a slight military look.

As I've said before, I know that no-one can see all of these layers when my doll is finished, but I know I'm right to make them the way that I do as it just feels that way. When I hold a finished doll in my hands I can feel the layers of clothing beneath. And it somehow always makes me feel that it's somehow more finished. A more complete doll And more like the wonderful old antique dolls that I love dearly. It makes them sturdy, and less delicate than the thin limbed, strung together doll that I start with. But I don't want to change my dolls construction either as I love the floppy loose movement that they have - Oh well! I guess I'll carry on making and dressing my dolls the way that I do. It's all the better for me as I just love making and learning about the clothes these women I like to make wore at a time that isn't that long ago, but that still no-one can remember anymore.

I've always dressed my smaller dolls in a much simpler way with fewer layers and less exact period construction. But after the practice I've had on these last 6 extra-large dolls in sewing small details like tiny cuffs, necklines, lace details, embroidery and so much more I think the next smaller dolls I make will be made in much the same way. I've learnt so much by studying Victorian clothes, and have improved my sewing skills in so many ways. I've got quite a few new dolls planned once Catherine is finished; some fantasy and some real women. Including Elizabeth Bennett and Mr Darcy (Colin Firth version - Obviously), an insane asylum nurse and one of her patient’s, and twin girls. It's been a while since i last had a proper sculpting day and I'm really looking forward to it :)

Harvey - A Two Faced Altered Doll Portrait

2011-07-01T04:09:00.000-07:00

Named by my Husband after the Two Faced vintage DC Comic Book character Mr Dent, I was inspired to make Harvey by a challenge I was asked to take part in on behalf of my friend Louise for Alter It Monthly - http://alteritmonthly.blogspot.com/

It's no secret to a lot of people that know Louise (known to some affectionately as Zuzu) that she finds dolls Creepy!
So when the July challenge for Alter It Monthly turned out to be Dolls Heads she very kindly thought of me, and asked me to create something on her behalf.

It took me a while to develop a solid idea for Harvey.
I wanted to stay true to my own style. But at the same time knew I needed something a little different. Something that combined one of the lovely, but sadly unwanted, little plastic baby dolls you can find in every charity shop across the UK, with my own abstract version of an art doll.

I started with the head of one of these poor plastic dolls that I'd already started to alter with paint and paper mache for a small assemblage project. I had removed the dolls eyes, cut her hair and covered her crown with layers of paper to get a more even moulded look, and painted it in layers of scrubbed on acrylic paint so that it looked a little old and worn out.

To get the space to sculpt one of my own dolls heads over half of the head I had to cut away a big chunk of the plastic head to open up the hollow inside which I stuffed with foil to give me a firm base to sculpt on, after gluing an old button from my big tin behind the plastic sides empty eye socket.

I wanted to try and show the differences between a mass produced plastic toy baby doll and an individual, one of a kind Art Doll.

I made the sculpted side as I would one of my original dolls. Painting it a very pale pinky peach colour, and adding a big button eye. Sculpting in the narrow cheeks, small but full lips, an almost blank expression, and proportions that I know are totally unrealistic. It's just the way I like to make them. What I see in my imagination, and my own way of letting those that see them decide for themselves the character that they see.

A lot of people think only I could love the dolls I make. But I'm lucky that a lot of people have shown me that they love them too. I'm very fortunate, as we all are, that with today's social media complete strangers can get in touch through Facebook, Twitter, Blogs and more and let you know what they think. And I'm always so grateful to all those that contact me to express an interest in my dolls. What could be a better ego boost to help you push through artistic block than a simple kind message from someone you've never met who only wants to tell you that they've seen something you've made, and that they like it :)

I'm sure I'm not the only doll artists that has to explain to people that I don't make playthings, that my dolls are not meant for children, and that what I make isn't something cute and fluffy (apart from the hair of course). And I often find myself having to describe my own work in a way that I don't really like. The way that those that don't appreciate them do.

After trying to explain that art dolls are sculptural, individual, imaginative figures that come in every size, shape, medium and style that is possible. That use techniques that artists have developed over years of study. That we make them to express ourselves and a very personal aesthetic vision, trying to express our own views of the world we live in (Can you guess I was an art student :) ). I end up resorting to words like Creepy and Different to describe work that I love and have put a lot into. Bland words that don't mean a lot.

Yes, I do know my dolls are creepy. And yes, I hope that they are different. But I know that this isn't what I want to say. Anyway, I'm determined not to do it anymore. And that's final!

I came across a lot of challenges making Harvey. The line between the two halves was a nightmare to get straight and sharp, and still isn't as good as I'd like it to be. And I found that I can use normal hairspray on marabou feathers if done with a very light touch to keep it where I want it, as at first it kept flopping over and spoiling the half / half effect.

Once Harvey was finished, with her hair all done on one side and tiny watch cogs for jewellery and hair decoration on the other, I used an awl to push a hole into the foil through the bottom neck opening and pushed a stand cut from a found jewellery display into the bottom, gluing it in place.

She still needed something more to join the two halves together, so I gathered a piece of lace into a stiff collar and tied it tightly under her chin, along with a narrow dark red ribbon . I really like the effect, and how it somehow makes Harvey look like an old vintage clown or a sad jester.

For once I have no idea who Harvey is. She's a complete mystery, even to me. Who she is and where she's been is a secret only she knows, and she's certainly not telling.
I normally know who my dolls are, if that makes any sense. As I'm making them they normally tell me things and impose their own ideas into what they will and will not wear, the colours they want, and the fabrics they prefer. And there have been a few times when I've had to re-start a whole outfit as the doll just refuses to accept what I want. But Harvey just... Happened!

I have Harvey sat just in front of me as I'm typing, and I can truly say I'm happy with how she came out, even if I have no idea who she is. And I really hope you like her too :)

I've not added many new posts lately as life has just seemed to get in the way, and I've been finding it hard to get back on track with a lot of things. but there has been one thing I've wanted to share, but haven't been able to - The Neath Bathroom Baby Doll!

I've tried loads of times to get a photo of this doll, but have failed miserably. It's a normal, old plastic baby doll in a shabby dress that stands in the bathroom window of a house I pass every day on my way home. This house stands right next to the fly-over bridge into town, and as you drive past your level with this frosted old leaf pattern window.
I know it doesn't sound too amazing, but the owner of this house has given me so much pleasure. And every time I pass I have to look at this wonderfully distorted old doll just to see - To see if she's Moved!

I've no idea who you are, the owner of this house with the Bathroom Baby Doll. But Thank you! Thank you for all the smiles and happiness you've given to me. No matter what kind of day I've had, just by repositioning this doll in your window every few days, you've made me happy. And after the past few months that have had such sadness in them for me this simple pleasure has meant a lot to me. Daft as that must sound.

I'm determined to get a photo of this doll to share here on my blog and on my Facebook page. Sometimes she's sitting looking out at the cars passing. And other times she's dancing with one leg in the air waving her arms. I've seen her do hand-stands, pose with her arms raised like a ballerina, lay on her back with her legs in the air, do press-ups, and simply stand waving at us as we pass. Along with countless other poses. If she's still there when Halloween comes around I'm going to make her a pumpkin of her very own and leave it on the doorstep of the house for the owners to find. Just to let them know they've made me smile. I hope they don't think I'm nuts!

Lizzie Siddal

2011-06-28T14:22:00.000-07:00

Lizzie Siddal was the daughter of a working class family that rose from obscurity to become one of the most recognisable faces of Victorian Britain. The most famous image of her, Ophelia by Millais, shows her floating in a shallow stream by a bed of reeds, overhung with dogwood and willows; her red gold hair floating behind her in the water, she’s dressed in a white medieval gown.

She was a poet, artist, artist’s model and muse. An attractive woman, she had striking red hair, pale eyes and pale skin. Her future husband, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, became fascinated with her classic looks and flame hair, and he seduced her into living with him in a squalid apartment in Blackfriars London, where she first began to demonstrate that she was much better at the arts than at domestic duties. Her paintings caught the attention of John Ruskin, who bought all her paintings and settled an annuity of £500 on her future work. Her relationship with Rossetti became more and more strained as he struggled with his own work, took numerous lovers, and became disinterested in Lizzie as her health declined. His portraits of her around this time show her becoming more wraithlike as time passed.

Lizzie began to suffer with Tuberculosis, and took ever increasing amounts of Laudanum to control her symptoms and pain, but showed no improvement to any of her doctors recommended treatments. She grew worse as Rossetti betrayed her again and again with his frequent conquests of the more nubile model he began to prefer. And only took pity on her and married her in May 1860 when she was gravely ill.

The final blow in Lizzie’s sad short life came the following year when she gave birth to a stillborn daughter. She was profoundly depressed, and took her own life by an overdose at the age of 33. She was found shortly after in her bed. An empty phial of laudanum beside her and a note pinned to her nightdress asking her husband to take care of her disabled brother. She was buried at London’s Highgate cemetery.

Sometime after her death, deeply depressed himself, Rossetti had an experience that led him to a final, tragic insult towards his wife. While walking with a friend on a trip to Scotland a small bird came across their path. The small chaffinch did not fly away, but remained still even when picked up. Shaking with emotion, Rossetti was convinced that the bird was the soul of his dear Lizzie, whom many believed he did truly love. On his return to the house he stayed in he was told that the great bell at the door had rung, but that nobody had been there when it was answered. Within hours he was back in London, determined to retrieve the notebook of his sketches and poems he had buried with his wife. Taking what had happened as a call from Lizzie. He persuaded the Home Secretary to waive the exhumation order, and stayed at home in a state of agonised suspense while his friends went to Highgate Cemetery.

“The book in question is bound in rough grey calfskin and has red eyes to the leaves. This will distinguish it from the bible, also there as I told you.” A doctor was on hand to disinfect the book once it was retrieved. Lizzie’s body was reported to look quite perfect by the light of the fire they lit. And when the book was lifted a strand of her red gold hair came away with it.

Dante Gabriel Rossetti’s sister Christina wrote the following poem about her sister-in-law.

One face looks out from all his canvases,

One self-same figure sits or walks or leans:

We found her hidden just behind those screens,

That mirror gave back all her loveliness.

A queen in opal or in ruby dress,

A nameless girl in freshest summer-greens,

A saint, an angel – every canvas means

The same one meaning, neither more or less.

He feeds upon her face by day and night,

And she with true kind eyes looks back on him,

Fair as the moon and joyful as the light:

Not wan with waiting, not with sorrow dim;

Not as she is, but was when hope shone bright;

Not as she is, but as she fills his dream.

I’ve made Lizzie Siddal as she would have been at what was the height of her career, when she would have been in her late 20’s. She has rich flame red hair, with pale white eyes that catch blue tones.

Lizzie’s clothing is full of details to make it as authentic as possible. The skirts of this period would have been fuller with most of the bulk at the back, but I think Lizzie would have worn them in a simpler style in keeping with her artistic life-style. Lizzie was one of the first to adopt a more aesthetic style of dress. And over her white cotton open crotch drawers and shift she may or may not have worn a corset which would have been quite shocking at the time. She has layered petticoats of white cotton under a fine, stripped cotton lawn (my favorite fabric at the moment), which is trimmed with a tapestry ribbon at the hem.

She wears no pads, bustles or hoops for extra shaping under her skirts, and her dress has a very medieval look in keeping with the Pre-Raphaelite style. Her full sleeves and gathered chemisette are made of 100% silk cotton. Lizzie’s entire gown is made of pure silk with a soft cream underskirt trimmed with a border of hand stitching, under a stripped sage green silk that has been crush treated to add a fine texture. Her wide bell sleeves have a tapered point to match with the high pointed front of her hand embroidered bodice, and both have a tapestry ribbon trim and matching dark red tie. Her overskirt has a short train and a matching hand stitched border and decoration on the lower front corners.

This doll stands at 49cm tall, weighs approx. 300g

Harvey - An Altered Head for Zuzu

2011-06-13T09:33:00.001-07:00

Harvey is an altered doll head for my Friend Louise, better known to some of us as Zuzu.

Zuzu has a challenge to alter a dolls head for the Alter It Monthly Challenge blog - http://alteritmonthly.blogspot.com/ - but has a bit of a problem. Dolls creep her out!

It's not something that bothers me in the slightest :)
And as you can all probably tell I like my dolls as creepy as they come. So she asked me to come up with something.

I'm really flattered that Zuzu thought of me, and I've been cooking up Harvey to see if I can make an altered head that will be that little bit extra different.

I started with a medium sized plastic dolls head that I'd already painted and grunged up ready to make into an assemblage doll when I had the rest of the bits and pieces collected together. And had to cut away one side of it's face to make room for the hard core that I needed for the sculpted side. This was kind of creepy even for me, seeing a smiling dolls face with a great bit hole where it once had half of it's nose, and eye and a cheek, but I had to get a rigid core to sculpt on, so cut the shiny pink plastic away with a scalpel.

While I had a hole big enough to reach inside I mounted a green button from my hoard behind the empty eye socket, and then stuffed the inside with foil, tightly packed. After covering that with tape I got to my favorite bit, and started to sculpt the other side into one of my dolls heads. Giving it a large green eye to match the dolls other one.

So far my sculpt has only had it's first sand and smooth. And once I've done a second finer sand I'm planning to paint the sculpted side as I usually would one of m dolls, and give it a big shock of marabou feather hair. Where the two halves meet I'm going to paint the higher profile of my sculpt with a darker colour to highlight the difference between them. And them give the head a little base to sit on.

I know Harvey looks like supremely odd right now, and is only going to get weirder. But I really want to show the difference between a mass produced dolly, and a hand made, one of a kind art doll by showing them both together, side by side. There are so many wonderful doll artists out
there, pouring their creativity into original, heartfelt art dolls that many in the world just dismiss as a mere dolly. A child's play thing or a mass produced "collectible" rather than the true expression of an artist that has been created from the bones outward to produce a beautiful, detailed, wonderful piece of true art. Where every tiny part has been thought about, researched, hand-crafted and just Loved!

I'm really enjoying this little side project. And really want to thank Zuzu for asking me to get involved. It's been a real challenge to work out the construction I needed to use. And I can assure you the air was quite blue when I was trying to get the line of clay to run straight down the profile of the plastic dolls head while trying to keep that line sharp and not spreading. I'm quite pleased with how Harvey is coming out, and hope she looks as I want her too when I'm done.
If you haven't guessed yet my lovely geeky husband named her after the Batman character Two Faced Harvey Dent. Sometimes he comes up with some good ones.

Zuzu makes wonderfully detailed pieces of altered art, mixed media and jewellery. If you'd like to see some of her creations you can see her work here - http://zuzuspetalsstuff.blogspot.com/

Also, I've not been able to take any proper photos of poor Lizzie Siddal as the weather here at the moment is awful, and I just can't get a result I like using artificial light. But I'm hoping I'll be able to get them taken some time this week. She's looking really pretty now that I've added a few tiny flowers and let her hair down. It's not often that I'm totally happy with a doll, but I'm so glad that Lizzie came out the way I wanted her too :)

Lizzie Siddal - Almost Finished!

2011-06-09T14:57:00.000-07:00

Today has been a good day!

For the first time in ages I've had a really productive day, as well as it being a really relaxing one. I was woken in what has to be my least favorite way, by the Post Man knocking at the door. Which of course means a mad rush to find my pajama bottoms, which I can't sleep in, and the key. All the time worrying just how asleep I really look and if I have major bed hair. But, he brought with him some lovely things, so I forgave him. One of which was a money order in payment for two dolls that will be on their way to the States soon.

The next good thing was that lovely feeling you get when you realise you don't have to go to work. So back upstairs I went to lay in bed with a book in one hand and the other scratching our kittens belly while he purred loudly. Just for a little while.

Up and dressed I headed in to town to run errands and pick up some shopping, then home for the part of the day I was looking forward to most - the sewing.

I was determined to finish the embroidery on Lizzie's gown today. So settled into my favorite chair, put on a new period drama and got to work. Now Lizzie is wearing her newly finished over skirt, and I only have a few details left for her to be completely finished.
As the embroidery is the same colour as the fabric it doesn't show up to well in my quick pictures here. And I promise to take better ones when she's properly finished. But above you can see the corner detail that's on both sides of the open over skirt, and below is a little closer detail.

It was the zig-zag looking stitch that fills in the border that was the one I couldn't remember how to do. It's a really easy stitch, and has a twisted version that looks a little more like a scallop, but after trialing both the more open zig-zag looked better.

I used two tones of normal sewing thread in a combination on chain, stem, satin, and blanket stitch, as well as the stitch that caused all the issues for me to try and add texture to Lizzie's skirt while trying to keep focus on the beautiful silk fabric that I've used. The border really helps finish the shape of her gown, especially in the back where there is a short train, and the fall in front to frame the soft cream underneath.

Next, to finish Lizzie, I'm adding an embroidered ribbon band over her bodice to match the detail on her sleeves. She'll also need a few things done to her sleeves to refine the shape, some detail added to her bodice and I think maybe something for her hair.

Lizzie Siddal was buried with a notebook of her husbands of blue calfskin. Soon after her death, as he realised his popularity was growing, he exhumed poor Lizzie to get it back again. Adding one last tragic, and a very odd, episode to her life.

I hope you'll like my Lizzie once I'm all finished. I've really tried to add as much detail as I can to her very mixed sence of style. It's been a challenge to try and create a Victorian outfit which still has a feel of that period while incorporating the early ideals of the Aesthetic Movement and the Medeavil Fantasy images that many of the new romantics painted and upheld as their perfect world. But her life has really touched me, and I was determined to try and bring her story forward for others that may not have heard of her.

Embroidery and Catching up

2011-06-07T05:22:00.001-07:00

I've been having one of those months that we all dread. I just can't seem to get anything finished!

After spending weeks making and sewing a gown for Lizzie Siddal, I've been stuck on the embroidery to finish her for ages. And still she waits for that one final layer of clothing that will make her complete. It started off because I was stuck with a particular embroidery stitch, and just couldn't remember how to do what I wanted. I searched all over the internet, fiddled with countless trial scraps, searched through books, and even checked the clothes in my wardrobe just in case I had something embroidered in there I'd forgotten about (like I own any embroidered clothes!).
Finally, I gave in and ordered a book to arrive next day so I could crack on and get the skirt done. And what happens? It didn't arrive. Four whole days later my book shows up. And yes, I did get my money back. But another whole week had passed by and Lizzie was still sitting there with her gown unfinished and her hair wrapped up like my Nanna with her curlers in. Another few days of fighting distractions and research found me my stitch, and I was already to start when that life thing got in the way again and I found myself with no time to sit down to it.

Needless to say I'm now determined that Lizzie's gown will be finished this weekend and I'll have photo's of her to share with you all :-)
I have a few days off work to make a nice long weekend. So as well as finishing the very patient Lizzie, who's sitting quietly on my table getting very bored, I'll be working on an altered dolls head for a friends blog, Alter It Monthy. While I've not been able to work on Lizzie I've been cooking up ideas for my little plastic dolls head and I'm hoping I can pull off the ideas I've come up with. I'm keeping them secret just in case :-)

Really hope your May was more productive than mine.

PS - It's my Birthday this weekend, so I'm celebrating with a sale in my Etsy Store.
There is FREE SHIPPING WORLDWIDE all this week, on all my dolls, until 12th June.
After doing the math this was the best offer for all my lovely customers, wworking out to 40% off the already reduced sale dolls, and up to 25% on the others. If your interested in a bargain, or just want a nose around, I've moved all my stock over from Folksy too, so there's a lot of new dolls in store as well.

http://www.NatashaMorgan.etsy.com

More photos coming soon
Natasha

Lizzie In Progress - And A Hard Week

2011-05-24T13:40:00.000-07:00

I've not posted for a while as we've had some tough times. The beautiful 10 day old son of my best friends sadly passed away. He fought against all odds, overcoming everything he could. But his tiny, premature size meant he could fight no more. And the very much loved Travis Jon Luke Michael has left a very loving family behind him to miss him in the worst way.
Everything happened so fast, from when he arrived unexpectedly, to the changes in his health day to day and hour to hour, to him being taken so suddenly, that I've not felt like making anything at all. And haven't got very much done to Lizzie at all. I was also asked to decorate a frame for Travis's portrait so that all those that had never had chance to see him could see his pretty face with it's long eyelashes at his funeral, which was yesterday. So I've been concentrating on completing that over the past week. I've not shared it here as it's such a personal thing for the family. I've spent today trying to get myself back to some sort of normal before returning to work tomorrow. I hope that Sarah, Liam and Thom can find the strength somewhere to carry on. And all my love is with them.

The work I have done to Lizzie has been mostly on the embroidery for her overskirt.

It's been a pleasure to work with such beautiful fabrics as the silks I've been using for Lizzie. It's so tactile and easy to use that I've had no trouble creating anything that I've wanted to. From her silk cotton highly gathered chemisette, and her soft cream silk underskirt with an embroidered hem in silk threads. All have come together quite naturally for a change. With no battles or fights as can usually happen. I really think that, for once, Lizzie really wants to be made as I can see her in my mind.

This is a corner of her open overskirt, that's not quite finished yet. I still have a few more details to add, and another row around the hem to finish off.

This overskirt will be fully gathered at Lizzie's waist when I'm done. Open in the front to show her underskirt, with a slight train in the back.

The lovely stripped green silk I've used for Lizzie's gown has a slightly stiffer texture. And I crush treated it first before I began her gown to try and give her a softer, more antique look that's also more in keeping with the time when she would have lived. I really can't imagine anyone being able to keep one of these huge voluminous dresses perfectly ironed. Especially an artist that didn't always have a lot of money or popularity.

It's quite easy to crush treat this slightly stiffer type of silk. Giving it the look of Princess Diana's wedding dress as I remember it from my childhood.

Firstly soak the silk in warm water to get rid of some of the fabric size.
Then soak in fabric softener, making sure to squeeze the silk to make sure it gets into all the folds.Then quickly rinse in more warm water.
Be quite rough and squeeze, twist and ring out all the excess water.

Stretch the fabric back into shape and hang somewhere to dry naturally.
While still a little damp iron really well.
Wet the fabric again and then iron dry so that you get the nice tight creases that don't look like you've just screwed up the fabric and left it in a mess.

I've only ever been able to get this to work on pure silk, so I'm not sure if it will work on synthetic or not. But I'm pretty sure that I get the effect because of the silk itself and the way it reacts.

I've also finished off the embroidery on Lizzie's bodice, which will have a pointed waist as well once her over-skirt is added. As well as the embroidery and tapestry trims on her sleeves. She already has that slightly medieval, but still Victorian, look as I've found favoured by the artists at the time. Which was later still very popular with the Aesthetic movement.

I'm hoping to get the rest of the embroidery finished this week. So I'll hopefully have more to show you soon :)

Lizzie in Fancy Petticoat, Chemisette & Sleeves

2011-05-07T14:07:00.000-07:00

I've been working hard getting all of Lizzie Siddal's underwear sewn up and getting her dressed.
She's not quite so cold now, even though the weather has been nice here recently :)

She has on her Bloomers and Chemise, as you've already seen. And now wears a pair of white cotton petticoats under a fancy petticoat made of my favorite fabric of the moment. A beautiful beige stripped cotton lawn. The same fabric I made Rose's dress from, as it's just so nice to work with and has a wonderful feel to it. This time I've trimmed it with a rich embroidered ribbon edge.

All Lizzie's petticoats have been cartridge pleated to wide waistbands. She has no other shaping support under her clothes as would have been usual at the time. And she has no corset!
This bohemian, artistic, free spirited women didn't conform to the fashion restraints of her times. And you really have to admire her resolve to go against the grain.
Having no corset has brought it's own problems for me while dressing Lizzie though.

The big baggy shifts and chemise's can be hard to keep under control. It's only made of soft white cotton, so gathers in quite neatly under tight bodices, but it doesn't really stay in place very well without the wide elastic faux corset I'd normally have added over it.

The neckline of Lizzie's chemise is very wide, as was one of the styles during the 1860's. So I had to work out how to keep it in place so that it wouldn't ride up and cause bulk under her bodice. To solve this the only thing I could think of to start with was making sure the waistband on her petticoats was as tight as I could make it. So I added a few crossed stitches at the back of the waistband to her white cotton petticoats, and pulled them tight before tying off. Very much like you would with a corset really. It has made me wonder if the freedom gained by not wearing a corset really gave a woman as much freedom as was really thought. Many dress bodices would still have been boned and re-inforced to compensate for the lack of stability and clean lines that were lost without wearing a corset.

I decided to splash out a little bit on the fabric for Lizzie's dress and bought a selection of different silks. I'm trying to follow the values of the Victorian Aesthetic Dress Movement and use only natural fabrics, and non-chemical colours. So silks seemed like a good choice, as there is a lot of photographic evidence that it was widely used.

I've made Lizzie's chemisette, or false blouse, from a silk cotton fabric that has a lovely crisp texture. I gathered this to form the high round neckline, and then pulled it into shape before sewing the side and back seams. To stop this un-tucking from the bodice of her dress I've back stitched it around the lower edge, pulling tightly to make sure that everything stays where it should be, and to make sure that pesky chemise doesn't move.
Her sleeves, made from a stripped Olive silk that will match her bodice and skirts, have a tappering pointed hem and will be decorated to match the rest of her gown. Which I've very bravely decided (only today) that I'll be embroidering. Something I've not done for years, so I may change my mind yet.

Next to do will be to sew her a matching bodice and sew her underskirt and sash of cream Antung silk, as well as her over-skirt of the stripped Olive silk. I'm really hoping that I can make Lizzie look as I want her to, as it's not the easiest costume I've made for one of my dolls. I can only wait and hope that I may be able to do justice to the picture I have in my head. But sometimes things work, and other times, who knows :)

Art Dolls Only Blog Feature

2011-05-07T09:59:00.000-07:00

I was so lucky this week to be featured in the New Member Spotlight on the Art Dolls Only Blog.

http://artdollsonly.blogspot.com/2011/05/new-member-spotlight-natasha-morgan.html#comment-form

Thank you so much Fairiesnest for the article. You've really made my week :)

Lizzie Siddal - Work in Progress

2011-05-04T12:07:00.000-07:00

Little Rose La Touche was finished and left my hands so fast I've been able to get my next doll started already. I was a little sorry to see Rose go, but I'm sure she'll enjoy her new home in America :)

I've been really looking forward to getting Lizzie Siddal dressed and finished. I've wanted to make her for ages, and have finally got up the courage to see if I can make her look as I'd like her to.

Wife to Dante Gabrial Rossetti, and one of the first Pre-Raphaelite artists in her own right, as well as being a favored model of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood.

Elizabeth Siddal can be seen in many of the best and brightest paintings of the movement. With her distinctive flame red hair and classical features she must have made a striking model. And the beautiful painting of Ophelia by John Everett Millais is one of the most stunning, ethereal delicate paintings known. And I love it dearly.

Lizzie is constructed in the same way I make all of my sculpted, jointed dolls.
I start with a wooden ball base mounted onto a body armature made from a scrap piece of dowel or, more usually, a couple of wooded chopsticks. Which I then build up with foil before covering with tape and then layers of paperclay.

Her face is made by again layering paperclay over the ball. Starting with the eyes and building the small features around them. And her arms and legs are made from wooden birch dowels with the hands and feet sculpted onto the ends from paperclay. Keeping them quite primitive to help give the feel of an older, simply constructed doll.

All parts are drilled and sanded thoroughly before painting with a pale flesh tone I mix myself to get the right colour, and varnished twice, drying between coats.

After stringing all the parts together with my Nanna's strong vintage thread (I'll be lost when this runs out), I mark their hairline and individually apply the fronds cut from marabou feathers. Making sure I mix two or three colours together evenly to get some highlight / lowlight tonal difference into it.

I can't really explain how I do this as it's sort of developed as I've gone along. Because the feathers are so fly-away I lay them down in layers overlapping so that they don't detatch later on. They always shed one or two loose feathers, but the end result is strong and full. And can even be tied up or crushed under a bonnet and still not loose any strands and spring back into shape when you blow on it a little.

The eyes and lips get a little coat of gloss to give them a little sparkle.

I have to tie my dolls hair up in a rag to keep it out of the way when I'm sewing. But I've tried putting their hair on last and it just doesn't work out. They really don't look like themselves before they have their hair.

Lizzie is wearing here just her bloomers, which are huge baggy things of individual legs joined at the waist and front only (I really can't keep saying crotchless), under a chemise with a wide neck and short sleeves that reaches to below her knees. All made of scrubable white cotton.

As she was part of the new bohemian, artistic set Lizzie was known to be what we would probably now call Alternative. I had to decide if Lizzie would have been one of the very few Victorian women who didn't wear a corset as the dress reformers of the Aesthetic dress movement advertised as a much healthier way to dress. Scandal indeed!

This movement didn't believe in the body modifying hoops, bustles, pads and tight corsets. Preferring the more natural lines of the body, and natural fabrics with no chemical dies. So I decided that I'd dress Lizzie in this way, using only natural fabrics, and using only petticoats to shape her skirts. This style had the added advantage of having a slightly Medieval look that was greatly used by the Pre-Raphaelites in their depictions of women.

The next layers of clothing to be added to Lizzie will be two plain white cotton petticoats, followed by a fancy petticoat of cotton lawn with a decorated hem. Following the styles of both periods with the number and style of her under-skirts. After those I'll be making her a very gathered chemisette, or false blouse, to mimic the gathered shifts of the 12th / 15th Century, and false sleeves both made of cream silk cotton. And then lastly her gown which I've ordered a stripped olive coloured silk and cream silk dupion.

I really hope she looks as I want her to in the end :)

Rose La Touche (1848 - 1875)

2011-04-27T12:46:00.000-07:00

She was described by artist John Ruskin as the love of his life. Blonde, fair and blue eyed; she “walked like a little white statue through the twilight woods”.

She was 11 years old when Ruskin fell in love with her. He was 30 years older than her, and was nicknamed St Crumpet by a young Rose. Some say their relationship later became the basis of Nabakous’ novel Lolita.

Rose’s parents did not approve of their daughters relationship with Ruskin. And he had to wait until she came of age at 17 before he could propose. There were religious differences as he had given up his faith years before, and Rose turned him down. There were also many rumours about his first marriage to Effie (Euphemia) Gray. Five years after this first marriage Effie was still a virgin. And it’s said that he was never able to consummate this marriage as the naive bachelor was so accustomed to the smooth contours of classical statues that he was revolted on his wedding night to find his wife had pubic hair and never tried to bed her again. Effie, then Mrs Millais, warned Rose’s mother that he was “quite unnatural”.

This sounds like an awful situation: a young Rose, who we would now think of as a child, being romanced by a man 30 years her elder. But Victorian Britain was not the same as it is now. Although the age gap was large, it wasn’t unheard of. And the romance itself would have been very proper, with no more contact than the occasionally held hand or petted cheek until Rose had reached what we would think of as a more acceptable age. Anything further would have been scandal indeed. If Rose’s parents had liked Ruskin she may have been married to him by the age of fourteen or fifteen, with all the responsibilities of a household and husband. Childhood as we know it is a modern invention. And during the Victorian era the teenager did not exist at all. Once a child had reached puberty they were treated very much as a young adult, with very difference than if they were much older. In the same way, until a girl left her parents household she would have been expected to be submissive and respectful and in many ways behave very childishly.

Rose died 10 years after this proposal at the age of 27 in a Dublin nursing home, suffering from anorexia, a broken heart, and religious mania. She’d always been considered as strange in her behaviour from a very young age. And her death tipped Ruskin over the edge in his own boughts of insanity.

Rose wasn’t the only child that Ruskin fell in love with. Again in 1887, at almost 70, he fell in love with and proposed to a young teenager – Kate Olander. A letter written to her really shows the odd way he saw these girls. “I was lying awake last night and planned what you will wear around your neck… it is to be finest and purest chain of Venice… no gold is so pure and they make the links so small it looks like the white of Avenel’s girdle… but I’m going to have it seven times round; rather tight for a necklace to show what a perfectly chained and submissive child you are; so mind you send me the measure carefully, just above the shoulders.” Kate’s letters back to the white bearded Ruskin were kept from him, and he was left with just his art and the Lakeland fells.

Inspired by this true account, my Rose wears a period correct outfit from around 1860, when she would have been 12 years old. I’ve taken certain liberties with the length of her skirts as they should reach to just about above her ankles, donating that she was almost an adult, but I wanted to emphasis her childlike appearance. Her underwear as well as her dress is as correct as I could make it. She wears a pair of crotchless baggy bloomers under a shift that reaches to her knees and an under-petticoat, all of strong white cotton and undecorated so they could be scrubbed clean. Over these she wears a corset instead of a younger child’s stays, showing that she is no longer really seen as a child herself. And a crinoline of round steel hoops, covered in pink satin, that come to just below her knees. To ensure her legs are covered completely a frilly pair of pantalettes stick out from under her skirts. After another plain white cotton petticoat over her crinoline is a fancy petticoat that matches her dress, with a deep flounce and trimmed with a delicate blue embroidered ribbon. Next is one of the first layers you can actually see, with a pair of under-sleeves and a chemisette (false blouse) of silk cotton. Her dress itself is made from a fine semi-transparent pale beige cotton lawn fabric that has a beautiful feel to it. It has pagoda sleeves, a fitted back buttoning bodice, three deep flounces, and a wide sash tied in back in a big bow; all trimmed in a cream satin ribbon, pearl bead buttons, and a touch of lace.

A First Look At Rose La Touche

2011-04-26T15:01:00.000-07:00

Rose is finally finished, and these are the first photos of her. I'll be following with full details and some more pics tomorrow, but I've been editing all night and it's bed time for me now. I just really wanted to show her off a little before I shut down for the night. The photos really don't do the beautiful striped cotton lawn fabric I used for her dress justice, but I really hope you like my first doll with a real crinoline :)

Rose Is Almost Dressed!

2011-04-20T08:19:00.001-07:00

After my mess last week when I had to undo all the work I'd done to Rose's sleeves and bodice she's finally getting back on track. She now has silk cotton undersleeves and a chemisette (false blouse), and I've decided to make her dress of the same stripped cotton lawn as her petticoat. I'll need to redo her pantalettes as well as they matched the original fabric, so I have a lot of re-working to do over the next few days. And I have to admit I hate having to redo things.
It's a beautiful sunny day, so hopefully I'll get some sewing done at some point.
Even the little lizards in my garden are enjoying the sun. This little guy is missing his tail!

Work in Progress - Rose La Touche

2011-04-16T08:28:00.001-07:00

A few photos of Rose in her smart petticoat and corset. And one of my beautiful Lilac, just starting to flower.

Her top petticoat is made for a fine stripped cotton lawn that's been trimmed with an embroidered ribbon. Underneath she has one of plain white cotton over her crinoline. Her corset has pulled her baggy shift into pretty gathers, and she's very happy to get her tiny waist back again.
Next she'll be getting a white silk cotton chemisette and false sleeves under a peach gown. Which will have a little ribbon and lace trim.

And isn't my Lilac starting to look pretty :) It smells great already!

Rose in Petticoats and Corset

2011-04-16T07:45:00.001-07:00

Rose is starting to look quite pretty in her second layer of underwear.
She now has a plain white cotton petticoat over her crinoline, as well as a smarter stripped cotton lawn one that has an embroidered ribbon trim.
Her corset has pulled in all of her baggy shift into pretty gathers. And sure very pleased to have her tiny waist back again.
Next on my to do list is her chemisette and false sleeves. Then onto her dress.
I'm trying this from my phone for the first time ever, so I really hope it works ;-)
The photo's are following in just a minute.

Rose La Touche in her Undies!

2011-04-10T15:31:00.000-07:00

Finally got some work done and started dressing Miss Rose La Touche.

It's taken a while to figure out the style the of clothes for Rose. I really wanted to dress her as she would have been at about 15 years old. But it's surprisingly hard to find picture reference of adolescent girls at around 1760.

All the fashion plates and illustrated reference I could find shows either young women, or small children, with nothing in between. I know that at the time girls wore only slightly different clothes to their mothers, and the differences were only slight to distinguish adult from child. The idea of child specific clothing didn't exist.

Young girls went from wearing stiff stays when quite little to wearing a full corset by their early teens. And the short childish skirts grew as they did until they reached the floor.

I'd not really thought about it, but growing up then must have been nothing like what we know. I got to run around, ride my bike, skate and generally be silly with my friends. If I'd grown up when Rose had, I'd have had to sit quietly, learn to sew and darn, and how to run a household.

Playing dolls then was a very serious business to teach young girls to be mothers before they were married, sometimes at what we would think to be a very young age.

Rose was one of these girls. Still in short skirts and Pantalettes when the artist John Ruskin fell in love with her, although he didn't propose until she came of age at 17 as her parents disapproved of him for his lack of religion.
This seems extreme, but although there was a big age difference (her 20 to his 50 years old) even then, it wasn't unheard of for older men to marry very young women.

I started Rose's underwear with her Drawers (or knickers) which are big baggy things, gathered at the knee and with an open crotch (it doesn't seem like I'm ever going to dress a doll without crotchless knickers!). The bagginess of the bum in these bloomers keeps them closed really well. You'd think that there would be quite a draft, but the cut of them seems to work.

Next came her Chemise, with short sleeves and a round neckline that's almost off the shoulder. It's gathered to a narrow yoke neckline and reaches to below her knees.

Like all her bottom-most layer of underwear, her under-petticoat is made of a plain, undecorated white cotton. As far as I can find out all underwear at this time was made of sturdy stuff that could be washed and scrubbed repeatedly. I cartridge pleated this under-petticoat to a wide waist band, and added a corset on top.

I have to give a major big Thank You to my father-in-law for his help with the Crinoline.

He gave me a few funny looks once I explained why I needed them, but he helped me cut the flat metal bands I used to the right lengths, and then helped me figure out how to fix them together into hoops.

I covered these hoops with a satin ribbon before hanging them on 6 vertical bands which are attached to a waistband with a tie in the back.

I decided to make the crinoline removable in case there was a problem with positioning her or getting her to sit. But the hoops work really well. I can't imagine having to wear one myself, but I hope I get the chance to try one out for myself one day. There's something really girly about it.

Elizabeth Armistead 1750 - 1842

2011-03-26T14:24:00.000-07:00

“You are all to me. You can always make me happy in circumstances apparently unpleasant and miserable… Indeed my dearest angel, the whole happiness of my life depends on you.” Charles James Fox wrote to Elizabeth Armistead.

Born Elizabeth Bridget Cane, it’s unknown if Elizabeth ever married or if she adopted the name Armistead from an early protector as was the frequent custom of the day. Her lovers already having included Dukes, Earls and the Prince of Wales himself, and at the age of 33 she had secured a substantial independent income through two handsome annuities, it isn’t known why or how Elizabeth embarked on her career as a courtesan. And there are many different accounts of how this may have come about. Some believe that she was found by Mrs Goudby, the celebrated Lady Abbess that run an expensive and magnificently elegant “Nunnery” in Marlborough Street which only catered to the very wealthy men of London. Or even by her neighbour Mrs Windsor’s house, where the Prince of Wales and Fox were known to be patrons.

In letters written to Elizabeth Fox states “I could change my name and live with you in the remotest part of Europe in poverty and obscurity. I could bear that very well, but to be parted I cannot bear.” She had stillness, a luminosity that was the perfect contrast to Fox’s hectic energy. With fresh good looks and wonderful rich dark hair; beautiful, but not described as stunningly so, Elizabeth possessed all the important attributes, such as an elegant figure and great ability in the arts of seduction. She was more importantly a good and sympathetic listener. Always bringing out the best of those around her, the secret to her success was her ability to make a man believe himself the centre of the universe. She had intelligence, and was clear headed in her attitude towards money. Through her annuities she was a householder in her own right, owning two houses in London and one in St Anne’s Hill. It was in 1783 that she fell in love with Charles James Fox. Even in his earliest letters Fox always treats Elizabeth as an intellectual equal, and with absolute confidence and trust. It was an unusual relationship for the highly popular courtesan. She was a woman of means, while he had lost all his money at the gaming tables. But this was a love connection and not a business one.

At a point when Elizabeth found herself in dept. she took the unlikely decision to stay with Fox, although he could not provide for her, and sold her houses in London – giving up her public life to live in St Anne’s Hill. They settled into a quiet life together. Visited by their powerful friends, they always welcomed visitors, especially children as they had none of their own. They lived in domestic happiness with Fox considering himself a married man with Elizabeth his wife, even though they were still unmarried after many years. Their friends considered them the same, although as a mistress Elizabeth was excluded from much of fox’s social life. After a friend, the banker Coutts, started to make advances to Fox regarding marrying his daughter, the usually serene Elizabeth could no longer keep her feelings to herself, and Fox realised that she had long been the wife of his heart, and it was time to make her his legal wife. But Elizabeth had douts, and tried more than once to talk Fox out of the marriage for his own sake. She knew that as a former courtesan she would never be accepted into society as his wife. But Fox loved her wholeheartedly and insisted. They even kept the marriage a secret on Elizabeth’s insistence for several years. When finally announced the women of society had the chance to decide for themselves.

Most found it impossible not to like her. And most were shocked that they had kept it secret for so long. Returning to public life Fox became ill and finally died in Sept 1806 with his ‘beloved Liz’ beside him. She lived for a further 36 years at St Anne’s Hill where they had always been so happy. Dyeing peacefully just three days short of her 92^nd birthday, she was never without family and friends visiting her during her later years. Her last wish was that she be buried in Westminster with her dear husband, which sadly was not to happen. The sons and grandsons of her former patrons were among the principal mourners at her funeral.

Source - Courtesans – Katie Hickman

Elizabeth Armistead has clothing that is all hand sewn, and is as correct to the period as I could make it. I’ve made her as she would have been between the years 1793-97, when she would have been in her early 40’s, when I think she was just about to give up her public life and settle into peaceful domestic life with Fox at St Anne’s Hill. She would have always been at the height of fashion; along with the other great courtesans leading the way with the newest styles. Even though you can’t see it, she wears a long sleeveless shift that reaches to her ankles, and no bloomers! They weren’t worn at this period, and didn’t start coming in until the gowns became very transparent and light. I have given her a little pair of lacy knickers as I can’t stand the thought of people looking up her skirts and seeing she has none on. And for some reason, everyone looks up a doll’s skirts, I’ve no idea why. She wears a set of short stays, and a high waisted petticoat that’s held under her bust by straps that go over her shoulders that has a pale pink ribbon trim. Elizabeth’s gown is made of a very fine cotton voile fabric, made in two layers to give her an under and overdress.

The sleeves are ¾ length with a puffy top, and her sash is again of pale pink satin ribbon tied just under her bust and left trailing down the back of her skirts. The under-dress has a lace trimmed hem, and the overdress has a very deep lace decorated hem made by cutting and individually applying lace pieces to give the look of white-work embroidery. The skirts of this period would have been fuller than in the later Jane Austen period, with most of the bulk at the back of the dress, and a slightly higher back than the front. Elizabeth’s Pelisse (coat) is made of a dusky pink silky dupion fabric and made in the same shape as her gown using the Spencer design as a guide. And her Poke bonnet has been handmade to fit, with satin ribbon and lace flower trim.

It is important to me to create a correct costume that provides the right shape and support as well as the right feel. And Elizabeth’s clothing, although it appears simple, is full of details to make it as authentic as possible.

She has rich brown hair, with lavender eyes. And she carries a small silk and lawn reticule trimmed with lace and beading. She’s a lovely doll to hold, with a nice weight and size.

Her pellise and bonnet are both removable. And the train of her gown hooks up in the back, as it would have been to stop it dragging on the ground outside and getting dirty.

Hand sculpted from paperclay, with jointed arms at the shoulder and elbow, and legs at the hip and knee.

Elizabeth Armistead would make a perfect gift for all those like me that like unusual but sweet odd little dolls.

This doll stands at 49cm tall, weighs approx. 280g.

Elizabeth Armistead's Pelisse

2011-03-21T13:58:00.000-07:00

As always I've been really busy working hard at sewing clothes for my latest doll. And just finished is one of my least favorite jobs - a removable coat! Why I seem to decide to do these thing I really don't know. But it actually came out quite well. I just always think it's nice if the outside wear comes off so that the doll can be displayed with or without it.

Known as a Pelisse in Elizabeths time, these coats were constructed with a tight fitted bodice and skirts that matched the shape of thier dresses. I had quite a job matching the curve of the high back and gathering two layers of pleated fabric into the small bodice, but lots of stab wounds and careful snipping seemed to make it possible.
A few years later the tight short bodice was worn without the skirts, and was known as a Spencer. I couldn't find too much information of the different versions in Elizabeth's time.You can often see these and versions of the Pelisse in period films looking really cute with leather gloves and lace and ribbon trimmed bonnets.

I've made Elizabeth's Pelisse from a dusky pink silky Dupion fabric, and lined it with the same. As you can see I've still got it pinned shut at the moment, and the collor pinned back in place, until I add a proper closure and press the collor in place. I was worried that the puffy sleeves of Elizabeth's gown wouldn't fit inside the sleeves, but the shape of them is wider at the top that tapers to the wrist. One of the sleeves did come out a little tight, but does fit over her hand, thank goodness.

It was interesting to find out that jacket and coat sleeves were worn quite long back then. Coming down to sit over the back of the hand, sometimes almost to the knuckles. I remember well my mother telling me off for pulling my sleeves down over my hands. And I still do it to this day in winter. I wish I'd know that now so I would have had an excuse :)

I've not quite decided how I'm going to trim the Pelisse yet. And am currently in the process of sewing a lot of ivory lace pieces to Elizabeth's ivory gown. This fashionable Courtesan is on her way to a very select ball, and of course has to be dressed in her best. Even though these Robe de Chemise gowns were made to be quite simple, as early as this was (around 1790-95) they would have still worn expensive trimming of their ball gowns.

The lace I'm using is quite delicate to create a look of white-work embroidery, and I've tied a pale pink satin sash around her high waistline, with long floating ribbons hanging in back.
I can't quite decide yet if I'll be making Elizabeth a bonnet or reticule for her to carry. I really want to see how she looks when her gown and pelisse are finished first before I decide.

I should have her finished in the next few weeks. The trimming is very detailed, and it's taking me quite a bit longer than I'd planned. But it's worth it.

Elizabeth Armistead - Work in Progress

2011-03-15T14:59:00.000-07:00

I've been working hard at my next doll, the courtesan Elizabeth Armistead.
Although I wouldn't want to live the lives they did, these women, the last Grand Courtesans, have impressed me. Yes, they sold their favours for money. And Yes, many of them were almost forced into their circumstances by poverty or pressure. But they were powerful, capable, independent women at a time when that just didn't exist.
The story of Elizabeth Armistead and Charles James Fox is one of the all time greatest romances. After being the companion to Dukes, Lords and even the Prince of Wales, Elizabeth fell in love with her patron, and he fell in love with her. She stayed with him no matter what, supporting him with her own money when he had none. Selling her considerable property and houses to remain with him. They were happy together, and finally married and lived in peace together for many years. To protect Fox from the ridicule of Society Elizabeth even insisted that their marriage remain a secret for many years, until friends found them out. She was lucky to gain a certain amount to acceptance from many of the people she thought would spurn her. Everyone that met Elizabeth couldn't help being charmed by her gentle, calm, kind nature.

I decided to make Elizabeth as she was around 1790's, when she would have been between 38-42yrs old. When she was happy , at the height of her fame, and in love.
This was very early in the Regency period. Just at the point when fashion dramatically changed from the over the top, highly decorated, wide hipped and tiny waisted, powdered wig styles of a young Marie Antoinette, to the simple, high-waisted, pale, Robe de Chemise gowns we all associate with Jane Austen and the lovely girls from Pride & Prejudice (My favorite book ever!).

These gossamer, floaty dresses didn't start of quite as barely there as you'd think. And at first anyway, they had some layers underneath. It's a no bloomers era again, so again I'm making a doll with no knickers on! These started coming in when the dresses got really thin and even more transparent. But as I can't stand the thought of someone looking up her skirt and seeing her bare bum she does have a little pair of lacy ones on. And trust me, everyone looks up a dolls skirts, no idea why, it's just a fact.

I started off with a plain shift that has the slightly longer straight fitted sleeve, and that reaches to her ankles, but is shorter than the hem of her dress so that it won't be seen. Next are the short stays, which you can see just over the top of her high petticoat. As these won't be seen I've not made them exactly as they should be, but have used a piece of elastic to suggest one that can be felt through her clothes. As you can see, adding this layer has helped to keep the low neckline of her shift down and in place so it won't be seen peeking over the equally low neckline of her dress. Her petticoat provides the support for her dress and sits just below her bust, supported with straps over her shoulders.

The skirts at this time were still quite full, with a gathered front, and with most of the bulk of gathers in the back. It's a big difference from the styles of a few years previously, and completely hides the waist. These gowns were made to show the high bust that was forced into a very high position by the stays, and also the neck and shoulders. It also has a train in the back that I'll add some sort of fixing too so that it can be pinned up in the back as they were for dancing and walking outdoors.

I've made Elizabeth's gown from 100% ivory cotton voile, which was used at the time. It's been a pain to work with, and frays really easily as well as being really delicate. I thought at first that maybe this may have been a more comfortable style than others I've looked into. But with her bust up under her chin, and fabric so delicate that the slightest catch could ruin it I'm starting to wonder. I suppose at least it's not a full corset and tons of layers to carry about.

Her gown is made in two layers, with a lined bodice and two layers of skirts to give it a really floaty look. It has three quarter sleeves with a large puffed top. I'm going to be changing these puffs a little as I'm not happy with them. And will be adding an extra seam or two of gathering to make them more of a half Marie sleeve - A puffed shoulder followed by other smaller puffs.This is going to be an evening dress, and I haven't added any of the trimming yet, so Elizabeth still looks quite plain. The hems of her skirts and train will be decorated with a fine lace once I've finished. And you can see that her underskirt is a little longer than the top layer so that the lengths will remain equal when this is added. Although her slightly older age would suggest that she shouldn't really be wearing such a light colour, Elizabeth was still unmarried, and was a very, very fashionable woman. One of the first to adopt all the latest styles, and setting fashions of her own. And as it is an evening gown I decided not to worry about it too much as I have found pictorial evidence of older women wearing white and cream gowns. If your wondering why she's sitting on my stairs it was the easiest way I could think of to show her size :)

Once her dress is trimmed with lace and a pale pink satin sash I'm going to try and make a pellise (coat) from a dusky pink dupion silk which will follow the shape of her gown, being high waisted, with full skirts. I'm hoping I can make this removable, so that she'll be able to be displayed with or without it. And I may even attempt a shawl, bonnet and bag, although I've not decided on her accessories yet.

I wish I'd had daylight to take some proper photos to show you, but it's very dark and damp round the edges in my part of Wales at the moment, so I've had to take these in artificial light.
I'm really happy with how she's coming out at the moment. And she'll be one of the prettiest, girliest dolls I've made. With soft features and a lot of detail in her dress once it's finished.

I hope you'll like her.
I'll take more photos soon.

Mary Shelley 30th Aug 1797 – 1st Feb 1851

2011-03-06T12:23:00.000-08:00

Mary Shelley, born Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin on 3oth Aug 1797, was a short story writer, dramatist, essayist, biographer and travel writer. Best known for her Gothic novel Frankenstein: or, The Modern Prometheus. After her mother’s death when she was just 11 days old, she and her sister were raised by their father until he remarried when Mary was 4yrs old. He married a woman described as quick tempered and quarrelsome – but the marriage was a success. Godwin provided his daughter with a rich, but informal education, encouraging her to embrace his liberal political theories. He took his children on educational outings, gave them full access to his library, encouraged Mary in her writing, and ensured they had access to the many intellectuals that visited him. Admitting he was not following their mother, Mary Wollstonecraft, philosophy as she had outlined in her works such as A Vindication of the Rights of Woman. Mary’s education was unusual and advanced for a girl at the time, and at 15yrs her father described her as “Singularly bold, somewhat imperious, and active of mind. Her desire of knowledge is great and her perseverance in everything she undertakes almost invincible”.

Mary’s father became acquainted with Percy Shelley in 1814, and after they fell out over money, Percy began secretly meeting Mary at her mother’s grave in St Pancras Churchyard, where they fell in love. She was just 17 and he 22yrs old. Her father disapproved and tried to break up the relationship and save the “spotless fame” of his daughter. Against his wishes, in 1814 Mary began a more serious relationship with Percy Bysshe Shelley. And together with her stepsister Claire Clairmont the pair left for France in July, and travelled through Europe; Leaving Percy’s pregnant wife behind. They read works by Mary’s mother and others, kept a joint journal and continued their own writing. Upon their return Mary was pregnant with Percy’s child.

She was ostracised, the couple were in constant dept., and Mary’s father refused to have anything to do with them. Pregnant and ill, Mary had to cope with all this, as well as Percy’s joy at the birth of his son by wife Harriet; as well as his constant outings with her stepsister Claire. On 22^nd Feb 1815 she gave birth to a premature baby girl, who did not survive long, being found by Mary in her crib. The loss of her child left Mary in acute depression, haunted by visions of the baby. By the summer she had conceived again, and recovered some of her former health. And in 1816 she gave birth to a second child, William, whom they nicknamed Willmouse. This was the year they famously spent a summer with Lord Byron, John William Polodori and Mary’s stepsister Claire Clairmont, who was pregnant by Byron, as well as others near Geneva. Where she first conceived the idea for her novel Frankenstein, and where she first began to call herself ‘Mrs Shelley’. The philosophy and intellectual conversations of the group in Geneva, as well as the German ghost stories they told to entertain, suggesting the supernatural tale to her imagination.

The couple actually married soon after their return from this trip, after the suicide of Harriet, who was discovered drowned in the Serpentine Lake in Hyde Park. When Percy was advised to remarry to strengthen his custody case, which Harriet’s family were obstructing. They married on 30^th Dec 1816 at St Mildred’s Church. And Mary was already pregnant with their third child. Clara was born on 2^nd Sept 1817, that same year that Frankenstein was published anonymously. Her first readers assumed that Percy was the author.

A very young Clara died in Sept 1818, in Venice. And William in June of the same year, in Rome. These losses left Mary in a deep depression that isolated her from her husband. The birth of Percy Florence, her only surviving child, finally lifted her spirits. Though she always nursed the memory of her lost children and suffered always from further bouts of depression.

In 1822 an again pregnant Mary moved, along with Percy, Claire and a group of friends, to the isolated Villa Magni, from where they didn’t intend on returning. Again, she lost the child. Suffering so badly, and losing so much blood, she nearly died. Depressed and debilitated, she had to look on as Percy spent more and more time with another woman. In this same year her husband, Percy, drowned when his sailing boat sank during a sudden storm while sailing back from Livorno to Lerici leaving her alone with her young son, and in poor. Some say under suspicious circumstances. He was cremated on the beach by Byron, and Hunt at Viareggio.

Mary returned to England to devote herself to the upbringing of her son and her writing career. Her other works show she remained a political radical throughout her life. Often arguing through her writing that cooperation and sympathy, particularly as practised by women, was the way to reform civil society.

The last decade of her life was dogged by illness; suffering from severe headaches and bouts of paralysis which prevented her reading and writing, and probably caused by the brain tumour that was to kill her at the age of 53 on 1^st Feb 1851. She was buried at St Peter’s Church, Bournemouth, near her son and daughter-in-law’s home. On the first anniversary of her death they opened her desk to find inside it locks of hair from each of her dead children, a notebook she had shared with Percy, and a copy of his poems, one page of which was folded around a silk parcel. The parcel contained some of her husband’s ashes and the remains of his heart, which she had saved from his cremation.

Portrait by Richard Rothwell – 1840

Source – Wikipedia 2011 and other various works.

Mary Shelley - Fancy Petticoat and Blouse

2011-03-06T05:28:00.000-08:00

One last little update before I upload the photos of a completed Mary Shelley.
I just wanted to show you the last layers beneath her clothes before I gave her her final dress.

She has on her final petticoat of fine dark red cotton, and a cream silk blouse with a ruffled front.

I've since added an embroidered ribbon trim to the petticoat to give it a little more detail. Again, it's cartridge pleated to her waist, and has a flounce added to the bottom. I did try adding another petticoat, as she may have worn more, but the bulking pleating was raising the waist too high and starting to spoil the final doll, so I removed it.

Her silk blouse is fitted to be almost but not quite off the shoulder, and is gathered in front to form ruffles and fit it around her bosom. Both body and cuffs are a delicate Habotai silk, and the sleeves are cotton. Although it should have been all silk, I didn't want the silk to wear through at the elbow as she's moved around and spoil the movement. So decided to use the more robust cotton instead.

Mary's all finished now, with just the photo editing to do before I can show her off.
I really hope you like her.

Cording Technique

2011-03-02T09:25:00.000-08:00

I've been asked by the lovely Karly Perez of Cheekie Bottoms Art Dolls - http://www.karlyperez.com/ - to explain
the cording technique I used for Mary Shelley's petticoat, so have tried my best below. I'm afraid my diagram might not be too clear as I couldn't find a good one online and have made this up myself. I hope it makes sense. The lines shown are fabric, and the black circles the cords.

I found two different ways of cording suitable for the petticoat in my favourite sewing book, Manipulating Fabric by Colette Wolff, as shown in the diagram.
You can use this technique to create any raised design, not just straight lines. But through trial I found that the straight bands held their shape better for the petticoats I was making. And I followed a pattern I'd seen on an antique corded petticoat of bands or cording with spaces in between, the bands getting narrower as they went up the skirt.

Enclosed Cording - Top Diagram
This version uses one piece of fabric and encloses the cord completely inside, with a flat back to the finished piece. It also shortens the fabric, so extra needs to the included if you need a certain length in one piece, or it can be made as a panel and added to another piece of fabric. I made Mary's petticoat in one, but will make it as a panel next time as I think this will be easier to handle. I added a backing to hide the stitching and front cover over the top of everything anyway, so it would have made no difference.
- Draw a line on fabric where you want the first cord to be, and fold the chosen cord into the fabric so that you can pin along this line. Like turning up a hem, but with cord inside.
- Sew along the line.
- Using the first cord as guide, fold the second cord into the fabric in the same way, very close to the first, leaving a gap just wide enough to let the cords stand up when you straighten the fabric out. I found the width of the cord itself to be the best gap to do this. Sorry it's not a very mathematical explanation.
- Carry on adding cords until you’re done. And if you want to leave a gap, just draw another line further up the fabric and start again.

Sandwich Cording - Second Diagram
This version uses two pieces of fabric to enclose the cord. You would be able to get just as stiff a result with this method using a sewing machine as you'd be able to butt the cords up tighter together, but as I hand sew I found it difficult to handle. It also produces a less raised effect than the first version, with the same profile on both sides of the fabric. I also found this way harder to get even in profile by hand sewing.
- Sew a straight line through both pieces of fabric where you want the cords to start.
- Insert cord between the two layers of fabric as tight to the sewn line as you can.
- Sew a second line on the other side of the cord, fitted as closely to the cord as you can (for stiffness).
- Insert second cord, and sew another line of the open side as before.
- Repeat for however many lines you want. And again, if you want to leave a gap, sew another start line and start again.

Any cord can be used depending on the width you'd like your cords to be and the stiffness you want, from garden twine to wool for softer raised designs. I also found the top diagram version stiffer that the lower one, so used that for Mary. But have included both in case you might find one easier than the other. I hand sew everything, so found it tough going on the fingers, but if you use a machine it should be quite easy as it's all straight lines.

If I've not been clear I'm more than happy to answer any questions.

Mary Shelley - A Lot of Underwear!

2011-03-01T06:25:00.000-08:00

Quite a long post as I have photos of Mary Shelley at each stage of dressing to share.
I really was quite shocked when I realised just how much fabric it was going to take to to create the skirts and petticoats for Mary - 1 whole meter for the base of each with extra for flounces and layers!
She's only 46ins tall!

I wanted to make Mary at around the 1840 period, when she was about 42 years old. The Pre-Victorian women of this time created the huge, bell shaped skirts through sheer weight of fabric before the invention of the hooped cage crinoline. Using different fabric, starch and a number of techniques. I've no idea how they actually did anything in them, but Mary's skirts are proving that there was more space for movement underneath them than I'd thought. Sitting is another matter, and I don't think these skirts could have been the least bit comfortable.

After I've added the basic bloomers and shift (Mary is of the crotchless era!), I use a piece of wide elastic to imitate a corset. I know that it doesn't look like the fantastic structured corsets of the time, but when all her clothes are added it gives the right feel.
I had a bit of trouble getting the right shape to the top of the shift as the neck is so wide. I'm trying to dress her as she appears in a well known portrait by Richard Rothwell of the period. And her black dress sits very wide on her shoulders, almost off-the-shoulder, so her shift had to match.

The first bit of colour, and the first of her skirts, is a red cotton basic petticoat with no trim or decoration as it's just to help keep the next layers clean and stop the rough material rubbing against her legs. It's cartridge pleated to a wide waistband, and is just as long as her legs.

If your wondering about the odd wrap around her hair it's to keep the feathers from getting in the way while I dress her. I've tried putting their hair on last, but it just doesn't work for me. I like to see them as they should be to get a better idea of how to dress them. And it helps when choosing colours too.

The next layer is a corded petticoat made of rough starched calico.
I've no idea how any woman managed to make a full sized one as this one was enough to drive me nuts!
There are 21 cords sewn into Mary's corded petticoat, with a cover over the front, and backing added to provide further stiffness. (You can see the cords here before they were enclosed.) I've read accounts of full sized ones having over 100 cords. I really didn't think this technique would work as well as it does without a lot of starch. But it does, and I only had to add a little in the end. It even stands up on it's own.

It adds a lot of bulk to the shape of the skirts, and does a good job in place of the later hooped crinolines. I think these may have been a bit more comfortable than the metal or cane hoops as the cords still have a lot of flex in them, and collapse when sitting down.
Even now Mary is starting to feel heavy. And this is only the second layer of up to six. She's not quite bell shaped yet, but the width is there at the bottom, and the next flounced layer should add the width at the top. I'm really hoping that she looks as I want when she's done as I still have sore fingers from all the stab wounds from sewing this layer.
I think I might loose it if I have to take it off again.

Another layer, and tons more rough calico to create a huge puffy flounced petticoat.
As the layers are added it's surprising how much length needs to be added to each. I think the skirts started out at 33cm long, but this layer is closer to 38cm. I had to add an extra ruffle to make up a mistake in the length. Like the corded one, it's cartridge pleated to the waistband of the original under-petticoat to help keep down the bulk at the waist. Need to aim at a tiny waist and huge skirt that sticks out horizontally from the waist and falls into a bell shape.

Even though this is only one of the layers in Mary Shelley's skirts, I was so happy when I saw her in this I was giggling to myself. She's really started to get that Scarlet O'Hara look about her now. And sits perfectly unaided due to the bulk of fabric that spills out around her.
I've already started work on the next and last petticoat. I've decided to leave it at four as she really doesn't need any more. Although I can understand that more would have been worn at the time, I'm in danger of her looking like a loo roll cover if I carry on as she'll be totally stiff in her clothes. I also need to keep her waist as low as possible to keep the finished dress as authentic as I can, and the cartridge pleating needed to get the amount of fabric to fit around her waist is quite wide. After that is a silk shirt with bell shaped sleeves, and then her black dress. I can't wait to see her finished.

Very Under-dressed Dolls

2011-03-01T05:04:00.000-08:00

After showing you my 6 new dolls all in bit's on the table I thought it only fair to them to show you now they all have some hair and are sitting up ready to be dressed. They all have a little pair of lacy knickers on to start with, no matter what underwear goes on later, as I just can't seem to leave them sit around with nothing at all on until I'm ready to start some proper clothes for them.

From left to right is Katherine Walters, Elizabeth Armistead, Lizzie Siddal, Mary Shelley, Rose La Touche, and Christina Rossetti.
Mary already has on her shift and bloomers, and is ready for her corset and under-petticoat. The others will have to stay a little cold until she's fully dressed.
As you probably realise, I make to dolls to fit the style of clothes that they will wear, even though I like to dress them in the correct layers; from the underwear outwards. I know that most of it won't be seen as I sew them into their clothes. But I like to make these portrait dolls as correctly as possible. And it really helps the finished feel of them to be able to tell that there are more layers underneath the clothes that you can see.

The Art of Manipulating Fabric by Colette Wolff

2011-02-25T15:02:00.000-08:00

I had to share this book with you, it's amazing!

If you sew at all I'm sure you can find it as useful as I do. It's helped me solve so many problems, reminded me of how to do things, and taught me loads on new things I'd never tried before.
Every page is packed with clear photos, diagrams, and step by step on how to achieve whatever technique or effect you can think of. With all the photo's in plain cream calico in good lighting, so you can see exactly what you need to do.
It's been such a help to me over the years. And my copy is now well thumbed.
I've just used it to learn a cording technique to create a fabric petticoat for my Mary Shelley doll that acts like a hooped crinoline. I didn't think it would come out as well as it has. It even stands on it's own :)
I'll have photo's of it tomorrow when I've given it an iron. But wanted to tell you of this fantastic book first.

Treasury - Corsets & Crinolines

2011-02-22T05:21:00.000-08:00

I made up a new treasury of all the beautiful Victorian inspires underwear that you can find on Etsy. Inspired by my sewing this week to get some undies on Mary Shelley.

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4d62612350826d91a719656b/corsets-crinolines

So far she has on her crotchless bloomers, and it never fails to surprise me that they bothered wearing them as they are just two legs sewn onto a waistband. There must have been a terrible draft!
She also has on her shift, and corset. And a bright red under-petticoat.

Any of you that follow me on Twitter (NatashaDolls) might already know I had a bit of a shock to find that Mary's petticoats need 1 whole meter of fabric each. And she has 6!. She's only 47cm tall, so I never thought it would be so much. But the very early Victorian style of bell shaped skirts that stuck out straight from the tight cinched waist was achieved with a lot of layers, this being before the invention of the hooped crinoline.

After researching how they did it I'm currently working on a corded petticoat that will be the next layer, which is something I've not done before. I had a bit of trouble getting used to this odd technique, but seem to be doing ok now.
I'm adding approx. 20 "cords" to a meter of fabric, which involves sewing string into the fabric to make it stiffer so it's able to hold it's shape, then starching it to help it a bit more. It's hard enough making a petticoat like this for a doll, I can't imagine how labor intensive it would be to make a full sized one, which would have had as many cords as they could manage. And I've read accounts of up to 100 sewn into one layer. It must have taken ages.
Many women of the time wore as many petticoats in varying layers as they could. I've no idea how they sat down.