Back to Doll Making

Jake is at a meeting in Corvallis all day today, so after getting a little housework done, I took the opportunity to gorge my brain on a bunch of "Lord of the Rings" extras and get some work done on some real dolls. I especially wanted to complete the work on a round robin piece that will need to hit the mail soon. I won't post photos of her because I don't want her "Mom" to see her.

I was on a roll (and only about half way through the DVD I was watching,) so I grabbed my white-on-white doll and attacked her clothes. I have found over and over again when working with other designers' patterns that the doll I make doesn't fit the clothes patterns. This was the case with this doll as well. All her lovely dresses looked like ill-fitting pajamas on her. I used some rather expensive fabric on them though, so no way was I going to start over!

Here she is so far. First I gave her a petticoat to hold out the silk of her undergown, which is very fluid but hung like a limp rag from her body -- not attractive. Then I took in the undergown by wrapping a shape into the bodice with some satin cord. She has such a beautiful figure and it was nearly completely hidden under those shapeless clothes.

I added some of the same cord to the sleeves to add a little more color and texture. I am discovering that adding some darker shades of white really wakes up the monochromatic color scheme. I haven't trimmed the ends yet because I haven't decided exactly what to do with them. Now that I see the photos, I think I will cut them off. They just look messy to me now.

From the back she is looking pretty good! I have pinned in a HUGE pleat at the waist of the overgown -- now I just need to make up some kind of accent to hold it in place. Probably beads to match her head piece.


I have no idea whatsoever why Blogger decided to rotate this photo... Anyway, this is a closeup of her headpiece. It looks beautiful in her hair. If I had somewhere appropriate to go I would wear it myself!


By adding a handle to the mask instead of attaching it to her face, I have convinced her that yes, it does too look good with her outfit. Unfortunately, she is one of the few dolls I have ever made without wired fingers, so I will have to work out a way to make it stay in her hands.

This pattern is the most bizarre blend of engineering technicalities and utterly simple "rag doll" parts. Odd...

The handle of the mask is just wire with Apoxie Sculpt wrapped around it, then painted Champagne metallic. I want to try a little watered down burnt umber on a small corner to see if it brings out the details or just ruins it, but I am done for today.