Chapter 2: The Doll Side......

Katy Mayıs 02, 2022

Continuing from yesterday.....

I left off with the doll wearing a slip. It was glued on using Aileen's tacky glue. None of the clothing has been sewn together. Dana Burton recommends using Aileen's tacky for gluing fabrics. She has been doing this for 20+ years and I haven't tried another brand.

Use the glue to make hems, seams or attach lace in place of sewing. This is great for non-sewers. I am a sewer, and have made garments. I have to be careful with the glue as I am sloppy and tend to leave drips and drops. I really have to slow down and take my time.

Dressing the doll.....

Cut your pieces for the dress out. (I am using a pattern from Dana Burton's Prudence doll). If you don't sew, take a minute and look at the actual pieces of the patterns. They have symbols on them and directions for how many pieces to cut. For example: Cut 2 means cut two pieces of this pattern. Fold means place the pattern on a folded piece of fabric. The pattern piece is placed with the appointed side on the fold. DO NOT cut the folded side. This gives you 1 complete piece.

https://www.createandcraft.com/gb/sewing-pattern-symbols

I glued the pieces together with a 1/8 inch seam. (You will have to follow individual pattern directions at this point)

Here she is drying

Then the waist is glued to the doll, again, a little lower than how it would be worn in real life. The raw edge of the waist will be hidden with a belt later. This is good time to see how the fabric naturally flows. Part of what makes dolls more realistic is the drape of the fabric. I am still way be hind the learning curve in this area.

Below is her blouse. This a piece of white broad cloth that is ruched by pulling threads. It was a simple rectangle. It is glue to the breast and stomach and cinched at the waist.A piece of lace is added to the neck Her back is bare and will be covered with a shawl. Her belt is made using a piece of index card with fabric glued and folded over. It is glued to her waist.

At this point, (see picture above) I have inserted pipe cleaners into the porcelain arms and wrapped them with cotton like her legs were done. I trimmed the pipe cleaners and bent her arms until I was happy with their placement.
The arms are not glued yet. I then placed the shawl over her and played with its placement until I was happy with the look. I then glued her arms in and added more decorations and a collar. The shawl is glued to her back.