We finished revising the book on Sunday. So, in celebration, I’m doing some home work.
I found a copy of this pattern at a doll show last year:
Sorry the image isn’t better–I’m working on a computer that doesn’t have good scanning software. But you can see that the pattern was published by McCalls in 1946, and the designs depict clothing from the 1860s. I suspect the pattern was intended for china head dolls, which were briefly popular during and after the war because the products used to make composition were needed for the war effort, and plastic manufacture was in its infancy.
Anyhow, I sewed up a trial bodice and tried it on Daesie. It fit perfectly! Daesie is a reproduction of a Smiling Bru made by David of DAE productions (which is why I named her DAEsie). David is a local, and a charming guy whose sewing and design skills put mine to shame (he also made the mohair wig).
So here is Daesie in the first dress I made from the McCalls pattern:
This is the dress in the upper left corner of the pattern. I substituted fabric collar and cuffs for the net shown on the pattern because the research I did suggested that net was not a big favorite during the mid-nineteenth-century. If I make the dress for real (ie for sale) I’ll use lace instead. You can barely see the lace inside the sleeves as well–this showed daintily when a lady lifted a teacup to her lips. In a “real” edition of this dress the skirt would be twice as full–I cut the yardage in half because I didn’t have enough fabric.
The Smiling Bru was first produced in Europe in the 1870s. This picture shows off her features:
Now I know a lot of people are scuzzed out by antique dolls. But once you get used to their foreign-ness, they grow on you. If you are at that place, you can see why so many dollmakers love the Smiling Bru. She seems to know a sly secret that she is keeping to herself–forever.
amazing work, Doc! I’m in awe