Sewing for 16" Dolls, Designed By Me -- Update with Movie Answer

Now that Eldest Daughter has moved out and is getting married, Mr. BTEG and I, with the help of Youngest Daughter, are reconfiguring the second floor of our home to give us more room to pursue our hobbies. A table for my use is going into our new hobby room this week, so I'm holding off taking doll pictures until that happens. In the meantime, I talked with RagingMoon about some of the 16" doll clothes I sewed a very long time ago, and she expressed interest in seeing some of the pictures. And when I say a long time, I mean at least fifteen years or more. So you'll also get to see some older dolls.

First up is Franklin Mint's vinyl Lily doll. Her more famous FM counterpart was Josephine; they share body and face sculpts, but Josephine got the wardrobe trunk and all the outfits. They were dressed in clothes from around the turn of the last century, and their figures were also perfect for the era, featuring the S-bend that was popular in the early 1900s. Unfortunately, their bodies are not really articulated. Anyway, here's a cotton chemise and drawers that I made for Lily.

And here's Josephine wearing a petticoat that I made, and a muslin 1890s balloon sleeve style bodice that I was drafting, and then a green chambray dress.

Here is Tonner's Daphne wearing a two piece jacket and skirt outfit. This outfit is the only one for which I did not design the pattern. The pattern is the work of Vince Nowell, who at one time was extremely famous in the doll sewing and collecting community.

I owned some dolls from the Gene line by Mel Odom for many years. Here's Madra wearing a dress from a pattern that I designed. In this one, I was going for the feel of a 1930s day dress.

Here is a raven-haired Madra wearing a costume I made for a secret gift exchange, run by the owner of a Gene doll forum that I was on at the time. You win the internets for a day if you know the movie from which I took this costume. I'll update with the info after a few days, unless somebody guesses it first.

So, the movie was a 1939 film called The Women. The entire cast of the movie, including some pets and other animals seen in the film, was entirely female. The three leads are all well-known names in film: Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford, and Rosalind Russell. I based this costume off the dress that Joan Crawford wore in the climactic scene of the movie. She's wearing it in this still of the three stars of the movie.

Unfortunately, I couldn't find a gold fabric that was as "sparkly" as the dress Joan is wearing, but I thought that it still turned out okay. I've always thought that the doll Madra's personality in the Gene line was perhaps partially based on Joan Crawford. Madra is a Hollywood star like Gene, and she usually plays roles like Joan Crawford does here; Crawford's part is that of an assistant at a perfume counter, who's out for a wealthy husband, and doesn't mind being a home-wrecking hussy to get one. (Does anyone use the word hussy anymore?)

I accepted a commission to make a dress from the opening scene of the movie Breakfast at Tiffany's, which would fit the Gene doll. The collar in back ended up being a real pain to draft. I lined the whole thing in white, to try to prevent staining.

And lastly, an entire costume which I designed and made myself, for an Ashton Drake design competition for Gene. This one I've had on my blog before, but I don't know how many of you have seen it. The look for this one is from 1907.

I hope all of you have enjoyed this trip down memory lane! Once my table gets up in our new hobby room, I'm going to try to get some photography backgrounds and my photo tent set up permanently, or at least mostly permanently. I do have lots of new things to share!

Liebster Award 2016

This time around Farrah Lily from Cozy Comforts and Dolls nominated me for the Liebster Award. It's a chance to get to know bloggers with under a 1,000 followers, and also find about new blogs.

As usual, this award involves thanking the person who nominated you, answering their questions, coming up with questions of your own, and nominating people to answer your questions. In case, the number of the questions is eleven, and the number of the nominees is five (six is right out.)

1. Who is your favorite cartoon character?
Snoopy! Back in my day, it was always An Event when the seasonal Peanuts special appeared on television (get off my lawn.) I always loved to watch them, and I still have some of that great jazz music on my playlist. And Snoopy is my favorite. I love when he and Woodstock sit down to eat Thanksgiving dinner after Charlie Brown and his friends have left for Charlie Brown's grandmother's house. I love when (in his imagination) he dances with the bunnies in the Easter special.

Knott's Berry Farm, November, 2001

2. What's your favorite flower (or plant if you're not a flower person)?
The pansy. I love all the different colors and color combinations that a pansy can have. It's why I named my Etsy store Sweet Purple Pansies.

3. What's the weirdest thing you've ever eaten?
In Mr. BTEG's Italian family, Christmas Eve dinner consists of seafood. The first Christmas eve dinner I ate with Mr. BTEG's family, was at his grandmother's house. Among other things being served was calamari. But not just any calamari. It wasn't breaded or anything. It looked like the squid had been boiled and set right out on the plate (they still had their eyes!) Desperate to make a good impression with my possible future in-laws, I tried some. Meh. But it was better than trying the eel.

4. What was the last movie you saw (in home or in theaters)?
Um. Wow. I'm not big on movies. Probably the Hunger Games, a couple of years ago, when it was on Netflix, and my daughter and husband were watching it. Or maybe Cabin in the Woods, when we still had cable.

5. If you could visit any country in the world, where would you go?
Romania, but specifically Siebenbürgen, Transylvania. I'd love to see where my grandfather's parents came from.

6. How did you meet your best friend?
My husband is my best friend, and we met at college in the late 80s. Neither of us can clearly remember the first time we met, though. I guess we didn't think it was momentous as it turned about to be. :)

7. What is your dream job?
A doll clothing designer, of course! (First two patterns created by me.)

Franklin Mint Lily wearing period undergarments

My version of a dress Joan Crawford wore in the film The Women, worn by Ashton Drake's Madra Lord

American Girl high school marching band Color Guard costume I made for daughter's friend. I made a few changes to a pattern from a Joan Hinds book.

Tonner 16" Daphne, wearing two piece costume, pattern by Vince Nowell

8. If you could make a custom doll based on any character or real person, who would you make?
Loki from the Marvel movies. Yes, the character has already been made, but I'm not happy with how any of the faces turned out. If I could create a custom doll, I'd have the face sculpt made to my satisfaction.

9. What's your favorite season?
Autumn. The days are not as hot as summer, but still comfortably warm. The leaves on the trees become vibrant colors. Football season is starting. Major League Baseball is making the run towards the playoffs. Halloween takes place in autumn; it's not my favorite holiday, but it's fun.

LEGO haunted house, based on the places of amusement for visiting that occur every Halloween in the US,  created by Mr. BTEG

10. If you could talk to/understand one species of animal, which would you choose?
Cats. Although I would also like to go back in the past and talk to some of the pet cats we've had over the years who have crossed the Rainbow Bridge.

Why did Callie like to drink from the bathtub faucet?

11. If you could instantly learn any language, which would you choose?
It might be fun to learn an Asian language, so I could go to a doll website like this one, and be able to understand it! But I like Japanese and Chinese dolls, and Atelier 613 appears to be in Korean? So I'd go with German. I learned it long ago, but I've forgotten so much of it from lack of use.

So here are my questions:
1. If you could have one doll outfit made in life-size for you, which one would it be?
2. If you could make a custom doll based on any character or real person, who would you make?
3. Inset eyes. Yes or no?
4. Do any of your dolls have personalities based on people in real life?
5. Do you have any dolls that you would like to be friends with in real life based on their personalities (whether created by the manufacturer or you?)
6. Is there a skill or ability you would like to instantly learn?
7. Do you have a travel doll that you take with you when you're out?
8. Some people write stories using their dolls as character inspirations, or draw pictures of their dolls. Do you do anything like that?
9. Do you like to treat your dolls as canvases for face-painting, new wigs, etc., or do you keep your dolls the way they came?
10. Who was the first doll blogger you followed?
11. What book or movie or television show would you like to see get its own doll line?

Now the hard part, nominations. I'm going to choose: Hannah, Natalia, Smaller Places, Presto, and Lisa. No pressure, guys. Only do this if you want to.

Sisterhood of the World Bloggers Award

Linda at Darkroom Dolls nominated me for a Sisterhood of the World Bloggers Award. She's given me 10 questions to answer, and I need to nominate 5 people for the award.

1. Do you collect anything other than dolls?
As a seamstress and knitter, I kind of collect fabric and yarn. I'm not one of those people who buys what I need for a project, finishes it, then starts another. I'm a person who buys things with an eye for future projects. Or I buy for a project and start something else instead. :)

2. Why did you start a doll blog?
Sometimes a blog is referred to as the blogger's virtual house. Since I enjoy visiting other people's "houses" and looking at their dolls, I decided to invite people to see my dolls too. I wanted to meet people with whom I share some doll interests, and have all kinds of conversations about doll collecting. I've met some great fellow doll collectors in the two years that I've been dolly blogging.

3. Do you have one particular doll that is the favorite in your collection?
I think my favorite would be Calendar Girl Sydney, by Tonner. Her face paint and hair color just seem to all come together for me perfectly. Also, I like that she isn't very made up. She's more versatile that way.

4. Your favorite doll accessory (American Girl or other)?
A croquet set made by Ashton Drake for 16" Gene Marshall. It fitted into one of her stories. I like having it because croquet was all the rage especially during the 1860s, but played in later Victorian and into Edwardian times. Someday I would love to get enough dolls dressed appropriately to photograph them playing a Victorian game of croquet. The set is both great and kind of a pain, because all the pieces are usable and therefore come loose. Thus, I tend to have the stakes and balls and wickets drop on the floor very often.

5. Do you know exactly how many dolls you have in your collection (you don't have to tell the number of course :-) )?
Not off the top of my head, no. Especially since I have some Barbie size dolls put away until I can get more display space. Hopefully less than one hundred, but they do tend to multiply.

6. Do you play any instruments and if so, what?
I took piano lessons in college and for a short while afterwards, to make up for the fact that my parents would never let me take piano when I was a kid. I haven't practiced at all since then, but I could still play one line of notes with one hand.

7. Where is your most favorite place you've ever been?
Cedar Point Amusement Park, Sandusky, Ohio. Known as the roller coaster capital of the world because it has so many of them. A few of them are also among the tallest and fastest in the world as well. I love roller coasters, and amusement park rides in general, plus Cedar Point is on a peninsula jutting into my beloved Lake Erie.

There are five roller coasters alone in this photo.

8. What is your most favorite thing about yourself?
Physically, that I have curly hair. :) Character wise, that I'm a good listener, and people tend to tell me things that they don't tell just everyone.

9. Favorite book or movie?
I don't really have one favorite. When I need some light, fun reading, I tend to go back to one of Agatha Christie's numerous mysteries.

10. If you could design your own doll, what would it look like?
She'd have brown hair and probably blue eyes. She'd wear her hair in a pompadour with a knot on top, and she'd be dressed in an outfit from about 1904. The dress would have lots of tucks, ruching and lace. The main color of the outfit would be blue, and she'd wear high-button shoes. She'd have wrist, elbow and knee articulation, with a twisting waist and moveable head, arms and legs.


I now am supposed to nominate five people. I've picked:

Marta at All4Barbie
Hannah at Never Grow Up 
barbielea at barbiebeauties
Vanessa at Van's Doll Treasures
RagingMoon1987 at Confessions of a Dolly Lover

My 10 questions are:

1. Do you collect anything other than dolls?
2. Why did you start a doll blog?
3. Do you have one particular doll that is the favorite in your collection?
4. Your favorite doll accessory?
5. Do you know exactly how many dolls you have in your collection (you don't have to tell the number of course :-) )?
6. Do you play any instruments and if so, what?
7. Where is your most favorite place you've ever been?
8. Where would you most like to visit, that you have never visited?
9. Is there a retired doll or doll line that you'd like to bring back?
10. If you could design your own doll, what would it look like?

Happy Easter

I hope that all of you who celebrate Easter had a happy and blessed one. My family and I did.

Just a quick note about the header I threw up. Since I don't really have anything doll/Easter related, I put up pictures of two of my dolls in their best Easter straw hats. On the left is Madame Alexander's 21" Cissy. On the right is Ashton Drake's 16" Gene, whom I no longer own. Her dress and hat were made by me. :)