Antique Doll Patterns

13" Alabama Baby 

courtesy  Withington Auctions

Quite a few patterns based on antique dolls have been featured here.   We've talked about Columbian dolls and Izannah Walker dolls and Maggie Bessie dolls.  If you know of any other excellent patterns based on antique dolls, please either contact Dixie or leave a comment below.  In the meantime, you can see posts on antique doll patterns here.

Use of Twill Tape in Antique Doll and Reproduction Doll Clothing

 

The Maida Dolls group has been discussing twill tape.  What is twill tape, you ask?  Twill tape is a woven trim, sometimes made of cotton, sometimes linen, which can be used for drawstrings, dress ties, caps, etc.   If you study the Workwoman's Guide mentioned in the previous post, you will see that many of the garments from the 1840 book used ties or tapes for garment closures.   "Tapes"  - in our case twill tape -  can be used in a casing to create a drawstring neckline which is adjustable. 

The dress of my doll below is made in this way.  

I used twill tape from William Booth Drapers as a drawstring in the neckline of dress above.   It worked great.  The roll of tape is shown below as it came to me.  They're one of the few places that have 1/8" twill tape.

Edyth O'Neill shared a dress with me to study that had a kind of tape used to stabilize the curved seams to keep them from stretching out.

Twill tape is also used as a base to which other things can be sewn for millinery, to cover the hoops of hoops skirts in the 1800's, and to tie corsets tightly.  You can buy  modern twill tape by the yard or by the roll.  The roll below was purchased from twilltape.com.

Twill tape can be used in many ways, even  as a decorative element.  Try it, you'll like it! 

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Free Patterns for Slat, Friends, Poke, Cottage, Regency Bonnets and Caps

I got lost at Google Books again.  Google Books has some wonderful offerings of antique books.  There's a book called The Workwoman's Guide which has some great diagrams for making clothing in 1840 toward the end of the book.  You can download a PDF of the book. The diagram above is from that book.  

There's a wealth of information on the web about making bonnets.  The problem is you have to wade through lots of spammy and harmful sites to find them.  I spent some time finding some resources for you. 

Buns and Baskets  has a site focused on "How to Dress Like a Pioneer."  She has some yummy tutorials and patterns:

Godey's 1857 Sun Bonnet Tutorial

Friends' Bonnet

Pioneer Bonnet Tutorial

If you are into Regency styles, there are some interesting video tutorials at the Oregon Regency Society's site for making bonnets.

Here is a video tutorial for making a Regency bonnet that has no words whatsoever.  Enjoy!

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Carved Wooden Jointed Antique Vintage Mystery Doll

 

I've purchased a few things for my revolving inspiration collection.  Here's a guy I don't know much about, but maybe you do? 

This is a 12" figure is carved from wood.  He is jointed at the shoulders and the hips.  He reminds me a bit of some mechanics I knew back in the early 60's with the matching pants and shirt.  I bet he once had a hat....maybe a cowboy hat?   I know nothing about this doll.  He is not marked on his back.  He can stand on his two feet.  :-)  If you have any guesses about who made this doll, or his vintage.  I'm guessing 30's to 60's.  The cloth is cotton and the belt is a braided trim which is not elastic.  The "tie" is made of ribbon and may be melting a bit - so not sure if silk or rayon.   I've shared some pictures to help out.  

 

If you have any information about this doll, please share in the comment section... Thanks!  ~ Dixie

Self Portrait As A Child

Those who are making dolls for this challenge asked for more time.  Thet target date is now extended to June 1st.  

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The Top Posts on Maida Today

The posts which get the most traffic on Maida Today are this post which Edyth wrote and the artist interviews (see right sidebar).  How do I know this?  Through the magic of the stats of Google Analytics. 

If there is an artist you would like to see interviewed contact Dixie using the contact button at the top.