"MAKE DO DOLLS"
The doll of an Ozark pioneer child would have been made at home by the loving hands of Grandmother, Mother, or favored Aunt. As unique and creative as the imagination and sewing skill of the maker, these dolls were fine examples of a pioneer woman’s ability to “make do” with the few materials at hand. To my knowledge none of these early Ozark dolls survived the loving attention of their little owners nor the passage of time.............
"Butternuts" was a common name for the people of the White River Ozarks and their many children (eight to ten children was not uncommon) that wore homespun cloth dyed from butternut or walnut hulls. The color ranged from light tan to dark brown depending on the dying method. Ozark pioneer women also used poke berries for red, sassafras roots and hickory bark for yellow, elderberries and dogwood bark for blue and horsetails for green. The "Butternut Dolly" wears dresses from homespun cloth in a variety of colors and store bought calico too!
"Butternuts" was a common name for the people of the White River Ozarks and their many children (eight to ten children was not uncommon) that wore homespun cloth dyed from butternut or walnut hulls. The color ranged from light tan to dark brown depending on the dying method. Ozark pioneer women also used poke berries for red, sassafras roots and hickory bark for yellow, elderberries and dogwood bark for blue and horsetails for green. The "Butternut Dolly" wears dresses from homespun cloth in a variety of colors and store bought calico too!
My
dolls are sewn by hand (some doll's bodies are sewn by machine) with finish work done by hand and are my own
design. Clothing is removable with hook and eye, draw string or snap closures. I use 1800's reproduction print fabrics, linen, muslin,
cotton and wool. Buttons are antique or vintage bone, shell, china,
glass or wood. Hair is wool or wool yarn. They are stuffed with wool roving, sawdust (cedar shavings) from the Missouri cedar tree or cotton. Some dolls have a slightly aged look, accomplished with dye from
walnut shells. It is natural and not harmful to children.
