Pity & Prudence Butternut

My little hands have been
 very busy sewing a couple of
"Butternut" dolls that are
 reminiscent of the earlier
 American cloth dolls. 

 

Pity is a simple Prairie or Pioneer doll.
  One look at her and she brings to
mind the covered wagon, the sod home on
the prairie, the log cabin in the woods &
 the adventurous American pioneer.
In my opinion this style doll is
truly the all Americn cloth doll.

 

Here she is next to a doll body that has not

been aged. Pity & Prudence were tea dyed
 and then over dyed with a solution made
 from crushed walnut shells.  This dye can
 be sprayed from a bottle or daubed on
with a cloth to achieve the desired effect.
Their clothing & bonnets were aged this same
way.  It is a natural dye, acid free & non toxic.

Poor "pitiful" dolly, her head is too big, her hands
are too fat, her legs too short & her body
is a bit stumpy.......hence her name!   However,
 those are the features that give the "make do"
 Pioneer doll such charm!

 Pity may be a simple style

Prairie doll but she needs a full
wardrobe!

Her underpinnings are sewn from muslin.

Her petticoat is lace edged and has a

hook & eye closure.

The pantalettes & short chemise have

tie closures.

 He dress is a wonderful deep blue and

rusty brown reproduction cotton fabric. 

The collar is lace edged; a lone

antique wooden 2 hole button with a
beautiful patina is sewn on the
front.  Hook & eye closures.

 Her brown calico Poke bonnet has button

 hole stitching around the brim.  Her apron is

linen.

 Pity and all her clothing are hand sewn
and aged for that well loved look.

I am fascinated by the early American

 cloth doll that is home made.

 It seems to me the earlier the doll the

 more highly detailed they are made.  Doll

 hair is painted, made from wool, fur and even

human hair is used.  Faces can be finely

 painted, drawn or embroidered. 

 Bodies are made from cotton, leather, linen

and stuffed with a variety of things.  The

clothing is detailed and reflects the

style of the day.  The majority of dolls are

 dressed to represent adults not

children or babies. 

Each is unique, made from no pattern,

and one of a kind....

Prudence is fashioned after that

type of early cloth doll.

 

  Her body is more proportionate.  Her arms
are slightly curved, her legs have stockings
 and shoes.  She has a simple embroidered face,
but detailed hair.  All elements I have
seen in early dolls.

Prudence wardrobe includes

a dress, petticoat, pantalettes,
and a straw Spoon bonnet.

Her underpinnings are sewn from cotton &

are edged with lace. 

 

 Her reproduction cotton plum print dress has a
 tiny lace edged collar & hook and eye closures.

 

 Her wool hair is plaited, and fashioned

into a small high bun.

 

I have hand stitched Prudence a spoon

 bonnet from fine Milan straw embellished

 with a vintage milliners ribbon.

 (1930's old store stock)

Prudence comes with a primitive

buttocks basket, handmade

by my good friend Teresa especially

for my dolls.

Prudence, her clothing & bonnet

are stitched by hand and aged for

that well loved look.

 Pity and Prudence will be available at

Early Work Mercantile May 1st.

Please stop by and see all the wonderful

early American offerings!

A Cozy Nest

I wanted to share this photo

 sent to me by one of the young

ladies I work with. While she and

her new puppy Wyatt were fishing

at the local lake they came upon 

this Canadian goose nest.

Wyatt was quite startled by the

unhappy parents but, he was

not harmed!

Thank you Tyler & Wyatt

Whimsical Animals

 More paper castings for my Brown Bag Molds
 page.  I've added a Whimsical Animals &
an Easter section.  About 25 more molds
to list and I'll have all of them
posted!!!!

Mrs. Cat

1988

Jemima Puddleduck

1997

Fredrick Warne & Co.

Brown Bag Hill Design

Mr. Rabbit

1988

Mrs.Rabbit

1989

Easter Egg-1988

Bunny With Pack-1988

1840's Straw Bonnet

I love bonnets, I suppose that's why

so many of my dolls wear them!     

This is my 1840's straw spoon bonnet

 that I wore when I went to historic

 art shows or historic re-enactments. 

(I rarely go anymore, I'm just getting

too old for that sort of thing).  

 Embellished with an antique 4 inch

 wide French silk ribbon in a
wonderful cinnamon color.

I purchased this spoon bonnet

from a company called

 "Just Two Tailors",they

have a wonderful selection

of historic straw hats and bonnets.

I used velvet flowers and leaves,

 vintage German spun cotton and composition

 fruits, berries, mushrooms

and vintage glass balls as decoration

for the bonnet.

 A small spray of flowers

on the inside too.

The interior is lined with muslin.

 The bavolet is hand crocheted.

You can see the functional ties.

Often the ribbon on a bonnet was

just for decoration.

Below are links to bonnets at the

Metropolitan Museum of Art.

http://www.metmuseum.org/Collections/search-the-collections/80044770

http://www.metmuseum.org/collections/search-the-collections/80093996

http://www.metmuseum.org/Collections/search-the-collections/80044511

http://www.metmuseum.org/Collections/search-the-collections/80044446

http://www.metmuseum.org/Collections/search-the-collections/80038842

http://www.metmuseum.org/Collections/search-the-collections/80044499

 

Easter Greetings

Wishing You A Happy Easter !

Dolly's Handmade Straw Bonnet

I thought it would be fun to show you

how I made this little bonnet.

I started with a bonnet mold from

PNB Doll CO.  They have lots of molds

in all shapes and sizes.

They sell Swiss hat braid in several

colors. They also sell kits that come

with wonderful directions.

Here is a link to their store.

PNB Doll Co

However,

I have several Italian straw bonnets in a natural color

that are just too large for the dolls I make.............so,

I decided to dye a couple tan, take them apart and make

a different bonnet.  Oh, how I love to

Make Do!
This is a great sight with links to doll supplies too.
This link is to the page that sells Italian straw,
I have purchased, since I published this post.
Look around her site.
Judith M Inc 

 These are the materials I needed to get started.

Mold

Glue

Straw

Double sided tape

Scissors

Thread (matches hat color)

Needle & bee's wax (keeps your thread from tangling)

I used glue from PNB Doll. It dries

fast, clear and is flexible.

 I intended to hand sew the entire

hat to make it more sturdy for child's play

so, I used the glue sparingly.

I started by placing the double stick tape
around the base of the mold, this will
 help keep the straw secure.

 I placed 1 row of straw at the mark

indicated on the side of the mold. (the mold is

marked on both sides) I added a thin row

of glue to the inner side of

the braid.

Then added another row of braid over lapping the

first row about 1/2.  Cutting the strip

at an angle on the end.

I continued adding several rows.

 As I added rows, I spread the ends out.  This

spreading allowed the direction of the rows

to curve toward the back.

 To make the hat come out even, I
overlapped the rows to the front more. 

I continued adding until the rows

met in the back.

 I started with a new row, coiling around,
 no longer cutting the braid.

 I continued coiling, gluing, overlapping

 and pressing down.

When I reached the middle, I left a small hole.

I cut the straw about 1 inch long and tucked it
 through the hole to the inside of the hat. 

 I glued this down.

This is what the hat looked like.

I carefully removed the hat from the mold.

 Trimmed the edges with my scissors.

I put the hat back on the mold, added

a bead of glue all around the top

of the outer edge & added 1 row

of straw matching in the back.

I cut the braid so it matches neatly.

I did the same to the inside

of the hat.

 I added another row to the
outside of the hat. This made a
nice finished look to the
bonnet.

At this point I hand stitched

the entire hat. The hat is done,

ready to be embellished!

These are items used I used 

to decorate the dolly's bonnet.

Floral tape

Wire cutters

Velvet leaves (cut down into tiny leaves)

Vintage composition berries

vintage spun cotton mushrooms

Velvet flowers

Thread and needle

Silk ribbon

Some scissors too!

More decorations than I needed
but I wanted plenty to choose from!
I started by attaching the ribbon

to the front of the bonnet,

sewing it down.

 The doll that was going to wear this

 bonnet had pigtails. I attached the ribbon
 ties low to the back of the hat, so the

bow could be tied close to her neck
and not interfere with her braids.

I then added small loops, folding up the ribbon

and sewing them down.

 I had plenty of this ribbon so I

added another loop to both sides.
(I refuse to waste even 1/2 in of silk ribbon)

I chose several flowers, berries, 1

 mushroom and wrapped them

 together with the floral tape.

I sewed this bouquet to the center top

of the bonnet.

The bonnet is done!

You might be wondering why I would

add red berries to this hat. Matching is really

a modern concept! Besides, I like to

make do with what I have! 

This was a fun project.  A special

hat for a special doll.

The work was tiny and a bit tedious,

but well worth the effort!

This is a wonderful book by Denise Dreher.  

I purchased it when I was doing reenacting. 

 Here is a link to her site.

From The Neck Up