small-stitchery

[small-stitchery]

I am constantly in AWE of the clothes from Pemberley Threads. My sewing skills aren’t on this level, but I think I can manage a hat.

#american girl #felicity merriman #elizabeth cole #american girl crafts #pemberley threads

[small-stitchery]

The Fred Laughon Doll Fangirl Post!

Hello again, doll friends!

I was HUGELY lazy last year. Whilst I was actually making little bits and pieces of doll clothing, as well as adding a few more friends to my collection- would you believe, I barely documented a thing? Can't have that - so, to kick off 2022 the right way, I'm going to write a little piece on one of my favourite things at the moment: wooden dolls.

(some of the wonderful reproduction wooden dolls craved by Fred Laughon, a 20th century art doll-maker from Virginia)

If, like me, you loved Felicity of American Girl fame and the gorgeous little wooden dolls she and Elizabeth had in their sets :

(d'aww... these were so detailed and accurate: thanks, AG!)

then you might be interested in the lovely Fred T Laughon reproduction dolls, as shown above. If you're lucky enough to live near Richmond, Virginia - or in and around Colonial Williamsburg - then you may actually have seen some of them on display in the Mantuamaker's shop:

(I do love how in the above picture, they've clothed the doll in a blue gown; so it's almost a dead ringer for Felicity's!) They still have some of the smaller ones on display today, too, I believe - and they update the tiny shop with different accessories and outfits.

There's not much information out there on the Internet about Fred Laughon himself - which is a shame. What I've found comes from an article in the 2015 UFDC magazine, and an online obituary.

Frederick Laughon was a well-known local figure and retired preacher in Richmond, Virginia. He was also a talented cabinet maker in his retirement, and he was fascinated by the simple jointed wooden dolls of the 18th and 19th century. He began making reproductions of his own, and the quality and skill he put in meant they were very popular

The Laughon dolls were very much a family enterprise, throughout the 1980s and 90s. Fred would hand-carve the dolls, whilst his wife Helen and daughter Nel would make the outfits for them. They made a limited edition range of dolls (known as the "Charity" doll)for the 1994 UFDC convention:

They came with a sweet little story about a mother adopting a little orphan girl!

Sadly Fred died in 2002. But his legacy lives on, as his wooden dolls are still much sought after online for doll collections. And you can see why - the love and care put into the Laughon family doll creations absolutely shows.

the lady and gentleman above are a set of 2 dolls known as 'Mr and Mrs Tyler' - I do love the gorgeous little period hairstyles!

I'm lucky enough to own the taller 'Charity' Laughon doll, as well as the Mr and Mrs Tyler couple. I'll post some more on the ones in my own personal collection later on. But for now, just wanted to share how well-made and enjoyable the wooden Fred Laughon dolls are!

#fred laughon #wooden dolls #historical dolls #reproduction dolls #18th century doll #queen anne doll #18th century toys #colonial williamsburg #toys #doll collection #dollblr #doll photography #doll collector #fred t laughon #helen laughon #nel laughon #grodnertal dolls #historic toys #19th century toys #wooden toys #jointed dolls #laughon dolls

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Hello again everyone! Thanks to some warm and delightfully sunny spring days here, I’ve finally been able to have an outdoor photoshoot with Elizabeth and my new Josefina! Josefina is just an adorable doll - it’s seems to impossible to take a bad picture of her, from whatever angle...

Look at her here in the sunshine enjoying her lunch!

And then afterwards she explored the garden, even climbing our apple tree...

(Careful, Josefina!)

She even managed to make a furry alpaca friend! (Fun fact - this little guy is actually a furry doorstop. But he’s just the right size for a pet for Josefina here - and looks ridiculously cute)

Meanwhile, Elizabeth explored the other side of the garden and was delighted to find a seat near a fountain! It reminded her of the Governor’s formal gardens in Williamsburg...

She also enjoyed the flower pots very much...

And she toured the vegetable patch, although she was disappointed that nothing was growing yet...

Finally the girls finished the day relaxing on the lawn - and telling each other all about their adventures!

#american girl #american girl doll #josefina montoya #1822 #Josefina American girl doll #pleasant company #doll photoshoot #doll photography #elizabeth cole #1775 #Elizabeth American Girl doll #american girl dolls

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Welcome to England, Elizabeth!

Elizabeth is settling in great here! She’s made friends with a few of my wooden 18th century style dolls - which aren’t so different from her and Lissie’s own toys! They’ve been welcoming and friendly  - and very curious about the ‘big’ girl all the way from the colonies in Virginia!

#american girl #my dolls #18th century dolls #elizabeth cole

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Lmao i just saw a tiktok of someone who lost power so they dug up thier old  kit’s wash day set to wring their clothes out and finally prooved to their mom it wasn’t a waste of money after all these years 

#now that's what I call educational play! #hahah living for this #american girl #kit kittredge

[small-stitchery]

I picked up sewing to try making historical dresses for my retired dolls considering that their actual collections are so hard to find decently priced online 😩 so far I’ve learned that regency dresses are pretty easy to make

#other people’s awesome sewing #american girl doll #american girl #caroline abbott #cecile rey #these are beautifully crafted

[small-stitchery]

Since it’s Black History Month, I want to shout out the authors of all of the Black character dolls!

Connie Porter - Addy’s series

Evelyn Coleman - Shadows on Society Hill and The Cameo Necklace

Denise Lewis Patrick - Melody’s series, Cecile’s series (along with Sarah M. Buckey), and A New Beginning: My Journey with Addy

Teresa E. Harris - Gabriela and Gabriela Speaks Out

Varian Johnson - Gabriela: Time for Change

These authors created/added to such amazing characters and I’m so proud of the work and representation they provide!

#american girl authors #addy walker #cecile rey #melody ellison #gabriela mcbride #black history month #celebrating excellent authors #american girl #mattel

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The unique Chippendale doll’s house at Nostell Priory in Yorkshire provides a perfect re-creation in miniature of a house in the 1740s.

Laura Ashley Style, 1987

#1700s #interior design #dollhouse #chippendale #classical #dollblr #nostell priory #dolls house #18th century toys #inspiration #sewing inspiration #their little gowns!

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The Graham Children, 1742, William Hogarth

Medium: oil,canvas

#how adorable #this is the look I want for Elizabeth #doll sewing inspiration #american girl doll

[small-stitchery]

Oh this is a great question! For the longest time for me it was Felicity’s four-poster bed, 

I eventually managed to find one of those and it’s now a proud jewel of my collection!

The DREAM item for me these days has to be Caroline’s Parlor. I covet that like crazy:

It’s all the little items that come with it, I think - the ornaments, the painting, the embroidered firescreen - and the little drawers. Mm. Perfect! 

Alongside Josefina’s piano:

(clearly I love my period drama set dressing is the take-away from this :D)

I used to really long for the Felicity carriage, but I was a little put off by the fact you had to lift the roof to put the dolls in. I’d have preferred a door for my 18th century ladies to step elegantly out of, rather than be alien-abducted through the carriage roof!

I just saw a reddit thread that asked “what is the holy grail of the thing you are a collector of?” It got me thinking, I don’t actually know. What would you guys say is the “holy grail” of American Girl?

#american girl #american girl fan #caroline abbott #caroline's collection #most wanted item #josefina montoya #josefina's collection #felicity merriman #felicity's collection

[small-stitchery]

Mini-Gown Extravaganza: AG Cecile’s Summer Frock for Beatrice

Well, on the subject of things I have actually finished - after ogling the American Girl collection recently, my eye was seriously caught by some gorgeous gowns in Cecile and Marie-Grace’s collection. Particularly Cecile’s yellow summer gown, which is just a buttercup-yellow delight!

Picture heavy below the cut

Keep reading

#a girl for all time doll #dollblr #my dolls #a girl for all time dolls #daughters of history company #beatrice #bex #doll dressmaking #victorian doll dressmaking #victorian bonnet #reblogging from myself

[small-stitchery]

Yes hi, if you’re wondering how accurate a particular [insert American Girl character’s name here] outfit is, I literally have an entire Instagram account dedicated to this along with a tag on this blog AND a Pinterest account.

#wonderful blog #so helpful

[small-stitchery]

#Repost @jbetzner ・・・ My three favorite buildings in CW. #LoveVA #exploreva #virginiaisbeautiful #virginiaphotographer #virginiaphotography #canon #canon6d #TeamCanon #virginiaisforlovers #funinwilliamsburg #findyourfunwmbg #scenicvirginia #explorevirginia #exploreva #virginia #williamsburg #williamsburgva #canonphotography #wburglocal #canonglobal #natgeo #757collective #snow https://instagr.am/p/CK4SwEeABaN/

#colonial williamsburg #cw #williamsburg #american girl #felicty merriman reference #felicity merriman

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Mini-Gown Extravaganza - Amelia the Time-Traveller Edition.

Well, now I’ve developed my ahem, interest enough to warrant a side-blog, I thought I’d finish up my grand tour of my Girl for All Time doll collection here on the doll side-blog where it belongs!  We’ve looked at my favourites Matilda & Bex here , here and here over on my main blog, checked out my take on a rework of Felicity’s meet gown for Maya here...what else could there possibly be to look at?

Well, this is my collection of “rehomed dolls”. I downsized a while back (or rather - sold off some dolls to make room for more, different dolls?) Dolls that were nice, but really deserved a better home where they could be somebody else’s favourites... like Amelia here:

She’s a nice enough doll! She even has a bit of an “Alice-In-Wonderland” look about her. But there are so many, many MANY blonde-haired blue-eyed dolls out there, and as a brunette myself I’ve always been a bit... resistant. Maybe its the “ Mean Girls legacy, or something. But she photographed beautifully, and was another doll who looked great in anything I put her in. 

And I made so many clothes for her!

1880s Amelia

I made her a little 1880s style bustle dress. (which I really love the look of, by the way - a real shame American Girl never did any 1880s historical dolls) from a pattern in “The Dolls Dressmaker” book, by Venus A. Dodge.

She also had a matching combination ruffled petticoat to go beneath. This was basically an A-line sleeveless dress that I sewed a series of ruffles to to get the ‘bustled’ look. Again, a basic pattern from the Dolls Dressmaker. 

1880s Underwear Amelia:

(The keen-eyed viewer will note Felicity’s Scenes and Settings in the background - something I BEGGED my mother to hang on to. Alas, it wasn’t to be. There’s a lucky doll-owner elsewhere in the UK with it now who drove halfway across the country pre-COVID to get it) 

Nightwear Amelia:

A quick little nightdress I whipped up for her out of PemberleyThreads’ “Clara”  Nightgown pattern for 16 inch dolls. I shortened the sleeves and added some organza trim to imitate ruffled.  She also got a little simple dressing robe made out of craft cotton.

And then later (because you CAN’T keep me out of the 18th century, one way or another)  I made her a black and white striped gown based on the dress Christina Ricci wears in the  1998 Sleepy Hollow movie... 

18th Century Amelia

This one was a modified version of the gorgeous Thimbles and Acorns “ Marie Antoinette” available on Pixie Faire here: https://www.pixiefaire.com/products/marie-antoinette-zone-front-gown-18-doll-clothes.

The fabric started life as a striped cotton pillowcase.

 It’s not the easiest of patterns, as I found out, but it looks perfect when finished. They do a version for American Girl, so my Elizabeth may get a version once she’s arrived!

Finally, I tried out Regency on her, using remnants from my Kaffe Fassett shot cotton! The pattern’s another Pemberley Threads, but this time also with an option for American Girl dolls. 

(The little bergere hat isn’t Amelia’s, by the way: it belongs to Sylvia, whose 18th century gown and undergarments you can find here at my mainblog)

Regency Amelia:

It makes me quite nostalgic looking at all her photos! However, when it came down to choosing between her and Bex - I’m sorry, my unconscious bias against blonde-haired white dolls won.

#a girl for all time doll #amelia doll #agat doll #daughters of history ltd #doll dressmaking #small-stitchery projects #sideblog from @montmartreparapluie #regency doll clothes #doll clothes #my doll dressmaking #doll sewing #doll collection #dollblr #mini-dressmaking #doll dress #doll gowns

[small-stitchery]

Maude - The Summer Promenade Bustle Dress & Hat!

Just realised I never posted pictures of Maude’s finished gown - I promise she hasn’t been standing around in her underwear all winter, poor thing!

I made her this dress back in July 2020, which explains the light, crisp feel to this particular dress. The powder blue polka dot print just matched perfectly with her eyes! I couldn’t help but think of Victorian seaside promenade dresses for Maude so she could walk along an old-fashioned pier with a parasol in tow...

This extant gown from the 1870s looks a little similar, although it’s a sheer striped fabric rather than my polka dot craft cotton.  fat quarters are great for smaller dolls!

This was the first gown from the Gildebrief pattern set I  got from the magazine.  I’d already built my confidence up with the underwear, so I was happy enough making the skirt. The overskirt I drafted myself. And I’d worked out how to make tiny little handstitched buttonholes on the pantalettes and skirt, so I was confident enough to add working buttons on the front! 

I had a LOT of fun finding the trimmings for Maude. The white glass buttons are vintage and made of Czech glass - and tiny enough to have maybe come from a pair of early 1900s button boots! I’d already found some lovely vintage lace for making Maude’s underthings, so i had some on hand to trim her sleeves and make her little lace mittens.

(full disclosure - those are just simple tubes of lace, but they look great when fitted on her little wax hands!)

The blue ribbon is vintage rayon bias binding, It has the fluttery look/feel of silk in miniature for dolls though, so it’s great for trimming and dress ribbons.

Weirdly enough, I’m proudest of the accessories more than the dress, because I wasn’t sure how well they’d work.

The pearl necklace was just some pearl beads threaded onto embroidery floss, with some tiny blue ribbon sewn on for ties.  

The hat was basically me McGyvering my way through doll hatmaking! For the base, I used one of those sinamay little domes craft shops stock for people who make fascinators. You know, these:

They’re super cheap - about £2 here - and they’re a GREAT base for doll hats. They’d even work just on their own for a Felicity 18th century hat! (not tried that yet, but...give me time)

I trimmed it down to size, and covered the base with some dotted swiss cotton and bias binding, before trimming it with some dress fabric scraps and what was left of the blue rayon. It ties just under her Gibson Girl hairstyle. I was so pleased with it! Hats are approx 10 times trickier than sewing for me, because of how stiff the materials are. 

Maude definitely enjoys her seaside finery, but she’s been getting a little impatient at not having new clothes since July. I’d better hurry up and make her a winter gown and cloak some time...

#maude #holz masse doll #antique doll #antique wax doll #dollblr #doll sewing #sewing for dolls #doll gown #antique doll pattern #1870s doll #1870s fashion #19th century fashion #victorian doll #small-stitchery projects

[small-stitchery]

Willa the Wellie Wisher goes time-travelling!

Well, I was trawling through my photos tonight, and realised - I fibbed without knowing it. I HAVE actually made things for an American Girl doll before!

Back when my mother was selling off her collection, she got a Wellie Wisher included in a job lot of AG stuff, and she was a GREAT size for some of my A Girl for All Time outfits that made up just a little too short or too small. 

It was obviously Christmas time around then, because Willa is clearly channelling Clara from the Nutcracker Ballet just a little here...

(the little Nutcrackers were old Christmas ornaments I found in a sale , and the perfect size! I just snipped the hanging thread off, and voila! Toy soldiers!)

Edwardian Version Willa:

A very “Samantha Parkington’s little sister” look here! The little sheer Edwardian blouse was separate to the pinafore dress, and was made out of scraps from my Girl for All Time Matilda 1830s dress...

 I did some pink embroidery up the front in two different shades of pink with a sort of fern stitch look on the pinafore, and used some cheap pink upholstery braid to trim the neckline and front. The buttons are those tiny doll buttons you can get in craft shops.

I made the hair ribbon to match and tacked it lightly to a bobby pin. The tights and shoes I think I bought? I don’t remember now...

Regency Version Willa!

I was really pleased with this one, because it involved a bit of thrifty stitching on my part! the pink /black print was from a baby dress I found in a charity shop for about 50p - I washed it and cut it up - and whilst the dress was a little tight for my A Girl for All Time gals,  it was perfect for Willa! 

The pink silk bodice was a dupioni silk remnant from a cheap set I’d bought on Ebay. I trimmed it up with a little bit of pink rococo braid and some cheap draft-shop lace.  Willa looks like a little Regency frosted cupcake!

I only wish I’d something more with her hair. She looks a bit dishevelled!

Eventually my mother rehomed her somewhere by selling her on with her modern clothes and her period-drama wardrobe thrown in as a bonus. Half wishing we’d kept her, as I’ve seen some wonderful doll-owners pose her as Felicity’s little sister from the books, but... I don’t have a Felicity - and she’s hopefully gone to a better home!

#wellie wisher doll #wellie wishers #wellie wisher #willa doll #american girl #american girl doll #my sewing #historical dolls #gimme all the historicals please #my doll dressmaking #doll dressmaking #edwardian #regency #small-stitchery projects

[small-stitchery]

Cecile Rey Collection Appreciation Post!

I think I’m in love with the Cecile and Marie Grace collection guys! I don’t normally venture outside my 18th century happy place, but the colour and design for these girls!!

Cecile’s little meet frock is just so pretty... and oh my, her parlour outfit!

I love the bright gold of the jacket against that contrasting purple trim. The little full-sleeved blouse, too! And the hair ribbons!

But oh my, in my opinion, the piece de resistance is the summer dress

That colour combo is just *chefs kiss*

Looking at EBay, even second hand they’re waaay too pricey for my budget (with the postal charges to the UK too!) but... a girl can dream. I may have to make my own version in similar fabrics for my A Girl for All Time Beatrice...

#historical fashion #doll dressmaking #american girl dolls #historical american girl #cecile rey #pleasant company #dollblr #19th century #victorian fashion #1850s #doll inspiration #fashion history #american girl #waaaant #the design is so pretty