Louise Godey's 12 Days of Christmas Pageant

And, here I am!  ONE (truly the last), more journal for 2019.  I know I said Theodora would be the last, or at least I suggested so, thinking that I wouldn't finish this last project, but I couldn't disappoint my Three L's.  I believe a new tradition has begun, and that is to create a Christmas Spectacular for Louise, her brother and best friend, each Christmas season.

Its funny, but I had no idea what to do for them.  I'd contemplated redressing them for the Nutcracker, but that didn't seem quite right.  Its not that they won't wear the costumes again, but c'mon!  I do not lack for room in my idea drawer, and it would simply take some tossing away of items  worn out or used up.

Its been a weird season.  For one thing, and I'm sure I'm not alone in this, Thanksgiving burped and the next day it was time to put the tree up.  Gazing upon my tree these evenings, sparkling with lights and twinkling ornaments, I already miss it.  The time is going by that quickly.  In fact, the Three L's were still in their Halloween costumes after I'd finished Theodora!  It was shameful.  All the dolls I'd dressed for Halloween had to quickly be redressed.  So I had to get moving quickly on something to dress Louise, Lawrence and Laura in, and was prepared to be boring, and just make them new holiday outfits.  Then I got inspired.

First of all, I lost a good portion of Christmas books.  Not all of them, but when I was downsizing in the back room, I inadvertently must have taken a couple of bags of Christmas books to the SPCA bookstore, along with many others.  So I had to start recollecting them, or finding new ones.  In this, I discovered that Gennady Spirin had illustrated The Twelve Days of Christmas.  One look at it and I was off!

I would do a pageant for the children.  Laura would represent one of the Eight Maids a Milking, Louise would be one of the Nine Ladies Dancing, and Lawrence could be a Piper Piping.  The costumes would be inspired, and not direct reproductions.  More, a collection of the ideas Gennady put paintbrush to.  I'm sure if you look closely at the illustrations, you can pick out the pieces that came together for the outfits.



Laura's costume consists of a bronze silk skirt that has a cord running through the waistband.  After watching Claire get dressed on Outlander, I discovered that these skirts were made this way.  I guess if your waist expanded, for any reason, it would be economical to be able to loosen the waistband.  At any rate, this also seemed quite appropriate for a milkmaid.  Her top is banded in white batiste around the neckline and cuffed similarly at the wrists.  She wears a bonnet like one of the women in the illustration.  It was the apron I had the problem with.  Boy oh boy, did I have to do a study on this one.  Its basically a sheet that the milkmaid tied around her waist with a belt of cording, then tucked it up so it wouldn't drag on the ground.  Surely makes sense.  You can't just look at these illustrations.  You have to understand them.

Laura is outfitted with a milking pail of wood.  I stained one of these craft wood buckets, then created a round of white to sit in it representing milk.  The lighter the object, the more easily these dolls can hold them.

Next up, our fairy princess, Louise.  She got to be one of the Nine Ladies Dancing.  Such glorious court gowns Gennady gave these women.  Given the time factor of getting these done for Christmas, I chose a slightly simpler style without the train down the back and some of the other outrageous details these gowns could sport.  Louise's gown is primarily the green on one the right, done in the red of the red one on the red head.  The hair ornaments come from the dancer in blue.

First though I had to figure out what to do with Louise's hair.  She's been wearing it long and in soft curls for awhile. I don't know if any of you have tried to restyle a wig on a doll, but it isn't easy.  Especially in an up do.  I'd already bought Lawrence a wig for his costume, and honestly, I didn't want to buy another wig just for this costume.  Even if I could find one suitable.

I couldn't find the hair pins I'd bought a year ago, so I made hair pins of firm wire, just bent in the middle - like a long staple.  These seemed to hold this loose bun up to some degree, so I went with it.

Louise's dress is also Outlander-ish, in that it is two separate pieces.  A top and a skirt.  The skirt does have a standard waistband, giving me the time to focus on the bodice.  The bodice is a lovely design with feminine sleeves that come to an open bell at the elbow.  It was a little tricky assembling this bell  to the three quarter sleeve, but I don't do these often enough to not have to consider what I'm doing.

The neckline was where I got to play a bit and dress it up.  I do like to stick to the illustrations as much as possible, or interpret them as accurately as I can.  Again, its the green dress I was focused on.  Why did I not make the dress green?  Because I wanted all these costumes to play nicely off each other when displayed, and I'd chosen a teal for Lawrence's suit.

Last summer I bought a large selection of fancy beads at a bead store in Grass Valley, which prompted me to properly separate and neatly bag all the different kinds I had.  I decided to do some beading on top of the gold guimpe I first used around the neckline.  I like beading gowns.  It does take time to do, but once you get in the rhythm, it goes fairly quickly.  And, I stopped at the neckline.  I did not determine any other embellishments required on the dress.  It was the shoes - shoes that most likely would not show - that I spent some time playing with.  Little diamond points going toward the ankle and pointy toes.  These were reminiscent of the slippers the Franklin Mint Guinevere wore.


Finally, digging deep into my collection of beads, I created hair pins of tiny crystal bead flowers to poke into the up do.  I'd been studying the illustration and scratching my head trying to figure out what was going on there with the dancers' hair decorations.  All of a sudden I recalled this wire and pearl beading piece that I'd purchased from an antique fabrics and notions dealer at a fair.  It was supposed to be a hat bauble, I think.  Well I found it, thought it was perfect!, and thought to use only it.  Then I studied it, how it was made, and also noted that the frou on top of the dancer's head was in blue and red.  So I made my own.  All of it made sense when I thought about them as hair pins.  Basically, three beads in the center and the thin wire twisted

together at length below.  That makes the flower.

With the girls dressed, it was time to finish the job and focus on Lawrence.  He could have been a Drummer Drumming or a Lord a Leaping, too.  However, I'd just made a drum for Theodora and wanted to do something different.  And a Lord a Leaping wasn't holding an accessory.  Nor could I put Lawrence on a stand and make him look like he was a-leaping!  So Piper Piping it was.

I know these journals are long, but they're for three dolls. What can I say?

I loved the Pipers anyway.  First I had to find a "pipe", or a horn.  What these dandies are using look very much like the angel trumpets attached to angel ornaments.  Just try to find one!  I looked.  Basically I looked for an angel with the right trumpet and one that could be borrowed for the task at hand.  I remembered that Franklin Mint did quite a few table and tree topper angels playing instruments, and found a 19" doll with the perfect trumpet.  I will not tell you what I paid for this silly trumpet, but I asked the seller just to send the trumpet and donate the doll.  She gave the angel to a women's shelter, and I felt really good about that.  She did, too.  And, I got a very expensive "pipe" for my Piper.  Which I then, spray painted gold.  Here's the thing, without a "pipe", you can't have a Piper Piping, and he'd have to play one of the other characters.  I even thought about needle felting one, but that didn't sit well with me.  It all worked out in the end.  Its metal, too!

Lawrence's costume took me more time to assemble than the other two put together.  I love these Dandy costumes though and really had to give it a try.  His costume consists of knickers, a vest with lace edged sleeves, a coat, hat, and the shoes.

I chose not to make a separate shirt as the vest would have lost its lines with something puckering beneath.  I call this "dressing dolls".  And, its a costume, not a reproduction of an actual 18th c. outfit.  Close though.

I started with the stockings, then made a pair of the silk breeches with little gold buttons at the cuff below the knee.  The vest is beautiful and I should have taken a photo without the coat, as the sleeves are luxurious.  The have a white ruffle at the wrist and the lace beneath that.  The cravat or tie around his neck is batiste edged in the same lace as the sleeves.  Four gold buttons close the vest, and gold Venice lace edges the hem .

The coat was made from the same pattern as the vest, only larger and longer.  Bell sleeves finished the coat's design.  It was sewing all that Venice lace on that really took the time.  I wasn't sure I'd have enough to cover the sleeve ends, the coat edges and the vest, but got an idea and trimmed the lace into a receding design up the front of the coat.    Naturally, these coats were heavily embroidered with gold threads, but the lace worked really nicely for this costume.

The shoes were so much fun to make.  Let me first tell you that making silk shoes, or fabric shoes is much easier than leather ones.  They are lined, so its two pieces sewn along the top edge, turned inside out.  The heels are then sewn, then the gathers at a the bottom fit over the lined foot bed.  Its the foot bed that creates the shape of the shoe.  Leather is not very forgiving and the top stitching needs to be so accurate.  I like making silk shoes.  With these, I inserted a fan shape in the initial stitching, then added a buckled bow a the end.  The hat took some fiddling, and I'm sure if I had to do this again, I'd do it differently, but I'm not sure how.  Tackling a tricorn was one thing, but this isn't a tricorn.  I have no idea what to call it, so couldn't look it up online.  Lawrence doesn't mind and it finished the costume well.

I'm so pleased that I finished these in time for the first day of Christmas.  I work most of the day on them and late into the night, but it was fun and rewarding.  I am done with The Twelve Days of Christmas - for now.  Next year I'll do something completely different.  And, no, I won't be making a Rudolph costume for Lawrence.  I'm pretty sure I already know what I'll do, but it must be a surprise.  Christmas is a time for surprises and good feelings when we're not stressed.  My friend, Menno, told me its a time to be "flexible" and he was so right.

This morning, a new storm blew in and its been a dark and raining day.  My studio is at rest.  Its time to watch those Christmas shows and drink lots of tea.  I'm almost done with Jenny Colgan's Christmas at Rosie Hopkin's Sweetshop and we all know its going to end happily, as all her stories do.

Merry Christmas, my friends, and enjoy the twelve days after!  Best wishes for a great New Year!

Love,
Melissa
(Believe it or not, I've been trying to get the text to wrap these photos nicely for two hours, and it won't, so please forgive the messy layout.)

Theodora of the Twelve Days of Christmas

Tis the season to be jolly!  And, that means lots of bright and merry songs, treats and brilliant color schemes.  After making Twyla, I simply wasn't done.  Like my passion for Alice, The Twelve Days of Christmas can never be explored enough.  Its a part of Christmas as much as Rudolph, mistletoe and my favorite Christmas composition, O Holy Night.  O Holy Night always brings a tear to my eye.  Of course, Bing Crosby singing Do You Hear What I Here evokes an equal sensation when one considers little lambs listening to the night wind and passing the message on to shepherd boys.  I'm a sucker for Christmas music, Christmas anything.

Lately its been the ridiculous Elf on a Shelf.  This is only but a theme from very long ago, for as a child we had these little fabric and wire, felt faced elves on our tree.  There were three of them, and never having enough dolls to play with, these elves would entertain me endlessly as they progressed through the branches of our tree while I played with them.  What ever happened to them? I wonder.  American Girl came out with an Elf on a Shelf for their dolls this year.  And, I had to have one.  Should have bought two.  But, I found some in the Vermont Country Store catalog and bought a few.  Why not?  Christmas for many is staying in touch with the dearest of past memories while living fully in the present.

And why not create a second and completely different Twelve Days of Christmas doll?  Actually, this one was made for a friend of mine, so I felt it must be a sheer delight to receive.  In the case of this doll, it began with a miniature hurdy gurdy that played the tune.  You know...the clear acrylic encased ones you can see the mechanism in.  Second, came this fabulous Makower fabric from the U.K.  At this point, and a week "project completed past", I can't remember why I was looking for Twelve Days of Christmas fabric....???  Oh!  Yes I do.  I wanted some to send to Olga in Russia.  One of my favorite costumers for the Effner Little Darling.  She'll make knitted sweaters and leg warmers and a hat, then make these fabulous flounced and tiered skirts to go with them.  I needed Twelve Days of Christmas themed outfits for my two Little Darlings.  And, this is where I got the idea to dress a 16" Lawton doll in the fabric.

So I began looking at illustrations for dress designs under "Partridge in a Pear Tree".  What I came to find was that the ones I liked best were either Regency inspired or earlier.  However, the colors and feel of the contemporary images inspired me to push the envelope.  So I chose a Regency style of dress comprising a full length gown and over dress or coat - in a completely contemporary and adorable print depicting the story and the characters therein.  I guess this is the fun and latitude you get to enjoy with art dolls.  Also, I think this season's Poldark had me drooling over tricorn hats on handsome heads.

I really like the little pattern I made for this dress and do believe I'll use it again sometime.  Credit where credit is due, its similar to the gown Wendy Lawton's Emma wears.  The difference is short sleeves on the underdress (to fit nicely under the over dress), and opaque "quilting" fabrics, sensible sleeves on the over dress. The next thing to tackle was what she should wear beneath.  A street performer needs to be properly shod, so I made a sensible pair of red shoes in the style I chose for Marigold, my doll inspired by the illustrations of Kate Greenaway.  I wanted something other than boring, old white stockings.  I found a blue jersey blend in my "stocking fabric pile" that complimented the blue in the Twelve Days print.

Next I started tackling how to cover the little hurdy gurdy.  This was causing me some dilemma in that you cannot just purchase a box and stick the thing in it.  You have to build a box around it, and especially the little crank that turns the mechanism to play the music.  I always hope that my finished product doesn't look labored over, but this certainly was.

First I had to cut cardboard pieces and one with a hole in exactly the right place for the crank to fit through.  Then I glued all the edges together and hoped they'd stay glued.  Its like a card house that you'd try to preserve.  This also had to be stable enough to withstand an outer covering of scrapbooking paper and more glue.  I spent some time on the 32 Degrees North's website looking for the perfect Dresden trims and only used a fraction of what I purchased.  The top would have a little framed picture of something related to the Twelve Days theme.  I wanted a partridge in a pair tree and ended up severely cropping an image I found on a engine search.  The full picture is below (the one with the bunnies under the tree), along with some other delightful contemporary images.  All of these with their bright colors were my inspiration.  I think you can see how I would make the connection with the illustrators of Alice books.  Each style is completely unique and dear in its own way.

The strap was a nuisance to figure out, too.  But, its basically two very long gold head pins positioned through the gold leather ends and shoved below the first layer of cardboard.  The length of the pins adds stability.  It works.  People make ornaments this way.

And, speaking of ornaments, I went on a long search for a little drum ornament to use as a symbol of the twelve drummers drumming.  Theodora needed a little drum to go with her tricorn hat.  I actually bought several that were too large and too heavy, so I made one myself.  Isn't this usually the case with me?

Go ahead and try it!  Here's what you need.  The cardboard roll from a roll of craft ribbon.  Pull off the top and bottom and you have a nice little drum.  Trace around the inside of the drum twice on cardboard and you have the top and bottom of the drum.  Glue these circles just below the edge of the drum.  Cover all pieces with scrapbooking paper and decorate as you please.  The drum sticks were knob topped craft wood pieces I found at Michael's, which I shortened and painted gold.  Understand that I studied a lot of drum ornaments to get this look.  The strap on the drum is pinned too, but glued in place and not removable.

Part of the look was also positioning these musical instruments on the doll to create a lifelike look and wear well.  The drum needed to be slung across her body, like a cross-body purse.  Soldier drummers wore their drums this way as the drums were often heavy and this gave them more freedom of movement.  So when Theodora has played her music to the audience on one street corner, she can drum a little beat as she carries on to the next spot to entertain.

Finally we come to the tricorn hat.  No, this was not my first design for a head piece.  I'd purchased some miniature holy on wire and was going to add red berries.  But, once I sat the holy on her head and noticed how it pulled at the hair of the wig, I ditched that idea.  I'd bought a human hair wig and separated each curl into two, and there was no way I was going to ruin this pretty wig.  Besides, the piper in the fabric print was wearing a green tricorn, and I just had to try making one.

Essentially, a tricorn is a wide brimmed hat that is pinched in the front and folded up in the back.  Traditionally made of wool felt, these hats are fabulous.  However, I have never mastered or figured out how to work with wool this way, washing it, steam and block molding it and all that nonsense.  So I made one of buckram and cotton velveteen.  The brim has hat wire sewn onto the edge to shape it.  Lots of tiny stitches went into making this tricorn, and I swear I just plodded along hoping for the best outcome as always.  But, when I finished lining the crown of the hat and pinched and folded up the wired edges, a tricorn was born.  I do not know any other way to make this hat, but if you had a doll hat already, one that had a nice brim, you could play with it some to make your own tricorn by tacking up the fold and pinch with buttons and thread.  (I saw that done on a YouTube.)

I love Theodora.  I was a little bit sad to give her up, but she's a Christmas present and Santa delivers.

I know exactly what I want to tackle next and hope to begin tomorrow (December 6th).  I'm writing this early and will post it after the doll's been received and the box opened.  Can't make it a surprise otherwise.

I do not think my next project will be done by Christmas, so this will most likely be the only post for December.  This year I'm celebrating two Christmases.  One on December 25th, and Russian Christmas on January 7th, to celebrate with my Russian friends who I know through their work with Little Darling.  Given that, I get TWO Twelve Days of Christmases to enjoy.  In the meantime I get to figure out how to maneuver through Jacquie Lawson's new Cotswold Advent calendar, build fires in the fireplace at night, go cross country skiing when the snow falls at 5,000 ft., and tuck in reading great books.

Wishing you all the most wonderful and precious holiday season ever!

Merry Christmas!
Melissa