Emily's Dennison's Bogie Book Costume

We finally got our first cold snap of the season two days ago!  The past few days have been extraordinarily pretty, with days in the high 60s, bright sunshine, blue skies, and leaves changing color everywhere.  The full moon on the pre-night was as glorious as any harvest moon rising I've seen in the best of the past.  It's been an incredible October for me.  My gratitude is abundant, but I also know that staying as inspired and busy as I've been attributes much to my serenity.   And then there's Halloween.  My very favorite time of year.  The second month of the 'bers.  Summer is but a distant memory now.  I never dwell on the recent past.  There's just too much life to live in this very moment.  

I finally named her.  My 1470.  Funny, but while I tried to make her one outfit, I just wasn't into it.  Kitty Hudson's another story.  She's my little muse.  What I wanted was to buy all of Doug James's costuming for my 1470, but when they started those Zoom meetings, they sold the clothing 

immediately concluding the meeting.  And they flew.  It hurt.  I don't Zoom.  I'm terribly self-conscious and it seems rude to silhouette yourself on a Zoom meeting.  You're either in or out.  Maybe someday I'll change my mind in the future, but I'm a serious introvert and hate photos of myself and being on video.  All that said, Emily's Dennison's Bogie Book costume would be the perfect share on one of Doug's Zoom meetings.  But I'll stick to my blog and Facebook.

After finishing Dolly's scarecrow costume to go with Grace's Halloween hayride (or western) theme, I had to take a few days to do things around the house.  Wednesday came along, and I knew it was either do or die.  So, I got busy.  Real busy.  

First, I had to find a costume to make Emily.  Her name came to me while I was sewing this costume.

It was easy to remember (that's half of it), and she just looked like an Emily to me.  So, Emily she is!

I don't know why I chose this costume out of so many, but here's a guess.  Maybe the hat reminded me of the Polichinelle costumes I made for Louise and Lawrence.  Seems reasonable.  And I'd made dresses with lappets before, so perhaps I thought this would be easy.  And I love the pom-poms.  It's a sweet costume.

It's funny, but when people were dressing in crepe paper costumes for Halloween back in the 1920s, they were simply Halloween themed.  Today we dress as ghosts, witches, vampires, bugs, animals, horror movie characters, and so on.  Quite a change!  I haven't done research on this, but my guess is that the availability of masks in the 50's and 60's and pre-made boxed costumes had something to do with it.  And it just occurred to me that this is a Polichinelle costume!  Yes.  This is why I chose it.  I've done it before.

Emily's costume is once again, completely made from silk.  I do love working with silk.  I appreciate the crispness and shine and flexibility of the fabric.  

The dress boasts five lappets generously appliqued with pumpkin head characters and little bats.  Lots of tinsel black pom-poms.  And black shoes with black pom-poms on them.

The shoulder bow-sash adds interest to the rather plain bodice of the dress.

Oh!  The bodice.  Okay.  I had to make this three times.  I forget how sloped this doll's shoulders are.  When designing the pattern, the shoulder seams must slope down at an angle.  This isn't so important for sleeved dresses, but with a sleeveless top, it's a must.

I didn't mention this before with Kitty Hudson's costume, but I've added black netting to the inside of the skirt at the waist, like a sewn in slip, to give the skirt an opportunity to puff out.  I think it's a nice touch. 

I also had to resew the skirt to the bodice three times.  This is a lot of extra work when you're in a time crunch.  Why?  Because I was trying to exact the look of the illustration by making the bodice longer.  Well, guess what?  That illustration is of a girl with a very long waistline.  It is NOT easy translating an illustration to a costume.  No matter how often I do this, it never gets easy.  I never do the same thing twice, so there's something new to learn each time I start a project.

The appliques took just as long as the body of the costume.  Where on earth was I going to find an image that looked like what the illustrator scribbled on the lappets?  I must have spent a good six hours or longer looking for the right image.

 

I studied the little characters over and over again under my magnifying lamp, and finally realized that these were pumpkin head bogies.  The bats were easy to figure out.  And guess where I found the pumpkin head bogies?  On an old scrap of Dennison's crepe paper!  see below   I was thrilled.  But then I had to figure out how to make them.  

They weren't simple black silhouettes like Kitty's cats.  Nope.  These were colorful.  Heather suggested that I paint them.  Ever put wet paint to silk?  Try it sometime.  This would have been a mess.

It took a long evening and a "sleep on it" to figure out that they would have to be done in three stages.  Itty bitty pumpkin heads.  I think they turned out cute, but I need a serious rest from this tiny, fiddly work.  

I didn't have to make the shoes like I did with Kitty's costume.  I had a pair of 1470 shoes, and I removed the bow, painted them black, Mod Podged them with gloss, then assembled the pom-poms on them.  So, they're not the same as the ones in the illustration.  Big deal.  A girl in the 1920's would use what she had on hand, and that's what Emily did.

Emily's hat took a couple of whacks as well.  This was one of the things that kept me busy.  All the rework.  However, I spent the entire day, Saturday, until 10:30pm working on this costume.  The last thing to be made was the shoulder bow-sash, and I did that this morning.  

I finished the costume in time to take a breath and enjoy the last two days to Halloween doing nothing but reading my horror books and watching horror movies.  And enjoying my dolls.

It was a busy month.  Esme got me started with her pumpkin costume.  Followed by Kitty Hudson's kitty costume.  Then there was the Club Grace Dolly Dingle costume, and finally something for Emily.  I wanted to make one of Ann Estelle's costumes drawn by Mary Engelbreit, but that will have to wait.  

One thing I never shared with you was Gracie's second crepe paper lantern.  Last year I had just enough time to make her the pumpkin one, but after Halloween I forged ahead and made the owl lantern.  I've shared a photo of this below.  I also love photos of the costume in progress.  So, I took one for you.  My poor work surface grows smaller and smaller with all the this-n-that I need while making these costumes.  Included in these photos is one of a vintage box to start your decorating that Kitty and Emily might have picked up on their way home from work.  A fun page from a Bogie Book.  And a real crepe paper dress that lasted the ages!  Wow.  Love this.  I also included this photo of someone's vintage inspired Halloween collection.  The shelf was beautifully done.  And now I'm off to sit back and enjoy the day in a quiet way.

Happy Halloween!  Enjoy every minute of every day!

Melissa

Work surface, work in progress.

Dennison's crepe paper

Party Starter

The illustrations are worth it!

The real deal.

Gracie's Owl lantern.

Esme

Dolly and Remmie Lou

Kitty Hudson

Fabulous for next year!

A collector's great shelf.

Happy Halloween from Emily

Kitty Hudson's Dennison's Bogie Book Halloween

"There are stacks of large costume boxes filling my hallway.  All of these tied with sturdy string and filled with Kitty's trousseau for her European tour.  I believe these are being sent by train to her home.  A porter will be coming to fetch them tomorrow.  I bought kitty a special gift for her travels that she can open on her way home.  It is a diary for her to journal her hopes and dreams, thoughts and anecdotes from her travels.  I think one day that she might become a writer.  Maybe her notes will give her inspiration.

She's promised to stay in touch, but I think it unlikely.  This young woman has a full life ahead of her and I hope Charles will be a part of it.  They have so much in common.  I'm not one given to displays of sentimentality, but I noticed my cheeks are damp as I write this evening.  Nonetheless!  I will miss the evenings we've spent reading together, playing cards, hearing of her adventures from the day, her laughter at the small parties I give in my salon, her company on rainy days..." From the diary

of Madame Hoover four years past.

"Mercy me!  Kitty Hudson just arrived the day before last!  She's come of her own accord this time, and not at the behest of her mother.  Such a change in this marvelous young woman.  And she did become a writer after all.  She is here to meet with one of her publishers from a prominent women's weekly.  She's been writing articles and romance stories for several women's magazines these past few years.  Job well done, Kitty Hudson!  And of Charles?  They are an item, but she has no time for marriage and babies... just yet.  Not this flapper girl! 

Her publisher is hosting a Halloween party in a fancy hotel in the city this October 31rst.  Charles will be joining her for the event, and she begged me to make her a special costume from one of Dennison's Bogie Books.  Bogie indeed!  Nothing scary about these costumes, but they sure are delightful."  From the current diary of Madame Hoover

And so, it is from this special request from Kitty, that I came to make her a costume for Halloween.  And have her come to visit a second time.  What was Halloween like in the 1920s?

Halloween began to take off as a holiday in the late 19th century, although trick-or-treating started in the 1920s.  Adult Halloween parties were then all the rage, and a company could make a lot of money selling Halloween themed costumes and decorations.

The Dennison Manufacturing Company would see gold in Halloween ephemera.  After its move to Framingham in 1897, the company rocketed to success.  By the turn of the century, it employed a third of the town's population.  In 1909, Dennison started to make Halloween party items and became one of the two premier American companies selling Halloween ephemera.  The other was the Beistle Company of Shippensburg, Pennsylvania.

Dennison published the first Bogie Book was in 1915.  The Bogie Book was the handbook to Halloween celebrations.  Today it would tell us a lot about early 20th century social life, especially for the upwardly mobile city dwellers.  The book gave party advice for simple menus, alcohol-free drinks, dancing and cards.  They also gave ideas for games and how to decorate for one's party.  They even gave advice for the business girl's Halloween party with directions to carefully prepare her decorations and menu in advance.

But one of the best things they offered were costume ideas to create using their printed crepe papers.  The costume pages were lavishly illustrated with ideas for both men and women, and the crepe paper costumes could be tossed the following morning.  There were no patterns to create from, but most women knew how to sew, and even if they didn't, wrapping and taping together a costume couldn't have been too difficult with the delightful border printed crepe paper yardage.

For the party, crepe paper and cutouts would decorate chandeliers, windows and tabletops.  A menu might consist of doughnuts, oranges and apples served "dressed up", chicken patties, potato chips, ice cream, and individual cakes and coffee.

Entertainment came in the form of fortune telling and almost always involved wedded bliss or marital affairs.  Bobbing for apples was a must for the guests, weather the apples were floating in a tub of water or tied to a string from the ceiling. Peeling an apple in one continuous piece, then throwing it over your shoulder, where it would land in some shape on the floor could form the initials of one's future mate.

Kitty was secure in her decision to remain with her soul mate, Charles, but they'd enjoy the games regardless.  Kitty was never one of back out of a challenge!   Or fun!

After looking at so many illustrated pages from Bogie Books on Pinterest, one in particular struck me as the perfect costume for her.  The "kitty" costume.  I thought it would be a snap to make, and Kitty obviously thought so.  But it took a great deal of patience and effort.

The kitty costume is made entirely of silk. Silk replicates the crispness of crepe paper and performs beautifully for intricate work.  

The ruffle around the neckline and sleeves was made from silk cut on the bias and dramatically gathered, pinned and sewn to the garment.

Handmade silk bias tape edges the hem of the bodice, and...okay I fibbed...regular black satin ribbon edges the hem of the skirt.  I didn't have the proper silk-satin ribbon for the hemline, yet the satin ribbon was the perfect choice to use for two rows of stitching.

The outfit is completely lined in cotton batiste.

The main event of this costume are the handmade kitty appliques.

This is far from the first time I've created my own appliques, and the process takes me back to the time I was sewing for Katy Curls and created her autumn apron decorated with fall leaves.  

I used a flexible fuse paper that creates an iron on applique.  Each little applique was made from black silk, and each little scaredy cat was carefully snipped out then iron-fused in place.

It took a longer time than anticipated to find the perfect images to use.  Clip art simply didn't have the vintage look, so I had to look to vintage Halloween postcards to find both the cat face and the scaredy cat.

With the large kitty head, I had to hand draw the features in white charcoal pencil, then snip out the tiny pieces.  Lots of fiddly work, but that's what I enjoy doing.

I have to admit that I was thrilled and inspired to take on the project because I was up in the air about what next to do, and I love sewing for Kitty Hudson.  

The skirt and top are closed with tiny snaps, which I felt much more suitable for a Halloween costume.

There are twelve 1.2" scaredy cats along the hem.  The larger cat in the center of the skirt is 2.1".  While I have all this written down to keep with the pattern I made for the costume, I often go back to my journal posts to find out how I made something.  I do forget!

Close up of applique work.

Kitty has a pair of white stockings to wear under the costume and I made her a special pair of shoes to match the ones in the illustration.  These are made of the same silk as the costume.

The shoes aren't the best I've made for her, but they were made of two layers of silk and one of the cotton batiste, to give them body and support.  Making shoes with heels is still a challenge for me, and since it's been four years since I last did this, I had to try and remember what I did originally.

The hat, as simple as it looks, took me the better part of a day to make a pattern for.  I wanted to make it just like the one in the illustration, and I feel pretty good about the outcome.  

I'd created this costume on my 1470 doll.  When Kitty arrived today, I was a bit nervous that there might be areas where the costume wouldn't fit, but it wasn't a problem.  I think Kitty has a slightly smaller waist and her legs are thinner than the porcelain 1470.  What this actually meant, was that the costume would fit Kitty perfectly.

This project was the perfect way to enjoy Halloween month, and I finished it just in time to return Kitty to Heather so she can enjoy her in her costume for the rest of the month.

Kitty Hudson's story continues, and I couldn't be happier.

I hope you'll enjoy the selections I chose from the many Dennison's Bogie Book pages I have on file.  Maybe one will inspire you to create something for your doll from the 1920s!

As for the rest of the month?  More Halloween costumes!

Happy Halloween!, Melissa

 

Esme Pumpkin Sprite

October!  Its Halloween month!  And it feels just wonderful to be in the season of autumn.  When the lighting in each day is softer.  When the early evenings give a golden glow to everything you see and feel.  It's simply my favorite season of the year.  And Halloween is my favorite celebration of the year.  Oh, I know.  Christmas is the big finale, but there is nothing to compare to joy Halloween brings to me!  

Fall is a time for the color orange.  It's my favorite color, and pumpkins on porches, pumpkins in patches, pumpkins in bins at the grocery store, pumpkins everywhere! - and pumpkin spice (not in my coffee, thank you very much!) brighten every day in every way.  

Pumpkins have long been a source of fairytale material from Cinderella's coach, to where Peter the Pumpkin

Eater kept his wife.  There's something magical and just plain fun and inspirational to that jolly gourd.  There used to be a pumpkin festival in Half Moon Bay, California every year.  Still might be, but I no longer live in the Bay Area.  In some areas of the country, I'm sure families can still go out to a real pumpkin patch and select one or two, then go for a horse drawn hayride.

Carving pumpkins into jack-o-lanterns is a Halloween tradition that originated in Celtic cultures where turnips and beets were carved to make human faces.  The name jack-o-lantern comes from an Irish tale about a man named Stingy Jack who tricked the devil. and was cursed to wander the earth with a lantern.  Irish immigrants brought the tradition to America and found that pumpkins were ideal for carving.  Hooray for the Irish!

I am just beginning to feel a little lighter these days after a very disappointing trip in September.  It just took the life, energy and creative spirit out of me.  Life.  Its happens sometimes.

But October arrived and with it, Halloween.  As many of you know, I've worked tirelessly some years to make super fun costumes for my dolls this time of year.  I'm taking it easy this season.  Sometimes we have to step back and just let the days flow and enjoy what we have, what we've done in the past, then buy lots of new Halloween dolls!  That's what I'm doing.

However, to not work on something, to not have something to pick up and poke around on in my studio, is simply not going to fly.  I read.  Voraciously and all the time.  I just finished The Light of the World by James Lee Burke, and it was fabulous.  Three more books left in his Dave Robicheaux series, and I'll be crying buckets that my heroes won't be having anymore adventures.  I just picked up Louisa Morgan's new book, The Great Witch of Brittany, and its superb.  I love her witch tales.  And I'm watching Halloween movies, and the first season of House of the Dragon.  I'm good to go.  Sometimes we just need 

to rest our minds and reboot.  

Still, the desire to do something for Halloween was nagging at me.  Esme is always the perfect little sprite to get me back into the swing of things.  So I made her a pumpkin costume.

I pulled out a sheet of orange felted wool and one of green, and started a little pattern for a puffy pumpkin costume.  Not everything we do has to be a masterpiece.  Not everything we do has to be a challenge.  It just has to be fun and inspiring.

Esme Pumpkin Sprite.

I used the existing little boots I made her for the mushroom costume and added a bit of bling to the bodice neckline with some orange beading.  It just looked too plain.  It needed something.

She has a pair of orange felt panties sewn inside the pumpkin bottom, which was tricky to design.  

Two green pumpkin leaves come off a three sided stem, which I did a little embroidery work on.  

Her costume is just for fun and will take her through the end of November.  She's a fun doll to dress when sewing with felted wool.  She's always a bright little spot on the shelf she shares with other dolls.

I've also been focusing my thoughts on Wednesday Addams and Nadja and her look-alike doll from What We Do in the Shadows.  Who knows?  Maybe there will be a special costumed doll in one of these themes.  They're everywhere right now and just looking at what others have done has been inspiring.

It's getting dark outside, and I've turned on all my electric lighted Halloween pumpkins and the little haunted house display I have in the living room.  I'm a kid again.  I'm an adult with the heart of a child that will never die.  The magic of the holidays, this special time of year, will always be treasured and celebrated!

Let's enjoy some pumpkins together!  I've selected some fun pumpkin imagery from long past and more current artists.  The super fun recent find, was that of the Scarecrow from the Wizard of Oz celebrating Halloween.  On Pinterest, you seldom get to learn where these images came from, but this one's a winner!  Scarecrow is scooping out green Oz-cream for the party.  I hope you'll enjoy the selections.

Oh!  I almost forgot to tell you.  I was poking around the settings in this blog site to get the HTML language off the page, and found a place to check a box that just might bring the email notifications back.  I hope you're able to leave comments again, too, if you like.  

Until the next time, Happy Autumn!  Happy Halloween!, Melissa