Cissy's Cherry Blossom Season

Last night I was thinking back in time to a season long ago when I belonged to an online Bleuette club and was only creating accessories to scale for dolls.  I didn't begin sewing until 2011, and loved working in wood, fibers and paint.  People may have referred to me as a miniaturist back then, but the 1:12 scale was not my thing.  It was creating accessories for dolls that couldn't be purchased.  If I couldn't buy it, I made it.  Today, the same thing applies to doll clothing.  

What I was primarily looking for was my roots in loving things Japanese.  Yes, I'm a Sinophile, loving and having great interest in all things Chinese, but there was a time when the art and ancient cultures of Japan were foremost on my mind.  I don't exactly recall the when and how, but there was a doll artist that cut Asian eyes into a Bleuette's greenware (poured and hardened slip before its fired), and she was the cutest thing imaginable.  The joy and collectability of having 

an Asian Bleuette took off and other artists began making them.  At one time, I had four or five of them.  Today I have none.  Why?  Because I stopped playing with them and they needed restringing, and I didn't know anyone who could do this.  I sold them.  Yes, I regret this, but honestly, if I kept every doll I'd ever purchased, they'd need a house this size of their own.  So, I went into an old album of photos from long ago and spent two hours looking at all the things I once made, and (regrettably) sold, for these dolls.  The money helped me buy the dolls and things I wanted, but some of these accessories were real treasures.  I hope they still exist in someone's collection and are enjoyed today.

Two of my favorite accessories were a Hagoita paddle, a wooden, fan-like piece, women would carry in parades.  The other was a miniature shell game.  I'd purchased a bag of shells and carefully selected matching ones and painted tiny matching images in them for a game, like cards, where you'd turn them over, mix them around, they turn them over two at at time, until you made all the

matches.  Both of these can be seen in photos at the end of this post.  This beautiful Asian Bleutte with the shelf of Japanese items, was one of my favorites.  She was like a little geisha with her white face. The outfit was made by Bluebird Textiles.  In the photo you can see the geta I made for these dolls, a basket of Japanese paper dolls, some origami that I folded, and lots of little doll figures that were purchases.  I made the shelving and the low table.  I also made the Japanese instrument propped up against this doll.  I still have some of this stuff, but of course the doll is gone to a new owner.

It was a wonderful and exciting time and going through all these photos brought back wonderful memories.  I was honestly trying to remember what other things I loved about Japanese art and culture, besides the food, cherry blossom season, the Japanese Tea Gardens in San Francisco, the ornate buildings, the beautiful kimonos, hair styles and hair sticks, and the list kept growing.  Especially with this photo walk

down Cherry Blossom Lane.  

After completing the Mardi Gras costumes, I wanted very badly to make a cheongsam for Cissy.  Someone at some point had to have made one for her or a doll that size.  Sometimes a pattern just gives me a good jump start.  I could only find one for a 16" antique doll, but I also found a vintage pattern by Brown House Dolls for a kimono fitting a 20"-21" doll.  I bought it.  Spring was coming, Cissy would look beautiful in a kimono, and I really wanted to try this.  So I've been immersed in the kimono world and the beauty of Japanese culture once again.

Did the pattern fit?  Not even close.  It was made for a chubby childlike doll this size.  So I spent some time refashioning the pattern to fit Cissy.  I liked it because it wasn't the typical full-length kimono and had a floor length skirt beneath it.  It could be lengthened.  It can be altered in many ways and there are as many variations of kimonos

and obis as you can think up.  I was looking for ideas when I came upon the work of Kyo, a Japanese seamstress in Canada, who sews extraordinary kimonos, or yukatas for American Girl dolls.  I bought two and will certainly buy another two soon.  She sews them all by hand and enjoys the creativity of making each costume unique.  I attribute what I've done for Cissy to this extraordinary artist who inspired it.  The yukata is made from day wear cottons, and the kimonos are used for ceremonies and special occasions.  

The concept of the kimono had country roots in being a simple robe that was easy to make on folded fabric.  It was origami in nature.  Simple lines creating wonderous beauty.  

While awaiting Kyo's creations, I was determined to try something new and wished to work with decorating plain paper parasols.  I was also awaiting embroidered satins from China through an Etsy seller called PoppyLollipop, for fabrics for cheongsams and dresses for Cissy.  I have quite a bit of bits and pieces coming from China 

currently, but those will all be shared in time.  As it turns out, Kyo's yukatas arrived after I finished Cissy's, so they weren't much help to me.  I do have them for reference now and will possibly make them for other dolls in the future, or next cherry blossom season, Cissy may get a full-length one.  But her obis came just in time, and I'll attribute what I made for Cissy by her work.  When it comes to authenticity, go to the source.

Cissy's kimono was not easy to make.  Partly because I had to read someone else's pattern instructions and partly because I was altering someone else's pattern to fit her.  I did three mock-ups before the final one got made.  

In looking at other people's work, including Tonner's for his Memoirs of a Geisha dolls, The sleeves seem to be the main challenge in construction.  With Brown's pattern, it was truly done by folding and sewing.  I had a lot of fitting issues between the width of shoulder and the length of the sleeve.  By that time, I wasn't into making a 

fourth go at it, so a lot of seam ripping and resewing was required.  I love how easy some people can make their kimonos look, but I struggled.  And that's okay.  It keeps the gray matter healthy!  And truth be told, this costume was all about the parasol!  Which I will get to shortly.

I did consider adding a trim to the neck opening and discovered that this line of trim has as many variations as any other aspect of the costume.  On my next try at this, I will sharpen the neckline, this one is rounded, and apply the trim.  The neck scarf or inside collar was another aspect I needed to explore.

I made a light pink cotton batiste rectangular piece just to tuck around her neck, but Kyo's was actually sewn on.  I will try this in the future.  As well as lining the sleeves, instead of Brown's fold and sew style.  I'd only had enough of this cherry blossom fabric to make the costume that I did, and that was another factor in not exploring further.

This charming little obi was the second one I made.  I'd ordered this red Asian fabric and it took forever to arrive.  I love it so much that I asked the seller if she could get more in.  She was able to, and when she does, I'll purchase two yards to have on hand.  The print size will work with a variety of doll sizes.

The first obi I made was in dark blue, dark red and a bit of dark olive green.  It had long tails draping beneath the decorative "bundle", and it was quite nice, but it did nothing to make the costume "pop".  When the red fabric arrived, it was like magic.  Who would have thought it would do the trick and work so well with this light blue fabric, but it did.

I used the yellow border on the first one, as I did on the second.  When I found this piece of light pink embroidered satin among my stash, I knew I'd found the perfect blend for the pleated detail.  I must have tried seven different variations of mixed fabrics for the obi before settling on this one.

The bundle on Cissy's obi is a combination of two large, simple bows, one sewn on top of the other.  

I have to mention here that part of my challenge with Brown's pattern was that the width of the sleeve was so wide that it wouldn't allow the wrapping of an obi at the waist.  I shake my head just thinking about what I had to do to make this work.  When the time comes to make another kimono, the experience will have paid off.

The charm hanging from the wrap belt, or obi, was also inspired by Kyo's work.  This one has a cherry blossom on the end.

Cissy's long skirt is made from silk.  Does this work with the cotton kimono?  I think so.

Now I could have some fun.  I love hair sticks.  I had a lot of fun finding tiny ones for the Asian Bleuettes back in the day.  They were plastic, an no, they weren't tooth picks.  I don't know why, but it is very difficult find little things like that these days.  I kept a lot of the little extras I had on hand knowing that they would be difficult to replace in the future.

I did an online look at various hair sticks and loved the ones that had dangling ornamentation.  Cissy's are made from bamboo scewers cut down, sanded and painted.  I used a tiny hand drill to make holes near the tops to insert the jewelry findings.  These tiny plastic flowers came in an assortment of colors and I chose light and dark pink to play up the cherry blossom theme.

I made pearl dangling earrings for Cissy to go with the costume.

Here's a back view of the hair sticks.  Cissy's hair was already "up" from the Mardi Gras costuming, so this worked perfectly to hold the sticks.

I purchased these slip on sandals for Cissy from another Etsy seller.  They're as close to geta as Cissy is going to wear.  

Someday I'd like to try hiking boots or sports shoes for her on bases like this.  Tonner did this kind of thing for Ellowyne Wilde and other high-heeled dolls, so I know it's possible.

As I mentioned earlier, my jump off point into cherry blossom season began with the desire to make decorative paper parasols.  I have several in varying sizes and colors and after some deliberation, decided to try decoupaging them.

I had to muck up two of them, which is sad, but how else was I going to practice?  I tried the decoupage method on both a colored parasol and a white one.  My goal was to create the lacquered parasol look.  I discovered through a bit of research that the lacquered parasols are used for rainy days.  Makes sense.  The lacquered sheen repels the rain.  These were going to be used for the Chinese costuming I was going to do, AM going to do, but Japanese women enjoy them as well so I decided to make a cherry blossom one.  I discovered there have been many beautiful parasols done with a 

cherry blossom theme and set off to find the perfect clip art or images to create one of my own for Cissy.  

If you ever wish to try this, I'll eliminate the frustrating experimentation for you.  Use the lightest tracing paper for white parasols.  Use images you can trim neatly on plain paper for the colored parasols.  The tissue paper blends into the white parasol but shows horribly on colored ones.  Use matte ModPodge for your decoupaging glue.  Paint it thinly on the surface and wide enough to support the image you are using.  I do not recommend using the ModPodge as a top layer.  Your parasol will look like it was beautifully painted without it.  With it, it's a mess.  No lacquered parasols.  Okay,  Try it and prove me wrong, but I've already done the experimenting.

Here's the most important thing.  Once you have the image on the parasol, let it set up for a minute or two, then close the parasol and reshape the folds.  They will not stick together, I

promise.  Once the decoupage has cured thoroughly, you can open and fold the parasol as normal.  If you don't do this and leave the parasol open to dry the decoupaged images, it will never fold back down.  It's too stiff.  Its glue.

One more note.  Tissue paper doesn't always go through your printer nicely.  It jams up inside.  So what I did was lightly glue the tracing paper on the top edge - the one that goes into the printer - to plain paper.  You'll get beautiful, full color images on the tracing paper and no paper jams.

I chose this swirling cherry blossom pattern with bluebirds for Cissy's parasol.  It is very like the ones made for humans.

Lastly, I needed one more accessory.  I love origami, and I love the beautiful little cranes.  They have a wonderful history and are decoratively used for many purposes.  According to Japanese tradition, folding 1,000 cranes gives a person a chance to make one special wish come true.  The crane is believed to live for 1,000 years and that is the meaning behind folding 1,000 origami cranes.

I found this very special seller on Etsy who sells tiny origami cranes and purchased some from her.  Her store is EigenCrafts.  She popped a few little origami pillow stars into my box, so I decided to make a tiny mobile for Cissy to hold.  

I may not be able to travel to Japan to see the blossoming cherry trees, although I have seen them in Washington, D.C.  By sewing costuming for my dolls and learning about the history and traditions surrounding them them as I go along, I can go anywhere without the hassles of air travel.  For me, it is very much like the books I read, but an interactive experience.  

I hope you'll enjoy the many images I selected for this posting.  Included are some of my dolls, the work I did for the Asian Bleuettes, some fun, and some very lovely illustrations of Japanese culture.

Sayonara, Melissa

Blaire in Kyo's creation

Tonner's Tiny Betsy

Ruby Red Galleria Sakura Witch Lia

Bleuettes, Tiny Betsy, Wendy Lawton

My first Asian Bleuette

The shell game.  Half inch shells.

Mini Bleuette and Pagoda Trunk

Mini Bleuette in kimono and geta

Hagoita Paddle

Bleuette and Hagoita Paddle

Dolly Dingle

 

Peggy Sue Throw Me Something Mister!

Whew!  I'm exhausted.  Even if I could go to Mardi Gras in New Orleans tomorrow, I don't think I'd have the energy.  I'd want to be one of those rich and famous people who get to watch the parade from a lace iron balcony while drinking mint juleps.  

I've been working almost round the clock on Peggy Sue's costume and just finished it this afternoon.  Once I got the design of what I wanted for her in my head, I went full speed ahead.  

I'd orginally intended on making her a short, puffy jester romper, but couldn't figure out how to make the diamonds match up in the center seam.  I'd purchased this fabric from Spoonflower earlier in the month and they must have had some on hand since it arrived within three days, rather than three weeks.  Typically, you order the fabric, then they have to make it up.  Print design on the fabric you've chosen.

This shiny satin is gorgeous, but what a devil it was to work with.  My hands are dry and chapped from washing them so much while working with silks.  You get one dirt smudge and the costume is toast.  So my poor hands, and the pins, kept making tiny tugs on the fabric.  I wiggle and smooth those areas if they happen and the fabric usually settles back to pretty.

Peggy Sue's costume is called Throw Me Something Mister! as she's wearing it on the sidelines of the parade, among the throngs of costumed partiers.  She's a child and she's having the time of her life.  Unlike Cissy whose costume was sheer elegance, and Mignonette whose costume was created for a late 19th century Mardi Gras - even if her companion was contemporary.  

I'm tired and I haven't much to add about Mardi Gras, but I do have one story of family history yet to share.

That summer when I was 10 years old, and spent it with my mother's family in New Orleans, there was one outing midway through the summer that I'll never forget.

I'd met so many people.  Maybe they were meeting me, too, but I hadn't met any extended family until one day we went to visit Uncle Mel's mother.  She was the grandmother of the three cousins I spent the summer with in Kenner.  They called her Granny Gorbach and if my memory serves, she lived near City Park.  Why do I think that?  Because we went there after visiting her to see the giant trees and get shaved ice drinks.  It was always hot and humid, even when it rained, which was often.

Granny Gorbach was a seamstress for the Mardi Gras floats.  She lived in a tiny home that was entirely her studio.  Large, elaborate costumes filled her living room which she used as her studio, design, and sewing center.  I was not able to touch them, but I'm sure my eyes were as big as saucers.

What was Mardi Gras to a ten-year-old who lived in California?  Something other people did.  A big mystery.  I never experienced anything like it in my short life and haven't to this day.  But I got a behind the scenes look at what Rex would wear that year, and some gowns that the women would wear.  

Granny Gorbach was a lovely woman and gave us cookies and lemonade and made us stay clear of the costumes.  I don't think she was well.  It was a very short visit, and I doubt if I were to ask any of the cousins today, that they would remember that day.  I wish someone had taken a photo of me with her and the costumes.

Later as the youngest of the three cousins grew up, Paula would take over the reins and continue the tradition of sewing the costumes for Mardi Gras.  I'd love to track her down and talk with her.  I might try that soon.  It would be calling different krewes and companies that design for the costumes, but maybe, just maybe someone might know her.  Or may have known her.

I finally got the cut bead necklaces to glue together with the glue gun.  You have to be really fast to stick the beads together before the glue cools.  Everything about this costume was fast.  I had to just do it and not think about it too much.  

I used the diamonds as edges for the costume by lining the satin with black silk.  The silk stabilized the satin and helped in the extreme as I sewed along the points and turned them inside out.  The points are trimmed with little pom-poms to match.

I am absolutely in love with Louis and Gaston, the alligators I met through study and books, so Peggy Sue needed one.  This little stuffed gator is called Louis and wears a little Rex crown.  He and two other gators were strung on a necklace for fans of some sports team in Florida.  He's a plush mini and works perfectly as Peggy Sue's companion for the parade.

I wanted so badly to make her a jester's hat but didn't have the time to fool with it.  Ladies do wear jester headbands, and this is what I chose to make.  The band itself, is covered in the satin and the jester horns are made from silk.  The gold crown detail is leather.  Two little bells trim the horns.

Peggy Sue with her haul of beads.

I used her black slipper flats for her shoes and wrapped them with silk ribbon ties.

I have had a wonderful two and half weeks, or has it been three? creating these three costumes.   I love Cissy's best, but then I love her elegance.  Mignonette's is a fantasy and Peggy Sue is all about fun.  Throw me something mister!

Next year I'll make the King Cake for Blaire.  When Mardi Gras, the 21rst of this month, tomorrow, is over, it is time to Lent.  I'm going to take a few days to put all the beads and feathers and fabrics away and clean this house of mine.  I don't even want to think about my next project, but I know I'll do something for Easter.  Maybe a couple of things.  One thing I'm aware of though is that I should never let too much time go by in between projects.  I lose the rhythm and it's hard to get back.  I just need a break.

I'm sharing the Louis paper doll again because I love it and because of Peggy Sue's Louis.  I also found a menu cover from 1916 that's very cool.  I hope you'll enjoy Peggy Sue's Throw Me Something Mister costume.

Until we meet again!  Melissa