A New Sybil for the Virtual Doll Convention

A couple of weeks ago, Rachel Hoffman posted a challenge on the VDC to create homemade Sybils.  Sybil was introduced as Ellowyne's fiesty cat and came with a carrier.  She was quite popular and of course I bought both the cat and carrier.  Time and tide, and I sold both.  There must have been something else I really wanted because I can kick myself for selling the carrier.  It was so well made.  

I did end up buying another Sybil a few years back when I was collecting for my Halloween shelf.  Today she curls around a Halloween Ellowyne's legs.

It wasn't until I decided to give the challenge a try that I noticed some very odd things about the original Sybil.  For one, her legs were really short.  She was designed more like a Corgi or a Dachshund.  Odd.  But she was fun, and she was outrageous and I'm probably the only one who noticed.

What I wanted to do when designing my version of Sybil, was to keep to the size of the cat, but correct the length of the legs.  This of course, made her a taller cat.  Several times I tossed the armature and tried again for a smaller size, but the first model was still the best overall, so I finished her on it.

One thing about needle felting that is difficult to master, is predicting the size of your project.  Once you start adding wool, it can get rather large.  So, with that in mind, and not willing to start on a fourth, I'm calling her a Rag Doll Sybil.  Rag Doll cats are huge and gorgeous and wonderful.  

This posting is mainly for my archives, but I'm including lots of photos from different angles for both my future reference and just for fun.

When starting a new needle felt of an animal, I always look for a good skeleton to make my armature from.  What's armature?  It's a wire frame on which to build the wool.  I use pipe cleaners because they are already "furry", and wool adheres to them better.  Sometimes two twisted together is necessary for stability.

I was very uncertain as to how to create a feisty cat, and my friend Heather, was great in helping me.  Crooked tail, flattened ears and sharp eyes were the top suggestions.  As Heather cares for feral cats, as well as her own gorgeous pet, she was of tremendous support and help as I went along.

Cats are one of the most difficult animals to needle felt.  I wouldn't have suspected this, and it was confirmed by a professional needle felter whose YouTube tutorials and products are hailed by many, Sarafina.

I'm not crazy about all her techniques, but she helps give me an idea of where to start in certain areas.  There is no right or wrong way to needle felt.  As long as your project turns out the way you want it to, go for it.

I do believe this was the hardest animal I've ever made, and I've made some pretty intricate ones.  Perhaps in part it was not knowing how well she'd be received, and I grew very fond of this poor, upset kitty as time went along.

I wanted to make her feel secure and trusting again so her ears would right themselves and she'd purr.  Ah well.  

Lastly, both Heather I thought she needed a collar or something.  I slept on it and when I went into my studio the next morning, I put a big red silk ribbon bow around her neck.  That would make any cat's ears go back!  Ellowyne thought it would improve her disposition, and it had the opposite effect.

Goodbye, little Sybil!  I hope you enjoy your life in the doll shop!

 

An Alice Folk Doll

Its June!  The month of sunshine and strawberries.  The month of leisure and outdoor play.  June is the time to shake off the cobwebs of winter, open the doors and windows at night and listen to the sounds of summer.  I love summer.  Oh sure.  When its triple-digits from sunrise to sunset, I'm the first to stay indoors in the cool of an air-conditioned home.  I certainly have plenty to keep me busy, but when the sunshine is calling, and the day is mild, it's terribly difficult to sit still in my studio working on projects. 

Yet, I have several projects lined up for the summer months, but that won't stop me from launching my kayak on the lake every opportunity I get.  Being on the water, just me and my little craft, is one of the most pleasant things I do.  And where I kayak, on Lake Folsom, I see otter, and eagles, heron and egrets, geese and ducks who've been leading their little ones through the beginnings of lake life.  I love it.  It's my Zen. 

Being out in nature is one of best ways to let my creative thoughts flow.  Even so, some projects take a concentrated effort that leave me feeling like I'm starting fresh in the world of creating for dolls.  The little folk doll Alice was one of them.  It doesn't help that I never do something twice.  Each project is for the first time.  It's only in the things I've learned from other projects that propel me forward with any sense of practical application.  And this was the first time I sewed for a folk doll.

Some of you might recognize this little doll, but others will only know the name Gail Wilson from her Americana and Hitty dolls.

Back in 1974, Gail launched herself into making Early American dolls in an 8" size.  They were made from porcelain clay pressed into molds.  These little dolls and their kits were a hit everywhere Gail set up a table and always sold out.  These dolls are very difficult to find, but my friend Betsy, has been collecting Gail's dolls since the start.  

About a week after the Connie Lowe Little Stella came to live with me, three of the little 8" Early American dolls showed up in the mail.  Betsy told me that two were for me, and the third she'd like me to dress for her.  While not the typical doll I would collect, when presented with a challenge, and especially one as intriguing as this, I spend some time considering what I'm going to do.  

I looked on the Gail Wilson Designs website in her Garage Sale section where a few of these old dollies and their accessories were being sold, and still couldn't come up with an idea.  I understood the concept, but as to what I would actually do, that she hadn't done, was a mystery.  As I played with the little doll with golden rag doll hair cut in bangs, I thought, "Alice".  Why not?  I asked Betsy if this interested her, and it did.

So what does an Alice folk doll look like.  I am no stranger to dressing dolls as Alice, but this would take some real imagination.  I do not just sit down and get to work.  Most of my work is done in my noodle, and once I see it in there, then I make it.  

I actually started out from the bottom up with this one.  I loved the gold and white striped stockings I'd made for Eloise and just made a pair for this little girl as a test sample in sizing.  Well, I loved them.  And they would later turn out to balance the colors on the doll as the gold happens to be the same as her hair.

Next I made her a pair of knickers.  Every little folk doll needs knickers.  Betsy and I both hate elastic.  Elastic does not pass the test of time, so these knickers have a full waistband and hook in back.  I edged them in a Swiss cotton lace.

Blue dress.  Short sleeves or long?  Long was not going to cut it.  Maybe on some other Alice doll where classic Alice details would be considered, but not on the little folk doll.  I've never minded a doll's anatomy.  I was sewing short, puffed sleeves on the wood body Lawton dolls before tackling a little cloth stuffed body. 

What shade or hue of blue?  What kind of fabric?  Bright blue 100% cotton.  It was not my first choice as I have trouble with bold colors, but the bright blue looked right.  It made her pop!  I had to seriously think outside the box on this one.

What kind of pinafore would little folk Alice wear?  I went through two other renditions until I decided to try a rounded pinner.

This was it.  Anything else would have overwhelmed her stuffed body and petite size.

But it was plain.  It sat there tied around little Alice like a canvas awaiting paint.

Here's a photo of her pretty rag doll hair.  Which I added the classic black headband to.

I knew the pinner needed a pocket.  I was going to put a Drink Me bottle in the pocket, but couldn't find a flattish, rectangular bottle for the job.  A flask.  Still, what would the pocket be like for a folk Alice?  A heart shape!  With red embroidery stitching attaching it to the skirt.  Yes.  What else?  It still looked plain.

Then it dawned on me that a Queen of Hearts card might look fun poking out of the pocket.  I had to hand make the card since the size needed to be just right.

Check, check.  It still looked too plain.  

All this time I'd been considering classic Alice trim on the dress.  To me, this just wouldn't look right.  It had to be different!  Then it popped into my mind a couple of days ago that red rickrack might do the trick.  So, I hand-sewed the rickrack on both the top and bottom of the pinafore and inserted the ends into the waistband.  That seemed to do the trick.

Oh yes, I also made a pair of lambskin leather shoes for her.  Those were nuts to make, but she needed shoes and not the soft boots Gail dressed her Early American dolls in.  This was Alice.

While I was in the last stages of finishing her costume, I started thinking about the accessory.  A White Rabbit.  Again.  No, no, no!  This was a folk doll Alice.  What would Gail do?  Well?  Gail often had her dolls accessorized with little red wagons, teddy bears, little wood toys and especially ones on wheels. 

A rabbit on wheels!  That's what she needed.  I will not reveal my source, but I did not make this rabbit.  And he's just perfect.  To me, this is what Gail Wilson would have done with an Alice doll.  Maybe.  Well, I did, in the spirit of Gail Wilson designs.  

I added a little pocket watch on a chain around his neck and gave him a longer pull string with a loop on the end in the case Betsy wanted to display Alice pulling the White Rabbit.  

I love doing Alice.  She's my favorite theme.  And hey! The outfit is an original design.  I have two more little dolls to dress.  The ones shown in the photo above.  I know exactly what I'm going to do with them now.

Below is another example of Gail's work with the 8" Early American dolls.  Don't you just love those apple cheeks?!   Will Gail ever see the Alice?  Doubt it.  But I would hope she'd enjoy it.

And as summer moves along at its long and leisurely pace, make sure to spend some time in the sun.  Even if it's under an umbrella on a lounge chair reading a great book.  That's where I'm headed now.

Enjoy!

Melissa

 

Gwendolyn's 1960's Sun Hat

I was born in 1957, so by the time the fun fashions of the 1960's came about, I was in elementary school.  Even as a little girl, I astutely aware of everything around me.  I questioned everything.  Asked questions, and generally got stupid answers.  My favorite was asking my mother what was for dinner, to which she'd reply, "What Patty shot at and missed."  I may have been a pain in the rump for asking so many questions, but logic was primarily what I was after.

One sunny Saturday, I asked my mother if we could go on a picnic. "Why?", she asked.  Well, I told her, it was logical.  It was a sunny day, and people went on picnics on sunny days.  Right?  We did not go on a picnic, but I continued to watch Spock on Star Trek say the same thing to Captain Kirk in every episode.

Was there anything logical about fashion in the 1960's?  Sure!  It was a fun time to break free of tradition, and that included the fashion of hats.  The peak of hat fashion was in 1964, the same year Audrey Hepburn premiered in My Fair Lady, where she wore 

some incredible hats to the races.

At the same time, kitsch and whimsy seems to abound with Sunshade Hats.  Why?  Because it was fun.  And that's logical.  And because they sold!  Women bought them to simply have fun and attract attention.  And some were a riot!

After my last project, I spent a bit of time going to ground.  It happens.  I never intend to let it last so long, but at this time of year, it becomes very difficult for me to sit inside and work on tedious things when the sun is warm and shining.  

There's a kayak to paddle, a patio lounge that begs me to recline and do nothing but read in the shade of the umbrella.  Life isn't like that though, and I find myself in times like this, doing all those things I was putting off while being creative.  Like anything I do, once I get started, its hard to stop.

But there I was, browsing on Facebook, when a lady named Debra Cooper, a member of the VDC, posted this ridiculous looking sun hat and said she thought Gwen would look good in it.  Of course, Gwen would!  Gwendolyn, if you recall, was one of Robert Tonner's new additions to the Ellowyne Wilde family.  He probably jokingly called her Ellowyne's grandmother, and it stuck.  But the idea was that Gwendolyn was a 1960's fashion doll, and I loved that.  She's no granny in my book!  She is just who she is and I did make something for her early on and may have to make another fashion for her sometime down the line.  

But this HAT called out to me and I was smitten.  I wondered if Rachel would enjoy it to the point of asking her factory in China to make it, so I waited.  That was a couple of weeks ago.

No one ever accused me of being a patient person.  A patient artist, yes, but not when it comes to having things for my dolls that I want.  Gimme!  Now!

I was working on another project that wasn't going well, wrong fabric, wrong thread, wrong this and that, so I pushed that aside and made the hat.  Not another thing would get done until I made that silly hat!

Of course, I had to order the supplies to make the mold for the thing, and the plastic for the sunglass lenses and raffia for the flowers as well.  And when they all arrived, I got to work.

I had a blast making this one.  I really had a lot of fun creating it for Gwendolyn, and it was done on the first try.  I had to push forward even if I thought it might be too big or too small, because you won't know until you make it.  

Fortunately it worked the first time!  I was jazzed.  I laughed at times making it, especially when I was cutting out and assembling the silly oversized cat's eye lenses.

Let's put it this way, my mother didn't wear this kind of stuff and neither did anyone in my neighborhood, so this was new to me.

Sometimes something feels like a bit of magic, so I'm going to do something I seldom do, and that's keep the "how to" and what I used out of this journal posting.  

Will I make another?  Maybe.  There's a fun one in a photo below that would be a kick to make.

And as it turns out, Rachel did love it, so I suggested she send my photos to the factory.  Let's see what they have to say.  I'd really enjoy seeing what they can do with this.

I couldn't stop there though.  Gwendolyn needed a straw tote to go with it, so I made that one up today.  

The decision to add flowers to match was easy.  No.  Why, because the focus is on the hat.  Maybe with the next one, I'll make the tote to match the hat flower for flower.

Yes, this is a short little posting, but the hat needed to be archived as well as shared.  Its all a part of the creative process.

It's the Memorial Day Weekend, and the unofficial start of Summer!  Gwendolyn's ready.  Are you?!  Time to enjoy the beautiful early days of sun.  Go out there and have a picnic!  Its logical.

 

Stella Playing Alice

If April is the month of rain, May is certainly a time for gardens.  Gardens bursting forth with rosebuds, all manner of greenery, and wildflowers.  For May is Wildflower Month.  And who do we find among the gardens of Spring?  Alice.  Alice searching relentlessly for a way to make sense of the world she's fallen into.  Alice scrambling through tall grasses, knocking on doors of strange houses and coming in contact with the most absurd and memorable characters ever!

After completing Stella's first adventures in getting a puppy and having a birthday, a request came in from Eloise (we'll refer to Heather's 12" Stella as Eloise, because that is her name), for an Alice playset.  In yellow.  There is never a character I more like to create for than Alice.  The challenge was to make a dress (remember, Stella is from the 1930's) for a dress that Mother would have made from one of her own.  With a petulant personality such as Eloise possesses, the playset had to include the story of the Duchess and her pig

baby.  Pots and pans and plates flying about by Cook who's had enough of the Duchess and the wailing baby who is sneezing constantly from a pot of soup having been too peppered.  Just another chapter in Alice's adventure in Wonderland.  

Classic, Tenniel Alice, is always in blue.  But he also did the Nursery Alice, and she was dressed in yellow.  This little ray of sunshine is perhaps my favorite, and I've only seen Alice's costume portrayed in yellow by two artists.  I've looked.  Tenneil and Maria Louise Kirk.  Several years ago, I made Alice Illustrated the dress conceived by Maria L. Kirk, and it remains a favorite.  Kirk's Alice falling down the rabbit hole, had Alice cradling a jar of marmalade as she tumbled downwards.  The jar along with a tailless pig by Steiff (prior to my needle felting days), completed the play set. Today, Eloise will cradle and nurse the Duchess's baby, while the Duchess races off to a game of croquet with the queen.   

Maria L. Kirk's version of Alice portrayed her in a yellow dress with a waist apron indicative of the decade she illustrated the book in (1904), while Tenniel's apron is full and boasts flutter sleeves and ties in the back.  Illustrators have tended to dress their Alice in their own contemporary time, selecting styles that reflect what a child would be wearing.  As you can see in Maria's work, the apron buttons on a band in the back at the waist.  

I mention these aprons because when I was designing for Eloise, I wanted to be somewhat true to the 30's while creating something unmistakably Alice.  As to the fabric I used, a dress worn by Mother that was worn out and washed too many times was the look I was after.  Hence, the very thin and light, or faded yellow cotton.  I washed it several times to remove the sizing and to give it a worn look. A properly ironed dress would still be desired, even if for play, therefore, if the dress appears new, its Mother's attempt at decorum.  

I used the same collar as was on the birthday dress but pointed the tips for a more traditional Alice look.  

Baby blue 2mm double faced silk ribbon edges the dress and the apron.  Why not?  Women sewed back then, and while silk ribbon may have been too expensive for a child's costume, it doesn't mean that Grandmother didn't have a stash of it on hand for special occasions.

For me, what sets this apron apart and makes it unique for Eloise (or the Stella dolls), are the pockets.  Big hands require big pockets!  And so, they take up a lot of space on the apron.  They are the perfect size should a Drink Me bottle ever find its way into one of them.

I considered purchasing one of those miniature glass Coke bottles, but wanted a 2 1/4" green one as it would have shown up well in the pocket.  However, they only made that size in clear, and the green were made at 2 1/2".  I fussed and pondered over this for days, finally deciding on no Drink Me bottle.  One can always be added later.  Why the Coke bottle?  What would a child scrounge up in the 1930's for a bottle to represent "the bottle".  A bootleg whiskey bottle was considered, but Mother would have pitched a fit discovering it.  Eloise gets in enough trouble as it is.

Detail of the back closure.  

You'll notice that I made the apron as a pinner apron.  These were worn by women who literally pinned this top portion to their blouse or dress.  For this costume, it was sewn on for ease of dressing.

I chose gold and white striped stockings for the playset because they do not match.  Remember, we make do with what we have on hand in the 1930s!  I especially wanted them a little saggy since her legs are so skinny.  

Lastly, the Alice shoes.  Heather had shown me some center buckle shoes that she had made for her 20" Connie Lowe dolls, and I wanted badly to try to make a pair for our dolls.  I didn't have my normal lambskin on hand for the job, so tried a leather that was a bit thicker.  The only hesitation after using the thicker leather, now that I have the feel for it, is getting the strap through the buckle.  A friend of mine uses a tiny magnet that attracts the metal in the buckle for closure, but this is her design, not mine.

Here we have Maisie modeling the Alice playset complete with the Duchess's pig baby.

Time to let the little snorter down and do what little pigs do!

One of the photos I used as a model for the features.

Upon completion of the dress, I asked Heather whether or not she had shoes to use with this outfit.  She did not.

Designing, mulling over what do to, how to do it, finding the right fabrics and trims to carry the design through, takes much effort and I was so hoping that the dress would suffice on its own.  What was I thinking?  Then again, I never do something halfway.  I was just tired and had so many other things going on.  But I'm glad the request for shoes and a piggy came in.

I'd never needle felted a pig before, and she was willing to wait, so I took out the needles and wool and began.

I used the Steiff piggy I had as a model for the body size and shape since Alice Illustrated and the Stella dolls are of similar size.

As mentioned earlier, when it came to features, it was back to the online drawing board, looking for photos to use in examples for pig ears, snouts and the mouth.  There doesn't appear to be a noticeable upper lip to a pig, but more of a lower extension of the snout.  

With the Steiff, the features of the ears, mouth and end of nose were cut out from felt and sewn on.  These give the illusion of "pig" and are adorable.  They also used blue eyes with black pupils on their pig, but pigs have brown or black eyes.  So more accuracy was the direction I took the Duchess's pig baby.

The baby bonnet was essential.

I've made several White Rabbits and a myriad of other Alice characters, and I think the pig, in the end, was the easiest of them to make.  The tail was fun to create.  

It takes me almost as long to needle felt a critter as it does to design and sew a dress.  And of course that depends on what critter I'm making, but the effort is the same.  I wish I were faster at this, yet I hope my work shows the love and commitment I put into it.

And that pretty much concludes the creative journey for Eloise's Alice playset.  If its Alice, I'm on board!  In fact, the next project is dressing another doll as Alice for my friend, Betsy.  She gave me an 8" porcelain and cloth Gail Wilson doll to dress for her.  This one will be in Tenniel classic blue.

I do have to take a few days to get some things done around the house, and the days are warming up beautifully for taking my kayak out on the lake.  Many if not most of my creative ideas are conceived while I'm out in nature.  It gives me time to think, away from all the distractions of daily life.  And my dog, Brighton, does love his hikes.

May is 31 days.  The moon will be full on the 12th, and before you know it, Summer Solstice will be here. Enjoy the beautiful days of May and find time to chase down a few dreams in a garden.

Alice Illustrated in Maria L. Kirk

A pig baby?  Is that so!