A Chinese New Year with Ping Li

Sometimes we need to dig really deep into a challenging project, and this was one of them.  What better way is there to spend the long, chilly days of January, than to exercise some of that brain in front of an array of beautiful fabrics and a pair of scissors?  Its during this time of year when my creativity feels like the tender green shoots of  narcissus bulbs pushing through the hardened, cold earth.  I want to burrow.  I want to read or lose myself in episodes of Victoria or Outlander.  But, then the sun comes out and my restless spirit wants to grow and surface, and shine again.

It is no secret that I love the Ruby Red Galleria dolls.  The Ten Ping family line is one of the most remarkable doll offerings out there right now.  Years ago when I was collecting only Asian dolls, Ruby Red Galleria came out with their first doll, the Senson.  There were three and I'd bought one of them.  However, when I began to go in another line of doll collecting, she was the first to go.  Why?  Well, one of the reasons was that she didn't have a good offering of extra outfits...and I wasn't sewing at the time.  However, when I began collecting the Ten Ping family of dolls, I once again desired to own one of the Senson dolls.  Their articulation is incredible, and she is a pretty doll.  So my friend, Jenny, sent me one for Christmas...nude.  She was the Ping Li doll.

The first thing to go was her wig.  I kept it, but if Ping Li was to be a friend to my other dolls, she needed to have their look, which would include a beautiful black mohair wig.  These are extremely hard to come by now, and I could only find one in a size that was slightly smaller than needed.  It had the elastic band around the crown, so I clipped it and glued the wig on to fit Ping Li perfectly.  Now it was time to dress her.

For winter, I had my Mia, friend of Ten Ping, dressed in a gorgeous little Ruby Red Galleria costume that consisted of a pair of pants, a Chinese wrap top, a split-side pinafore, and cloth shoes.  I thought, Why not try a larger outfit like this one?  A lot of people would have gone for the Cheongsam dress look, but I love the way this doll sits, so pants seemed more logical.

Its a good thing I have a great stash of fabrics.  Ruby Red Galleria only uses cotton, and often poly-cotton blends.  If it works for them, it will work for me.  I chose a khaki linen for the loose leg pants.  If she was going to be able to sit comfortably, cross-legged (indian style), she needed to be able to move freely. 

 

It was kind of fun sorting through all the cottons I had, to come up with a pleasing combination to somewhat replicate this outfit from an 8" doll to a 12" one.  I spent a great deal of time studying the construction of Mia's costume in an effort to design the patterns for Ping Li's winter costume.

I know so very little about authentic Chinese costuming, so it was important to me to get this correct.  I noticed that piping was used only along the collar of the wrap jacket.  And, it closed exactly at the side seam when fastened.  Ruby Red Galleria used snaps to do this, although frogs can often close such jackets.  They may not have done this since a pinafore went over the jacket.  But, the most amazing thing to me was the design of the front piece that lays under the wrap.  It was designed with a curve, exposing the waist, where if full, would bunch up when you sit.  With this curve, you have a cleaner line to the jacket, more slimming.

I suppose I could have designed it the easy way since "who's going to see anyway" with the pinafore over it?  Can't do that.  If I'm going to do something, I'm going to do it right.  That's how I learn.

I chose a burgundy fabric with pink roses on it for the jacket, and lined it with a muted yellow cotton with a tiny pink rose pattern.  Making a longer sleeve, then lining the whole thing, allows you turn up the hem of the sleeve for the cuff-look.  The jacket can also be worn alone without the pinafore over it, and I might display her this way at some time in the future, with perhaps, a different pair of pants or a skirt. 

I wasn't looking forward to making the pinafore.  LOL  I studied and studied Mia's little pinafore and had the most difficult time trying to figure out what the heck they did!  When a piece of garment like this is completely lined, sometimes the only thing you can do is take it apart to see how it was put together, and I wasn't going to do that.

The pinafore consists of 15 pieces.  There are three little lined apron pieces that hang below the top pinafore piece.  It was my goal to see how it could be done.  With splits up the side, and completely lined.  It took me a week to figure this all out, but that's the kind of persistence and patience it takes sometimes.

What I discovered, was that the lining is in pieces with the lined apron nestled between the seam lines.  I took a photo of this to share how its done.  But, also to archive the process in case I want to do it again.

You have the front and back pieces of the pinafore (3).  The lining is two front pieces, and four back pieces (6).  The hanging apron pieces including the lining (6).  Then I had to put this together on the machine.  I'm laughing as I write this because it took me two days just to figure out how to sew it all together.  The incredible thing is that I only had to do a half mock up to see what was going on.

When it came to sewing the lining on, You have to sew the bottom edges and sides up to where the hanging apron begins and this allows you to have the lined side splits.

All of this then has to be pulled through the shoulder seam between the armhole and the neckline, to turn it inside out.  I attached a photo of the completed (lined) pinafore to share how it compares to Mia's in an earlier photo.  Completing this was a proud moment.  But, there was still more to do. 

Mia's little pinafore has faux frogs on the shoulders for decoration.  I went to Michael's and bought two skeins for Patons Grace, 100% mercerized cotton yarn.  This is what was used for Mia's faux "frogging".  But, I couldn't figure out how they tied the knot and made them, so I went back to the way they've done their frogs on other garments.  Forgive me for not recalling the name of this stuff, but its a narrow twill tape.  Ruby Red Galleria dyes theirs for the garments, and I had a length of dyed twill tape left over from when I did the Yu Ping outfits two Christmases ago.  I considered sewing two of them to the front of the pinafore, but in the end chose to put them on the shoulders like Mia's.  Now we needed shoes.

I didn't want to make the shoes.  Although I'd made ballet slippers for Tara Tree-tops, cloth shoes are much more difficult to make than leather ones.  Leather stretches.  Which means that your pattern has to fit the foot perfectly in order for a clean look with no gaps.  I got lucky.  I guess I've made enough shoe patterns that it only took a half hour to get a good start to the shoes.

I was going to use a tiny plaid wool, but instead selected a completely different color than the rose theme.  Primarily because this fabric was a coarse cotton and a shoe needed stability.  The Ten Ping shoes all have white soles.  It looked to me like they used a white linen for this, so I dug through my fabric stash knowing I had some left over from a long ago project.  I chose a corrugated cardboard to cover for the soles, so that there would be a thickness to it.  With a good basic shoe pattern like this, you can add straps, embroider the fronts,, etc., which are various ways Ruby Red Galleria has done their Ten Ping shoes.

I wasn't done yet, though.  I stayed up until 10:30 last night making her socks, and then a floral headband to set the whole outfit off nicely.

After finishing that pinafore, I swore up and down that I'd never make another and that this was Ping Li's one and only outfit.  But, today, I feel differently.  She will need at least two others.  And, I may have to go through figuring out another complicated Chinese garment, but at least I know that I can do this.

The only thing I regret, is not knowing what kinds of accessories I can make for Ping Li.  She's too old for dolls (don't say it!).  She lives in a rural and poorer country setting, like Ten Ping, so I guess a little research is in order.  They did house chores, cooked, sewed, took care of the little ones, but what did they do for amusement? 

Chinese New Year is on the horizon, and now Ping Li is dressed and ready to join her young friends to hear the large bells ring from the temple in the center of town on New Year's Eve. 

Love,

Miss E. Mouse 

 

Original Ping Li

Pattern pieces from paper towels

 

Happy New Year! Meet Hetty!

I'm a morning person.  I used to look forward to the first day of school.  I love Mondays!  The beginning of a new month...that first day of the month, always lifts my spirits.  And, so does the beginning of a new year.  I like fresh starts!  And 2018 has a nice ring to it.

Winter, where I live in the Sierra Foothills of California, is not like most winters others experience.  We don't get snow for one thing.  In a good winter, we'll get plenty of snow in the upper elevations of the Sierras, and this ensures a good water supply to many parts of California, and also happy times cross-country skiing.  But for the most part, our area remains sunny and moist, with leafless trees to expand the horizon, and green grasses growing aplenty.  The inescapable presence of blue as seen through the wintering trees, the ever-green of the pines, and emerald of the grasses, are the colors most vivid on any given day.

As solemn as January can often be after the frivolities of Christmas, we must find ways to cheer our spirits, and for me, color is one of them.  So when I began pulling out silks to dress my new reborn Lawton doll, Hetty, it was the color of this striped silk that drew me in and inspired me to make her debut dress.

I'm always on the look out for inexpensive Lawton doll offerings listed on Ebay, to rework and begin dressing anew.  Hetty began her life as the 12" Victorian Christmas doll.  She's the same size as Illustrated Alice, and a fun size to sew for.

In her former life, she lived as a blue eyed blonde.  Finding a nice wig for her wasn't easy, as most of the wigs these days are styled for BJDs, not Victorian misses.  So when I came upon this one in a different color, I asked the seller if she had any others.  She found this one for me, and I bought it.  I think I bought four wigs total to try on her, but this one was quite similar to the styles the girls wore in La Mode Illustree during the early Victorian years. 

Her dress is also from La Mode Illustree, in an illustration from 1874.  What I liked most about it, was the cut-out in the bodice-jacket-vest, whatever you call it.  Seriously, I have no idea what you would call it.  As with most of these dresses, I just design it from careful study of the illustration.  It did not appear to open in the front, but had the lovely details of decorative buttons down the front of the "vest" and the skirt.  It also boasted the bias cut of same fabric, edging the "vest" as a decorative touch.  I never shy away from this type of hand-work, but it does require patience and dexterity.

I began with a nicely front pleated chemise to go beneath the dress.  Not really knowing if the skirt had a waistband, I decided to design the dress for a doll, rather than a person.  In doing this, I attached the hem of the chemise to the skirt's waist edge.  I also felt that the "vest" would lay more nicely over this, instead of trying to tug it around a waistband.  Make sense?  And, as usual, I always design the dress to fit nicely over the metal wire bends of a doll stand. 

I wasn't sure what it was the original dress design intended for the button row, and I tried many different ribbons, including grosgrain, as a "row" to sew the buttons on to.  None of them looked quite right.

The main problem was that I didn't plan well.  I really didn't have enough fabric to play with, did not make a mock up of the "vest" (shame on me), and made a first "vest" that was too small.  Too small in the arm holes, so I had to rework my pattern and make it again.  The sleeve bits, again I have no idea what you call this piece of the garment, are in two pieces, and both edged with the bias cut banding.  All that bias cutting really chews up a small piece of silk quickly, yet I was able to do it, reluctantly so, but necessary.

I had just enough fabric to make a placket, cut horizontally, for the button placements.  I also needed a wider length for the skirt, but resolved this by piecing another width to it.  I cut that in half, then sewed both to the longer length, giving it a look that could have been "intended".

The buttons are little brass ones, and the chemise is closed with five little pearly buttons and thread loops.  The "vest" closes with hooks and thread loops.  The result of all this work is a little frock that rings of evergreens and blue skies and new year cheer.

If  January's palette in nature begins to bring on the doldrums, try spicing up your surroundings with a bit of color.  Open the drapes and let the natural sunlight in.  Immerse yourself in a good book, curled up in a cozy corner, and dress your dolls in colorful frocks.  Hetty can agree that it "does the trick"!

Happy New Year, my friends!  Resolve to make January a "favorite" month!  Find a little magic in each day and celebrate new beginnings.

Love,

Miss E. Mouse

 

 

 

 

 

 

MERRY CHRISTMAS 2017!

"Toys galore!  Scattered on the floor!  There's no room for more!  And, its all because of Santa Claus!"  The Most Wonderful Time of the Year, from the Christmas classic, Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, just about says it all!

One of the very best parts of Christmas is the gift of giving.  And, I do have to admit, that being able to make gifts for the friends I trade with is far more rewarding, to me at least, than shopping in the malls.  Hey, I'm not going to knock malls. I grew up on them.  The first mall that came to our region, when I lived in the Bay Area, was the Mayfield Mall in Mountain View.  You could and would, spend the entire day there, if not just at the huge Cost Plus Market.  But, make no mistake, I love to shop.  I just do it mostly online now from the very chair I'm writing in. 

I'd like to think that this Christmas Day post is a new tradition for me.  This year I began making these toys the day after Halloween, and have ached to share a couple of them with you.  The thing is, the recipients read my blog, bless their hearts, so it just wouldn't do to share them until now.

I began working on the little Tenniel Humpty the day after I finished Maraja's Alice and her Humpty.  I suppose Maraja's Humpty was the Humpty-test for me, and this one would have to be a true mini, since the Alice he goes with is only 3 1/2" tall.  Tenniel's mini Humpty is the size of a real chicken's egg.  He might just look a little bigger because of his arms and legs. I needle felted this little fellow for two solid weeks, then had to say "done".  He was too tiny for fingers, but I'm sure I'm forgiven ;))  Tenniel had done two illustrations of his Humpty.  One would preface the story and he sat on the wall.  The other was standing and making quite a fuss.  It was from both that this little guy was conceived in wool.

The next little toy is a 6" cloth body and composition doll originally by Wendy Lawton.  She was the nurse doll to Nola and her Nurse.  The dress on my Nola's nurse doll had faded, and I was able to acquire another one just for the outfit.  So the undressed doll became a play thing for a larger Lawton.  One of my treasured friends had sent me a box of silks from The Lawton Doll Factory, and the pink silk with embroidered blue dots was one of them.  The pink silk had been used for The Little Doll Collector originally.  I rewigged the 6" dolly, restyled the wig, and made her this outfit and hair bow.  Let me tell you!  Those embroidered dots were a bear to machine sew over!  So unexpected, but a jean's needle had to finally be used.  There are blue silk pleats edging the sleeves.

 

And, then came the Ten Ping and Yu Ping Chinese New Year costumes.  I'm pretty sure it was hoped that I'd make an outfit or two for my friend's dolls this year (if you recall, I did the Yu Ping wardrobe for her last year).  I really didn't know what to do and time was running out.  What I was really hoping for, was that Ruby Red Galleria would offer us Chinese New Year outfits, but to this date, they still haven't.  So given that, I made them myself. 

Both are made from silk jacquard and Shantung silk.  I'd like to say they are "simple" traditional pants and jackets, but these were not simple to make - at least in the silk jacquard.  The jackets are lined and the pants have elastic waists.  While I was making them, I was looking for miniature Chinese New Year toys.  I found this seller in New Brunswick, Canada, who offered these incredible and incredibly tiny ceramic Chinese Zodiac animals, so I included them.  At the first of the year, I'll buy a set for myself.  Many grateful thanks to the seller for pitching in the extra shipping to get them to me quickly.

 

The last one going out the door from Santa's Workshop, was a miniature needle felted sock monkey.  This little guy was made by request and I hope I did him correctly.  I've never really been into sock monkeys, but as coincidence may have it, American Girl's Kit (from the 1930's) got a sock monkey and a monogrammed stocking this year.  I'd bought them earlier for my Kit doll, and her sock monkey made a nice example for me to go by.  He has wire armature, so he is able to hug the doll holding him.  He was made for the Ten Ping 8" and Yu Ping 5" dolls, so he is about 4" I think.  I like to photograph these items with thread spools since it gives you and idea of size. 

Christmas was still two weeks away, and the gifts were wrapped and on their way.  Louise needed a doll for Christmas.  I know she has Petite Chiffonette, but I wanted to make her a more "formal" French Fashion doll.  I'd purchased a Cathy Hanson doll house lady doll on Ebay and thought she'd make a perfect one.  I used a design for a dress that was on a doll from the La Mode Illustree that I often get my inspiration from.  Sadly, to make this dress correctly, I had to do a lot of pleating on silk taffeta, and it came out rather stiff.  I almost tossed the dress to start over, but I was tired, and frustrated, and pushed through to finish it.  It happens.  The little doll makes for a nice display, but is not my shinning moment.

As I'd mentioned earlier, when I dressed Lawrence, her brother, I was looking for toys for him to be displayed with.  Finding a little brass horn was not an easy task.  There are plenty of horn ornaments, but none that quite look like the ones from the early Victorian days.  I finally found one for $3.95 that had a rose and greenery glued on it, and it looked to be just about right.  The glued embellishments easily came off, and that was his first toy.

There is a French company that makes tiny metal historical soldiers and I was able to find a couple of them that Lawrence would enjoy having.  One is your typical tall hatted soldier with his rifle by his side in red and white, and the other was a great little guy that rides a horse (circa 1860).  The soldier and horse are separate pieces and he sits quite nicely on the horse.  I would one day like to seat them on a little board with wheels beneath for a pull toy.  This would have been more accurate for such a toy, but that will come in time.

 

Christmas Day has arrived.  I have so thoroughly enjoyed the season.  The last  days till Christmas were spent catching up on all my favorite Christmas movies, and reading, my favorite pastime.  Both take absolutely no effort, except to stay awake late at night!

Wishing you all peaceful Christmas, and one that fills your heart with gladness.

Merry Christmas!

Miss E. Mouse

 

 

Tis the Season To Be Festive!

I know what you're thinking.  "That was FAST!"  But, the holidays are here!  There's no time to waste.  And as you know from my last post, Louise was to get a new Christmas gown to coordinate with brother Lawrence's outfit.  The very minute I finished his little suit, I began her party dress.


Disappointed that I had to change color themes at the last minute, I dug deeply into my cabinet of silks and found this gorgeous purple-blue and red plaid.  I know its been there a very long time since it was way, way in back of the piles.  And, there wasn't much of it either.  I think the piece was half a yard of 45", and I was cautiously concerned that I wouldn't have enough.  Its not the length and width so much that one worries over, but the ability to cut on the bias, the diagonal, for trim!

Plaids are a favorite of mine, especially for the holidays since the colors can be so brilliant and festive.  I didn't have much time to think about designing this dress either, and maybe that was a good thing, since I way over thought Lawrence's velveteen suit.  Did I mention that it took me half a roll of paper towels to make the patterns for his suit?  I must have been having quite the day.

When I do look for ideas for Louise,  Sylvia Mac Neil's Chiffonette book has become one of my favorite sources.  Its not that the costumes vary so much that intrigues me, but the variety of ways she made up all those outfits from just a few patterns.  It was the collar from one of these dresses that inspired Louise's Christmas dress, and I think she only did this collar once.  Louise's was done with piping.

The vogue for tartan-like plaids, whether associated with clans or not, was fueled by the affection Queen Victoria and Prince Albert had for the Scottish dress, the Highlands, and Balmoral, their Scottish retreat.  But, for all ostensible historicism implicit in the wearing of the plaid, its bold colors were the result of the invention of chemical dyes in the mid 1850s.

About half way through designing and fitting this dress onto Louise's body, I became dismayed.  Something just wasn't right about the look.  She'd been wearing her high neck, and front pleated chemise, with the three-quarter puffed sleeves.  I thought surely this should look lovely with the new dress, but it didn't.  This was wishful thinking.  I've only made two of these chemise's, and her friend, Laura, is wearing the other. 

So I had another look in the "the book" and was reminded that one of Chiffonette's chemise's had a rounded, or Peter Pan collar - only hers was done in lace.  I was not looking forward to this set back, but felt that adding this under piece would be beneficial to future dresses, and it would look better with her Christmas gown.  Again, this chemise was a case of over thinking something.

You know I really do not like making collars, but it seems that so many wonderful dresses and blouses begin with a beautiful collar.  So I suffer through them.  Usually I'm lucky enough that I'll be lining the piece so the seaming doesn't show but in this case, the sheerness of the chemise had me going in circles with how to finish it.  It could not be lined.  Yes, I do know what a facing is, but for some reason making it just as nice on the side we do not see, was perplexing me.  After some fussing and fuming, I edged the facing with a simple zig-zag, then tacked it down at the shoulder seams and through the front pleats so it lay firmly in place.  The collar and cuffs are edged in lace, and there's a "panel" of lace down the front.  Four tiny white buttons close it in the back, just down to the waist.

Back to the dress.  Now that we had that in order, I began first with making the piping.  I would prefer that the piping was not pieced together, but with so little fabric to work with, it was necessary.  It was "fun" trying to get the plaid matching and going in the same direction on the diagonal.  For the collar, this time we had the ease of finishing the edge since the bodice is lined, as is the skirt.  I wanted something different, a different look than Sylvia's dress for Chiffonette, so I made little rounded epaulets coming off the shoulders.  These, too, are piped.  There is piping at the waist of the dress as well, which precluded me from having to make a sash that would tie in a bow at the back of the waist.  Although one with fringed ends would have looked pretty, I wanted a matching hair bow.  I could update this dress at some point with a sash of black silk and fringe just for a change of appearance.   Small, shiny black buttons decorate the left and right edges of the collar and one button tops the centers of the epaulets.

The other details include a bias band at the hem (pieced together), and box pleating at the waist.  I  had just enough left over for a bow for her hair. 

Why was I in such a hurry to get this done?  Well, because its Christmas!  Most of November, and the rest of the next two weeks, or less I hope, has been, and will be spent making Christmas gifts.  Each gift is a little project on its own, but so important as these are gifts of love.  And, that is what Christmas is all about.  And, Hallmark movies, Christmas specials.  And decorated trees and homes, and noshing on nibbles we only eat Christmas time!

While searching for a few lovely Christmas themed images to correspond with this posting, I came across a surprise.  A Christmas special was made for the PBS series, Victoria!  The only information I could find was that the DVDs would be available on December 26th (thank you very much) and shipping from the U.K.  I have no idea if it will air this season in the states, but I'll be on the look out. ( See below for the cover of the DVD.)  If you know anything about this, please post to me (us).

Lawrence and Louise are excited and looking forward to the merry making of this holiday season.  They are now dressed and ready to begin the festivities which they can enjoy (I can enjoy!), the entire month.  My wish for you, is to have one of the very best holiday seasons ever.  Merry Christmas one and all!

Love,

Miss E. Mouse