Dressing my dolls, whether antique or modern, brings me infinite delight. My life circumstances have slowed down enough in the past half year that I have time and focus for some slow sewing now.
This unmarked china shoulder-head is one of my gratifying finds at the 2023 UFDC Convention sales room last August. She is a rare mold by Conta & Boehme dating to about 1860, according to Mary Krombholz. The shoulder-head is four inches tall. While I don’t attempt to find bodies for all of the shoulder-heads that come my way, this girl is special enough that I wanted to find her a body and dress her.
Shoulder-heads in my collection, disembodied
I didn’t have to search long for a body. I realized that I had the perfect one already; I had put a head on it that was newer than the body, and was meant to be temporary.
This old and battered kid leather body is perfect in size and age for the 1860s blonde shoulder-head.
Perfect fit! She is now 13 inches tall.
I bought a baby dress with a wonderful lace hem at the 2023 convention, too. It was just the size to make drawers and petticoat for this doll. Of course, I made her a chemise as well. It has antique tatted lace added at the neckline. So far, she is barefoot, with no socks or shoes.
I thought this winsome blond doll would look good in blue. Since I love antique indigo dyed cotton, I had just the right piece with barely enough fabric to fit her dress. My post of September 2023 spoke of how calico is woven as dull colored cloth that is then dyed in vibrant colors and patterns. Indigo proved to be one of the most successful and popular dyes for late 18th and 19th century calico. Here is a significant reason why:
Assets from her dowry proved to be a fortuitous combination for a young woman like Eliza Pinckney, whose favorite subject at her British finishing school had been botany, rather than the more traditional French or needlework. Embracing her interest in botany, Pinckney conducted experiments with various crops [on her father’s struggling rice plantation], including alfalfa, ginger, hemp, and flax. Her most significant achievement came when she successfully developed a new strain of indigo. This innovation met the high demand from English textile mills, which were constantly seeking new dyes. Within a few years, indigo became South Carolina’s second-largest cash crop, transforming the colony’s economy and securing Pinckney’s financial independence. Her newfound wealth and success allowed her to reject suitors chosen by her father and instead select her own husband. Eliza Pinckney’s influence and prominence were such that George Washington served as a pallbearer at her funeral in 1793. [Unfortunately, Pinkney’s success was to the detriment of her slaves.]
The floral print bit of indigo fabric that I had, with the small gingham check print for trim, made a fitting dress for this dainty doll. Again, given the date of the doll as before sewing machines were widely used in homes, and her smaller size, her garments are all hand sewn.
The skirt, trimmed with a bias strip of gingham fabric, is gauged, or cartridge pleated, into a twill tape waistband.
After making the skirt, I had a limited amount of the indigo fabric left for the bodice and sleeves. I wanted to add gingham trim on the bodice, as well.
While my doll’s dress is not as fancy as this one, I did copy the sleeve cap style here for my dress.
Baby is a six inch bisque doll with wired limbs and molded clothing, probably by Hertwig.
The dress is finished! It has straight sleeves with gathered gingham caps. There is bias gingham piping at waist, sleeves, and neckline. The tatted lace on the chemise shows at the neckline.
What a happy mother in her new dress. I decided that no buttons were needed for embellishment. The back closes with four hooks and bars.
Simple pleasures are the best–a new dress, a china doll, and a kitten! Wishing you your kind of simple pleasures for infinity.
