Maud Humphrey

Maud Humphrey

Monday, April 27, 2020

New Dress for Zwergnase ASTE

I bought this doll, Aste, at the same time as my previous doll, Thordis.

She is 21.5" tall, and a limited edition of only 50 in blonde (there were also 50 made as a redhead) from 2017.

I just happened to stumble across the last one when I was browsing this shop.

I was really surprised she was still available, since she was a limited edition from two years earlier!

Since I really wanted a blonde Zwergnase, I decided to splurge and get her, along with Thordis from my previous post!  (The shop was having a 20% off sale, so I didn't feel too bad!)

I'm so glad I did!  Isn't she beautiful?

Of course, I had to make her a new outfit.  Her original outfit was nicely made, but nothing special, in my opinion.

Here's a photo (not mine) found on the internet of how she looked when she first arrived.

I think she looks so much sweeter now!

Her pinafore was cut from a soft, cotton, ladies blouse.  It is a simple front and back that ties under the arms and buttons on the shoulders (I used snaps under buttons)  The dress is pretty, quilter's cotton, trimmed with vintage eyelet.

The blouse already had the tucks in it, so I didn't have to do those!

Here she is, with her little sister.  I hand-smocked her pinafore.  I used to smock a lot for my older girls when they were little, but haven't done as much lately.  

Aste's new name here is LIESL.  I've always loved that name, ever since watching Sound of Music.  I am now debating on switching Thordis' name to GRETEL, also from the same movie.  I was going to call her "Adalie", but somehow, it's not really sticking.  And the more I say it, the more I like it!  Sound of Music was (and still is!) my absolute favorite movie of all time.  
So, what do you think?  Do they look like a Liesl and Gretel to you?  

And lest you think I only sew for dolls, here is evidence that I also sew for real people:
My almost 3-year-old granddaughter, modeling the Lulu pinafore pattern from Violette Field Threads.

We went to a tulip farm yesterday, and she had so much fun running among the rows of tulips!

I also made her this sweet dress recently, another Violette Field Threads pattern, Primrose.  Lucky for me, I have a huge fabric stash, so finding fabric to sew dresses during this time when we can't easily go out shopping has not been an issue for me!

I love that my granddaughter LOVES her dresses.  She asks me frequently to make her new ones.  I hope someday I can teach her how to sew!



















Monday, April 20, 2020

New Dress for Zwergnase doll THORDIS

Sometime in January, I was tempted by an online doll shop sale and ended up purchasing not one, but two Zwergnase dolls.  This is one of them.  Her manufacturer's name is Thordis, but I have renamed her Adalie.  It is a German girl's name which means "noble".  Because Zwergnase is a German doll, I figured it was fitting to give her a German name.

Miss Adalie has been standing patiently in my doll/sewing room all these months, waiting for some attention.  Now, with all of these extra hours at home, I decided it was finally time to show her some love.

I wanted her to have a blue dress which would match her eyes, so I hunted through my stash of fabric until I found just the perfect piece.  She has a tall, slender body, so I had to draft a new pattern just for her.  The dress has a basic bodice, puffed sleeves with cuffs, and a full, gathered skirt.  I added a little lace across the bodice and skirt hem for some visual interest.   Her apron is cut from a vintage napkin, and the pocket is a vintage, embroidered doily.

I found the flower headband in my stash of miscellaneous doll goodies, and I though it looked so perfect among her tousled curls!

Her hair had gotten a little mussed after being shoved around in my doll room for the past several months, and I was a little afraid of what it would take to restyle.  However, just a little spritz of water and gentle finger combing put all those ringlets back into perfect shape!

I cut her stockings from a pair of ladies socks I bought at Walmart eons ago.  I just happened to have a pair of shoes to fit her in my doll shoe stash (everyone has one of those, right?!?)

Her dress fastens in back with metal snaps under decorative buttons.

I just love these dolls.  They have such unique, character faces.  Now that Adalie has been outfitted, it is time to move on to the second Zwergnase doll and create something beautiful for her as well.  Stay tuned!