Dressing a Bru

Recently, a dear, elderly friend from my doll club asked me to dress her doll. This little sweetie is a Bru Jne, an antique French doll made around the turn of the last century. Now, a doll like this in good condition can cost as much (or more!) than a nice, new car, so I felt very honored that my friend trusted me with dressing her.

She stands 12" tall and has a beautiful, bisque head. While her head is original, her body is a reproduction, which made her much more affordable when my friend originally purchased her.

My friend only had one request for the dress, and that was that it had to be blue. I do agree that this shade of blue brings out the lovely color of dolly's eyes. I happened to have a piece of cotton sateen in my stash that worked perfectly, and the rest of the laces and trims are all antique/vintage pieces that I have collected (hoarded!) from here and there. The cotton netting for the skirt is just gorgeous...why don't they make stuff like this anymore? The polyester and rayon laces of today just can't compare to this netting at all. It's soft and drapey and so pretty to work with.

I added laces across the bodice, along the hem of the skirt, and down the sleeves for visual interest. The dress fastens in back with small snaps. I would normally do buttons, but my friend's fingers have trouble with small buttons, so I figured snaps would be easier for her to work with.

I love how this dress turned out. Simple, yet elegant.