Pleasant Company Kirsten and a New Outfit!

A few years ago, I sold both my Addy and Kirsten American Girl dolls.  I had bought them second hand, they weren't in the best condition, and I never really "bonded" with them.  So I didn't think they needed to take up space in my collection, and I didn't think I'd miss them

.  Lately though, I've been regretting my decision and really wanting them back!  So I found the Addy in my one of my Facebook groups, and just a few short days later, I found Kirsten on Facebook Marketplace!

Isn't she pretty?

I bought her from her original owner who had tears in her eyes when she handed her over to me.  She had many, lovely memories of playing with her as an older child, and took such good care of her.  She is in immaculate condition.  Her hair was still in it's original braids.  Her limbs are tight, her body clean.  Just perfect!

She came with her original dress and two other, original outfits.  But I still felt the need to make something "just for her".

I made her this pretty dress with a dainty, striped print and a sheer, cotton apron.

The apron is Simplicity 1391 again.  The fabric is a sheer cotton with a "windowpane" design woven in.  I added a strip of vintage, insertion lace on the bodice, and also along the hemline.  This pattern went together very quickly and has nice details, like the flanges along the shoulders.

It simply ties in the back.

The dress is my own design.  I studied lots of antique photos of little girls' fashions from the 1850's, and discovered that there were a lot of options:  high necklines, wide necklines, and even off-the-shoulder necklines.  Long sleeves, short sleeves.  Gathered bodices, plain bodices.  So this is my interpretation--a gathered midriff, short sleeves, wide neckline, and a very, full skirt.

I added a bias strip of the fabric at the hemline to add some visual interest.  It is trimmed in a sweet, picot-edge bias tape.

The bodice also has piping at the upper bodice and waistband.

Back view

I couldn't leave well enough alone, and just HAD to undo her original braids!  Then I couldn't put them back again to look the same.  So I invented a new hairstyle for her which I think turned out adorable!  I lightly French-braided down the sides, finished braiding all the way down to the ends, and then looped each braid across the back of her head to the opposite side and secured it with a bow.

This doll is most likely from around 1995, based on her short, body tag (which states Pleasant Company 1986, made in Germany), and the Pleasant Company marking on the back of her neck.  I would love to own a white body Kirsten someday, but until then, I just love my pretty, new Kirsten!

American Girl ADDY and Simplicity 1391--again!

A few years ago, I sold my American Girl Addy doll.  I was trying to thin out my collection a bit, and honestly, I had never really bonded with that doll.  But lately, I had really been missing her and regretting my decision to have sold her.  So I went on the hunt for a new Addy.  And I found one!  A fellow member in a Facebook group advertised this lovely, early, Pleasant Company Addy, and I just knew she had to be mine!

I believe she is a first edition, or at the least very early, since she has some of the hallmarks of a first edition doll--straight, soft eyelashes, soft vinyl face, exposed ribbon at the base of her wig, and marked Pleasant Company 148/16 on her neck.  She has the sweetest expression!

She was nude when I bought her, so I immediately set about making her a new outfit.  Simplicity 1391 is my go-to pattern for civil war era styled clothing:

I made a version of the blue dress in the upper right corner.  I left off the belt and the bow at the neckline.  Otherwise, my creation looks pretty similar.  Another difference is that I almost always line the bodice instead of using facings.  I just think it looks so much nicer.

I used a vintage piece of cotton eyelet insertion to accent the hem.  Bias binding with picot crochet edge trims the sleeves and the dress bodice.

I wanted to make her jacket and bonnet set from wool, so I headed off to Goodwill and purchased a women's, 100% wool skirt to cut up for just $6.99.  I only used about a third of it, so not bad for the cost!  The jacket closes with snaps under decorative buttons.  It is completely lined with printed cotton.  

The bonnet is my favorite part of this outfit!  I just love bonnets.  It is also completely self lined, with a matching wool ruffle along the inside that frames her little face.  A vintage piece of ruffled trim adorns the outside of the bonnet.  It ties under the chin with vintage seam binding.

The jacket may look complicated, but it actually sews together very quickly.  The fit of this pattern is impecable, as well.  It is designed by Keepers Doll Duds, one of my favorite doll pattern designers.

I still need to make her a proper slip.  She borrowed one from another doll for the photos, but I want to make one just for her.  I guess that'll be my next project!

Vintage Madame Alexander Baby Victoria Rehab...Part 2 and FINISHED!

Do you all remember this dirty little soul from my last post?  I told you I was going to rehab her, and I did!

I used my trusty hemostat to pull out all of the stuffing.

I just knew that there was a cute little baby under all those years of dirt and grime.

Perhaps if you zoom in on this picture, you will see that her cloth body looks 100 times better!  This is after I soaked her overnight in a bucket of hot water with OxyClean powder, and then hung her body out on the laundry line to dry in the hot sun over 4th of July.  I also scrubbed her vinyl with a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser.

I managed to get all that stuffing back into her body!  Because I had to cut the old zip tie from her neck, I replaced it with cotton cording which looks very similar to what American Girl uses/used for their dolls.

I buy it at JoAnn's, in the jewelry making department.

Here she is, ready to be dressed, with a nice, clean body.

Her dress is tagged and original.  Her bloomer panties are vintage replacements.  I soaked them both in OxyClean as well, and they came out looking brand new.  OxyClean should really give me something for promoting their product.  I use it and rave about it all the time!

And the best part about this entire make-over...I was actually able to repair her cry box!  I will explain how I did it in my next post.  I tried to upload a video, but I can't get it to work right now.  My super-techie adult son is coming over this weekend, so hopefully he can walk his old mother through how to upload a video.  Until then, have a great Saturday!

American Character TOODLES & McCalls 2468

A few months ago, I stumbled across this cutie at my favorite Goodwill store (it's my favorite because they are the only thrift store in our area that consistently offers vintage dolls).  I recognized her immediately as an American Character TOODLES.

24" tall and naked as a newborn!

She is marked "American Doll & Toy Corp. 1960" on the back of her neck, which is one of several ways that American Character marked their dolls.

She didn't look quite this good when I found her...she received a nice sponge bath and got her hair washed and conditioned.  She's in really nice condition for being nearly 60 years old!

One of the things that makes these dolls special is their "follow me" eyes.  No matter which way you turn her head, her eyes look like they're following you!  This is achieved by setting the pupil and iris quite deep underneath the surface of the eye.  Very ingenious!

I did not move this doll at all while photographing her, so here you can see exactly what I mean about her eyes being able to follow you.

I had a photocopy of a vintage pattern in my stash which I predicted would fit this doll.  It is McCalls 2468, for 21"-23" dolls of the era.  Even though Toodles is an inch taller, I figured the bodice would be just fine.  I cut view B, in the top right-hand corner.  I liked that it was sleeveless, but cut a little wider in the shoulders with added trim to look a bit like a sleeve.  I didn't have to make any adjustments whatsoever, and it fit perfectly!  I just love it when that happens.

I trimmed the bodice with a bias strip of the same fabric and edged both sides with rick-rack.  I also used rick-rack at the armhole edges and skirt hemline.  The only changes I made to this pattern were to line the bodice and use snaps to fasten it (under decorative buttons)  I really think it turned out so cute.

She even got a pair of matching panties, also from the McCall's pattern

Snaps are such an easier way to fasten doll clothing.

Her hair is still in nice condition with plenty of wavy curls near the ends.  I tied it back on the sides with pretty ribbons.

I wish I had some shoes for her, but for right now we're just going to pretend that she's a typical child who likes to run barefoot through the grass.

This little cutie will be heading off to Ebay soon.  As much as I'd like to keep her, I just don't have room for them all!

"Would you like to adopt me?  If so, head over here (after July 2) and check me out!"

Eye Swap for Wellie Wisher Emerson!

As promised, I stopped in at Goodwill today and found a porcelain doll with brown eyes which looked like she'd be a good candidate as an eye donor for my Wellie Wisher Emerson.  She had the half-off color tag which brought her price from $6.99 down to $3.50, but when I pointed out to the checker that her face was broken, I got another half off from that, bringing her down to $1.75.  Perfect!  Because all I needed her for were her eyes.  

Her outfit was removed so I could donate it to Goodwill, but I kept her shoes.  Her eyes popped out very easily.

Wellie Wisher eyes on the top, and donor eyes on the bottom.  The iris and pupils are larger on the WW's eyes, but the shape of the entire eye was about the same, so I took a chance that they would work.

There are lots of good tutorials online on how to remove a WW's eyes, so I won't bore you with all the details.  Basically, just heat a pot of water to boiling.  Remove from stove.  Slip a plastic bag over your doll's head to keep her dry, and then submerge her head into the water for 2-3 minutes.  This causes her vinyl to become extremely soft, and then you simply squeeze the eyes out of the socket.  Sounds barbaric, right?  But it works!

Ready for her eye transplant!

Now, just pop her new eyes into position.  

They fit perfectly!  She still looks a little plain, since she is missing her factory painted eyeliner and lashes.  I will add those later.  I'm thinking of also adding some false eyelashes.

Here's another porcelain doll I picked up at the same Goodwill.  She was $10.  She also had the half price tag, bringing her down to $5.  But upon examination, I noticed that she had a crack on the side of her head, too!  So I got another half off, bringing the total to $2.50.  I wanted her because she has beautiful blue eyes.  And her buckle strap shoes will fit an 18" doll, I believe.  

The dress and undergarments are getting donated, but I might keep the bonnet.  I think it's kind of pretty.

The damage on her head

Removing her eyes proved to be a lot more difficult.  There was a ton of glue holding those eyes in place, and they weren't budging.  I decided to dunk her head in the hot pot of water as well.  After only about a minute, the glue softened considerably and I was able to easily pull out the eyes.  I also removed her eyelashes.  I may be able to cut them down and use them on Emerson.

Cute buckle-strap shoes

My last find for the day was this Disney Animator Sleeping Beauty.  She had her complete outfit, down to her socks and shoes!  This made her completely worth the $3.99, especially since her hair wasn't horrible.  She is so cute, as are most of these dolls.  The only one I don't care for very much is Elsa.  Her face looks too pinched to me.  I've already washed and conditioned Sleeping Beauty's hair.  She is lying on a towel in my sewing room, ready for me to detangle and make her hair beautiful again.  And then, I'll probably want to keep her, even though I already have one in my collection.  But the one I have has her hair cut short in a cute bob, so I kind of need one with long hair, right?!?  

I hope to add the eye makeup onto Emerson this evening, so check back for the progress!