There
are two classic Steiner face types, the "Figure A", a
very square face, and this one (a "Series A" I think)
which is a much rounder face. In fact both Figure and Series Steiners
came in a range of letters (followed by a number), and apart from
the basic "look" I have just described, I would find it
hard to distinguish them myself without looking at the mark. For
much more interesting (and informed) detail and photographs you
should read Dorothy
McGonagle's book.
My
inspriration for this dress was from the Seeleys
pattern CP1650 "Queen Elizabeth" (I assume they mean the
first English one, as the costume is vaguely Tudor) designed for
their Steiner C series mould; I copied the detail on the dress with
much simplification as the original pattern is for a 23 inch body
and my doll's body is only about 10.5 inches. I used the same Joan
Nerini pattern as for the PD as a basis for the dress, but made
it up differently, using steel blue dupion silk. I cut the skirt
piece (not too full) and used my machine to pin-tuck diagonals with
a DMC black and silver metallic thread (it broke frequently - not
designed for the machine). I embroidered the intersections with
silver daisies and a French knot. I attached a pleated ruffle for
the bottom of the skirt using the fabric double; this was very easy
as my Father-in-Law had given me a pleater for Christmas which he
made up as instructed in the books by Hazel Ulseth and Helen Shannon.
I dyed some unappealing rather thick pink cotton lace using a "Dylon"
brand paint-on dye in silver; it came out very well - I had experimented
with other spray-on products and they all lost their metallic sheen
when absorbed by the lace. I placed a layer of silver lace over
the ruffle and then another layer of fabric cut into points like
bunting, so the lace peeps out underneath (see the photograph).
Finally I embroidered over the seam between all these layers and
the skirt with the DMC metallic thread in staggered chain stitch.
At the peak of each point I embroidered a 3 petal flower with a
blue metallic bead in the centre. The bodice section is partly overlaid
with a piece of the silver lace, and three pointed sections of a
cape hang from the bodice (Empire line, under the arms) attached
again using staggered chain stitch. The cape pieces are edged with
a vintage metallic lace with elements of gold in it rather than
silver; I used this lace also around the edge of the sleeves and
the neck. The upper part of the bodice is also embroidered with
3 motifs in black/silver metallic thread.
On
both the sleeves and the hat crown I used a very simple fabric manipilation.
On the back of the fabric I marked out a diagonal grid with tailor's
chalk pencils, with about and inch between the dots. At each dot
I pinched the fabric in one direction and oversewed a couple of
times to make it pucker; I then pinched it firmly at 90 degrees
in the other direction and oversewed again; I took the needle to
the right side of the work and sewed a bead over the pucker. I tried
a lot of different ways to achieve what I wanted but this worked
best for me. The hat is not like the one in the Seeley pattern (which
is a toque) and after a lot of indecision I decided on a "Beefeater"
hat as this is at least a Tudor hat - albeit for men; women's headgear
of the period tended to be integrated into a hair style that I did
not want to create on the doll. The brim is embroidered at the edge
and overlaid with a (very synthetic) black and silver metallic lace,
and some mass-produced silver roses. I used the roses on the fabric
shoes. Socks are hand-knitted in Coats Crochet cotton No. 40 from
a pattern leaflet Yesterdays Knitting Patterns for Antique and
Reproduction Dolls [Doll Designs by Patricia Evans and
Jane Woodbridge]. The underwear is made of white muslin.
The
mohair for the doll's wig was wefted on a wig loom from processed
rope mohair in dark antique gold. I got the wig loom from the Gildebrief
online store - I like gadgets but this was not inexpensive - and
followed the instructions in the Gildebrief magazine [1998 Volume
01]. Wefting for a single wig does not take too long but the snag
is you have to get into a rhythm and avoid the temptation to use
strands which are too thick. The results for me were very pleasing
despite my making my wefts too chunky (note the dolls "big"
hair - I had to adjust the hat when the wig had gone on). I applied
the wefts to the shaped wig base and I could both comb, curl and
style the wig. Particular plus points for wefting are: (i) most
importantly you can make an excellent wefted parting for the doll,
and, (ii) ready-made wefts are very expensive compared with DIY
and rope mohair (if you can swallow the outlay on the wig loom,
and count the time it takes as a therapeutic hobby).
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