I just love this ad for ROGERS & THOMPSON silk samples, New York City, 1910. Look at the way the bottom of her skirt/train is unrolling from a bolt of silk fabric. Such a clever ad campaign.
She would make a terrific doll, don’t you think?
Today, we will look at several factors when costuming a miniature doll.
Please click on photos for a slightly larger view.
Here are more photos of Chantelle as the draping of her skirt continues. As you can see, I use a lot of pins in the process. These pins happen to be long silk pins, but there are even finer pins out there. They are insect pins. I find that these finer silk or insect pins work great to keep the pin holes to a minimum or just very small.
I use pieces of Styrofoam as a base to pin into as I work (I save Styrofoam from products such as TV’s. electronics, etc. that have it as protection in their boxes.)
As you can see, I have re pinned and kept the pins in the bottom of Chantelle’s skirt. From now on, until she is finished she will remain pinned to the Styrofoam. This is to insure that all of the hard work of draping her skirt will not be lost every time I spray or re-spray a part of her costume.
I had to scrap the original gorgeous lace I intended to use for her over skirt as it was just too heavy and out of scale.
Scale is of utmost importance in miniatures. If you want the costume to be believable then you must use the proper fabrics and trims.
Color really also comes into play when considering scale. Remember, earlier, I mentioned that the trims are all a dark charcoal color but they certainly read as black, don’t they? True dark black was just too much of a contrast with the amethyst color I chose so the charcoal plays well, fits the scale and adds an aire of elegance and richness rather than looking cheap, which can happen if the scale is not correct.
I had a great piece of antique lace that was just big enough (and long enough) to make the lace overlay skirt I was envisioning for her costume. It was also perfect because it was sheer and airy and does not hide all of the hard work I put into draping the underskirt.
You want to be sure that the lace overlay also drapes nicely, and does not stick out funny or hide what is underneath it.
Now let’s talk about your doll’s posture. Can you see how regal Chantelle looks? She is slightly bent forward, causing her back to sway a bit but her chest is held high. She is not merely standing there. She already displays an attitude which goes well with that look on her tiny face. I have always been drawn to that “look” on her face. I think that is why I kept her back to costume rather than sell her as a kit. She seems to have so much life in her.
I see a whole story unfolding when I look at her. This is a woman who perhaps has her eye on a gentleman at a party and is not happy with the attention he is lavishing on a woman she considers her competition. “Game on!”, Chantelle is not going to stand by and watch her would be suitor slip away. Do you see how having a vision, story, etc. can really help the doll and her costuming come to life?
Next I will be adding all of those fine details and trims that will make this a special gown.
Please check back!
I am still working on Chantelle in between orders. I am trying to keep her gown simple but elegant. I want it to drape nicely and realistically and I don’t want to cover up those pretty gathers I worked so hard to put in. She is coing along nicely.
I have finally had some time to go through some fashion plates and get some inspiration for the gown that Chantelle will be wearing. Chantelle has since received the beginnings of her undergarments.
The fashion plate pictured is just for reference. The gown will be similar but not a miniature copy as I have some other ideas and elements I want to add. I also have a great pieces of antique lace that I want to incorporate into the skirt as an overlay. I found this great fashion plate online and was thrilled to see how much it sort of resembles Chantelle, her gloves, etc.
I have decided on a nice color palette of rich lilac & purple and dark charcoal laces. I went through all of my antique lace & trims and pulled the ones I think will work for the idea I have in my head. Since all of the lace and trims are ivory colored I had to dye them a deep dark charcoal color. They will read as black in such a small scale which is what I want. I used Tulip fabric dye to color the laces. I added a bit of brown to the black to warm the color up a bit.
I especially love the dark charcoal tuck pleated fabric on the right. It is originally from the lower edge of an antique pair of pantaloons. The pleats are only about 1/16″ wide. So fine. It still has the tiny cotton lace edge attached to the bottom.
I found some terrific silk fabric at a store that was going out of business. I wish I had bought more. It dyes beautifully and is so soft. I used Jacquard Acid Dyes to dye the silk. It is specially formulated for silk and feathers and really binds to the fabric nicely. You can see my tutorial on using the Jacquard Acid Dyes (feathers), here: Silk/Feather Dyeing Tutorial
This dye will NOT work on cotton fabrics which is why I used Tulip Fabric Dye for the cotton lace & trims.
Stay tuned for the next installment of Chantelle!
