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My little recreation

Like if you were also going thru a vampire weekend and dan and phil phase at this time.

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ever since i was a small child i knew i wanted to have an unemployable skillset

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gorgeous!! the texture on the bread yum

This weekend I’ve decided to try my hand at making doll props with polymer clay. They’re not perfect but I love how they came out! This particular set was made with Kirsten in mind.

The bread is a bit smaller than I envisioned - more like a large roll than a full loaf of bread - but I do think it looks nice anyway. Perhaps I’ll have to make her Saint Lucia buns too now that I’ve done this! Before that though I’d also like to make some Mexican style terra cotta dishes for Ana Louisa and Josefina to use.

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So y’all don’t have to keep making new ones

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this is an old post, but these addy prototype dresses were sold for a few years at the AG benefit sale! the dress pattern changed pretty late in the development process so they aren't crazy rare, i have one i got as a kid!

Utterly insane scenes going down in the Facebook group today

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Kirsten was my very first American Girl doll, I bought her when I was about 9 (approximately 1998), and I love her very much, but I never acquired Kirsten’s rag doll, Sari. Now that I’m collecting again, I want to give all my dolls their own toys as well, because they’re kids and they deserve to have toys! And naturally Kirsten must have Sari, but buying a Sari now could easily cost me around $50. Which I feel is a little silly for something I could make a reasonable replica of.

So I finally did!

My Sari is not meant to be an accurate duplicate of the original - obviously I don’t have the same fabrics used in her clothes, and I chose to give her face more detail because I have the skill to do it and I wanted to - also I made her hair too thick to actually turn into the classic braid loops - but because I made her I love her even more than I think I would if I’d bought her secondhand. Also she’s so teeny and soft and cute I just want to carry her around in my pocket forever.

For reference, this is an example of a Sari doll from Pleasant Company. Mine certainly is different but I feel like they are similar enough for my liking.

Also all her clothes are removable, so I could theoretically make her different outfits! How fun is that!

Kirsten has been mine for 25 years and she finally has a doll of her own. I’m so glad I finally got a chance to make Sari!

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i get all my american girl dolls as TLC i love fixing them up its like yesss i will soak and brush ur hair and sand the scratches out of ur face and repaint the chipped pieces of ur eyes… that dog that bit u will never hurt u again…

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that's what i thought too, but AG explicitly says it's a meat pie ?!?!?! i have never seen a meat pie that color...i would much rather believe it's a blueberry pie

all my love to addy and everything but why the fuck is the meat pie in her school lunch...blue

and why is it smiling at me

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OK ag. you have now done the entire 20th century like you wanted. Now can you please can you do more 1800s/1700s dolls please? More dolls of color too, you were doing so well what the fuck happened

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Tips For Sewing Doll Clothes

I’ve been doing this for a while, so here are some tips for sewing doll clothes.

Go to your fabric store and look in the remnants bin. This is where all the bits of fabric go that are too small to make human clothing out of.  Don’t use bulky stuff like felt or fleece unless your doll is huge.  Go for thin fabrics, like jersey knit, super-thin performance stretch fabrics, and handkerchief linen.  Quilting cotton is OK too, if your doll is Barbie-sized or smaller.  DO NOT use quilting cotton to make clothes for American Girl or Super Dollfie.  It won’t be pretty.

Don’t fret about mistakes, even on expensive brocades.  The nice thing about doll clothes is that they don’t use a lot of fabric.  Just cut new pattern pieces and start again.

Learn to hand-sew.  Trust me, even if you own a sewing machine, you will occasionally need to do things by hand.  If you can whip-stitch and backstitch in a neat little line (which only takes a few hours of practice to learn), then you can sew doll clothes by hand.

Machine sewists:  Don’t be a speed demon.  It’s fun to really hit the gas and be all “haha sewing machine go brrrr” but that is how mistakes happen.  You have more control at low speeds and are less likely to run over pins.

Start with a T-shirt and a basic pair of pants with an elastic waistband if you’ve never sewn clothing before.  They’re easy and will help you build confidence.  Also easy: drawstring skirts.  They are literally just a rectangle sewn into a tube.

Always double-check your pattern instructions.  Are there places where you need to trim down the seam allowance after sewing?  Is there a step that you absolutely need to do before another step, like hemming sleeves before you sew them to your shirt?  Make sure you know going in, so you don’t have to re-do your doll clothes as often.

Always double-check your disappearing-ink fabric marker before you mark your pattern pieces with it.  Nothing is more frustrating than finishing a cute garment, only to discover a few days later that the disappearing ink….didn’t disappear and now looks like an ugly stain.  Alternatively, use a piece of tailor’s chalk.  (You can also take a hobby knife to a piece of regular chalk and sharpen the end a bit.)

If you are hand-sewing, you will need to put approximately 184365 pins in your project.  This is normal, and why sewists always have so many pins.

If you are machine-sewing, you will need to make sure to take pins OUT of your project before they reach the needle.  Running over a pin will (if you’re lucky) break the needle, or (if you’re unlucky) break your machine.

Part 2 will be for those with a bit of experience.

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Happy fall, y'all!!

Violeta's beautiful dress was made by our very own @doll-princesse. Mimi released several doll items today in her mercari shop, SewerMimi. Everything I've bought from her has been skillfully made!!

This is a non-incentivized review, just giving a boost to our mutual in the doll community.

Hope everyone is doing well!!

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Happy Birthday, Elizabeth!

(November 5, 1765)

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all my love to addy and everything but why the fuck is the meat pie in her school lunch...blue

and why is it smiling at me

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The Historical Accuracy of Kirsten's Dirndl

Despite its adorableness, I have seen many people complain about Kirsten's Swedish Dirndl outfit.

I would kill a man to have bought this for $22.

She wears this outfit for most of Meet Kirsten, being that she is an impoverished immigrant child who does not own any other clothes, and also for continuity reasons.

Frequently, I have seen it claimed that this outfit is not historically accurate and should not have been included as part of her collection. Conversely, I have also seen many German folk costumes marketed as being made for Kirsten. Both of these pain me a great deal (actually they just annoy me).

Nonetheless, I have decided to further procrastinate doing actual, meaningful work and instead set out on a new mission: figure out what the fuck is up with Kirsten's Dirndl.

In this post, I will lay out the research I have done, the evidence supporting the historical accuracy of this outfit, the challenges to its existence, and ultimately aim to answer the question of whether this outfit is one Kirsten plausibly could have worn on her journey from Sweden to America in 1854.

Let's begin.

First, the name. Pleasant Company/American Girl referred to this outfit as "Kirsten's Swedish Dirndl and Kerchief."

Unfortunately, there is no such thing as a Swedish dirndl. "Dirndl" is a German term, and refers to folk costumes worn by people in German-speaking areas of Europe (the Alps, Bavaria, Austria, and so on).

Kirsten is Swedish, and before Meet Kirsten has never left Sweden before. It is very unlikely she would have acquired, and regularly worn, a German dirndl. See this gorgeous example of a dirndl c. 1840:

Outfit, c. 1840. Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Münchner Stadtmuseum.

This ensemble is beautiful, but tragically, it is not what Kirsten is wearing.

What, then, is Kirsten wearing? What kind of traditional dress does Swedish culture have?

As it turns out, the proper term for what she is wearing is a folkdräkt. This is a Swedish term meaning "folk costume." Here is an illustration depicting multiple examples of Swedish folk costumes. In proper terms, these would be called "Svenska folkdräkter."

Nordisk familjebok (1908), vol. 8, Folkdräkt. Retrieved from runeberg.org.

These outfits are not quite identical to anything we see in Kirsten's collection, but you can observe various elements that have carried over -- the vertical stripes, black woolen skirts with ornate trim, and white dresses and red sashes (hello St. Lucia)!

Let us dive deeper. What do extant Svenska folkdräkter, specially those made c. 1850, look like? Is there anything like Kirsten's outfit among surviving examples?

Johan Sodermark, "Kvinna i dräkt."

In my few hours of research, this example image is the closest thing I have found to Kirsten's dirndl.

This lovely portrait is a watercolor from 1850 painted by Johan Sodermark. It is very creatively titled "Kvinna i dräkt" -- literally, "Woman in costume." The pattern of this woman's apron is incredibly similar to that of the skirt of the Kirsten doll's outfit -- a dark red base with blue and yellow stripes woven throughout.

Here is a closeup from the American Swedish Institute.

Although it is not shown in the doll-sized version of the outfit, the illustrations in Meet Kirsten by Renée Graef show us she also wears a light-colored, striped apron, which is almost surely the one that comes with her meet outfit.

Illustrations from Meet Kirsten, drawn by Renée Graef.

Notice the fabric of the bodice in the third illustration, though: Kirsten's top is made of red plaid fabric, while Sodermark's girl has an outfit full of stripes. Kirsten, bless her heart, spends an entire book outfit-repeating a potential pattern-mixing fail: plaid and two kinds of stripes and a floral scarf. Did Pleasant Rowland just hate her? Is Kirsten on another, elevated fashion plane far beyond my comprehension? Is there a historical basis for this combination of patterns?

I have no answer to the first two questions, but thankfully can speak on the third.

Komplett Vilskedräkt, Västergötlands museum. Some pieces c. 1865.

The top is plaid and laces up, which is not necessarily the most common way of fastening (in most examples, the bodice pins up), but it is a sensible choice considering both Kirsten's age (9) and the fact that Pleasant Company was making toys for little hands.

The model for the outer shell (the lace up top) belonged to Karl Edberg from Hällestad; it is not dated, but at least one piece of this set (the bag, which is not shown) is c. 1865. Additionally, the blouse here is very similar to the one that comes with Kirsten's winter outfit -- look at that keyhole neckline!

So, Kirsten's Dirndl outfit is actually very accurate as far as the clothing itself goes...the name remains the trouble.

I have no idea why they called it a dirndl. Folkdräkt is definitely challenging to pronounce, but why wouldn't PC just translate it as "folk dress" or "Swedish outfit" and call it a day? Why the insistence on referencing a culture that isn't relevant to the doll or her dress at all?

Perhaps this is a mystery to tackle for another day...

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i love these tiny outfits that have all these layers! here’s kirsten in her drawers and winter flannels (a petticoat and undershirt), then her shirt and skirt, then with boots and socks, sweater, hat, and mittens

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reblog for kirsten to turn a feral raccoon loose in the headquarters of autism speaks

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CALIFORNIA 2019