Tiny Kitty Collier

I just got home from the UFDC Convention in Washington, DC, and boy did we have fun!!  Oh, wait, that was TWO YEARS ago!  Are you kidding me?  Two years!  Well, as life has it, yes, and I have needed all these two years to recover from it.  Why you ask, well, that was quite a year, I had a birthday, I do every year, would that it would slow down for just a moment and let me catch my breath!  We downsized 2000 square feet into the home I have now.  I have been recovering from that, too.  My gorgeous 15’ by 30’ workroom with closets and built in shelving and SPACE must condense to the third bedroom of the new house, a 12’ by 12’ room.  Picture my distress.  I digress.  That story is another day, and I have pictures! 

(And yes, I complain about it in every post, or so it seems.  Will things ever be working for me?) 

I had a wonderful convention, I usually do, and arrived home revved up to make pretty doll clothes.  The sweet convention souvenir doll of Tiny Kitty Collier (which I adore!) in her embroidered Mrs. Taft Inaugural dress made me think she would be a good size to make some additional wardrobe of the period. (Think titanic, for fashion period, not the sadness, and the early Downton Abbey for inspiration.)  As the little ladies scream for clothes constantly, I keep them packed away.  ALL OF THEM, and I cannot stand it.  They want and want and want.  What is a poor dressmaker to do?  Poor Kitty, she was tired of those heels and wanted something a little more casual to go shopping.  (Grace from Atlanta 2009, has waited the longest and she is next, I am swearing to myself that she will be next.)  In the meantime, I thought I would share with you the way I go about the dressing. 

I believe Tiny Kitty to be a contemporary doll making this a little anachronistic, but she is now representing Mrs. Taft, so Edwardian we go.  In such small dolls, it is imperative to keep the costume for becoming ungainly.  I usually make fabric selections of very fine fabrics, not always old ones, usually of natural fibers, as they are more conducive to conservation.  In addition, I make the clothing as historically correct as I am capable.  I do take some license, however.  Tiny Kitty Collier is 10”.  Her combination, also chosen to keep from additional waistline bulk, is of fine cotton batiste. 

Miss Kitty was not happy about having pictures made in her dishabille.    So, please be kind to her.  If all works well, by this time next week I can post her corset.  Maybe even a pair of stockings.  

Here you will see where I have worked out the pattern.  Pieces on the right have a lot of notes, and hem needs shortening.  The lace is the trim I used to bind the armhole and neck edges. 

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Miss Kitty is sporting her new combination. I like to wait for the closure until the corset is complete.  Most likely I will add a silk ribbon to tie the top together as the corset will hold everything together.