I was wondering what to post about next and this
little phrase popped into my head,
"Pocket Dolls".
What is a pocket doll?
A wonderful tiny doll that fits inside a pocket!
Yes Sophie, you are in!
At 8" you just made the cut.
I feel that a pocket doll should be no
larger than 8".
More importantly, a pocket doll is small
enough to sneak into school.
I know none of you EVER did
such a thing in your life.
But I did.
These were the pocket dolls of my childhood,
the late 1960s and early 1970s.
Little Kiddles.
My favorite Kiddles came in a perfume bottle
and had a flower scent.
These dolls were called Kiddle Kolognes.
My friends and I collected as many as we could!
Just looking at their pictures I can smell their scent!
We were constantly getting in trouble for
bringing our Kiddles to school!
How fun having a tiny friend hidden in your book bag
or the pocket of your jacket.
My oldest pocket doll belonged to
my Grandmother.
She is a tiny china head doll.
She is just under 6 1/2" tall.
I believe she is from the early 1900s.
Next are these tiny bisque dolls, made in Japan.
Japan filled a void in manufacturing bisque dolls after WWI.
They are from the 1920s.
These inexpensive dolls were used for playing in dollhouses.
These two are both well under 5" tall.
These 2 dolls are fully jointed with wires.
You can see the 'Made in Japan' stamp.
You can also see the wired joints.
Also made in Japan during this same time,
are these two "Flapper Dolls"
called so because they were made in the 1920s.
You can see they have flapper hairstyles.
Both these little girls only have jointed arms.
These little bisque dolls were commonly found at fairs
or other similar events and given out as
prizes at game booths.
At 9" Helena and Beth are just a bit too big
to be considered true pocket dolls.
But their two tiny Raggedy Ann dolls
(handmade by me)
definitely make it into the club!
At just over 3" they would fit in any pocket.
My next size Raggedy Ann and Andy are 7" tall.
They would make very soft cuddly pocket pals.
These two cloth dolls are makeover dolls.
I found them in thrift stores and gave them
new dresses, new hair and even some new faces.
Both these dolls I made. The doll on the left was a doll blank.
I embroidered her eyes and stitched on her hair.
The doll on the right I made from scratch.
Styling yarn hair is worth a mention.
There are several techniques for applying yarn hair.
I created all of these yarn hairstyles.
Here is where these four little girls live.
They are dolls for my Compo girls.
These are 3" Lalaloopsy dolls.
They are very recent and were popular when my daughter
was very much into the American Girl Dolls.
I particularly liked these little girls for their yarn hair.
They are dolls for our four AG dolls.
See if you can spot them in the AG Doll House.
These are two 6" dolls from Colonial Williamsburg.
On the left is Sarah and on the right is Betsey.
They belong to our AG Doll Molly.
They sit on Molly's bed in the big Doll House.
Last, but definitely not least, is my
Betsy McCall doll, Sophie.
Just under 8" she is an adorable
Pocket Doll.
Here is the whole gang. We hope you enjoyed
meeting the Pocket Dolls!
Oh wait!
I almost forgot...
Remember these two little dolls from my childhood?
They are on their way to my house right now!
They brought back such sweet memories,
I could not resist adding them to
my pocket doll collection!
12 comments:
Brenda this was an exciting and different doll post. I have two dolls,a boy and a girl ones that are under 8 inches given to me by my grandmother. She crocheted outfits for them.
Joan
Great post. I have several mini American Girl dolls including Kirsten, Samantha,Molly and Felicity's dolls. Also in my collection are Cabbage Patch,and very tiny dollhouse dolls.
Marion
I love this post concerning the littlest dolls. I have Betsy McCall,several Ginny dolls,Raggedy Ann and Andy. I also have in my collection Holly Hobbie dolls and several little cloth ones.
Marilyn
Thank you Joan,
I love these small dolls. They make adorable dolls for dolls. I wish I could see the dolls your grandmother gave you! As you can see from this post I adore tint crochet doll dresses.
Hugs
Brenda
Thank you Marion,
Don’t you love tiny dolls? I have found many 6” AG dolls over the years but never kept them for some reason. What was I thinking? I
Hugs
Brenda
Thank you Marilyn,
I had a feeling I was not alone in collecting these tiny dolls. I have come across some 6” Holly Hobbie dolls in thrift stores. They were a big deal when I was a girl.
Hugs
Brenda
Hi Brenda, I like the idea of a little doll friend close by hidden in a pocket. I was surprised at how many pocket dolls you have. I am glad you are adding two more.
I started off collecting smaller dolls but somehow larger ones keep getting added to my collection too!
Anna
Thank you Anna,
I have to admit having more pocket dolls than I realized! It’s funny how dolls almost sneak into our lives and then you suddenly look around and think, “How did I get so many of you?”
All the dolls are nice, but Sophie is the loveliest. Hugs
Thank you Zacisze,
Sophie is my favorite too. While I love the older bisque and China dolls, I worry they could break. I do love small dolls though , so cute!
Hugs
Brenda
I loved seeing your pocket dolls. I have a travel doll (8 inch Madame Alexander) who goes with me to conventions. I sure hope we get to have conventions this year as the ones last year were cancelled.
Thank you Dorothy,
I love the idea of a travel doll! I think my Tiny Betsy McCall would be my choice for a travel doll. She already has a travel case home and she is not fragile. I too hope conventions come back this year. I have never been and I long to attend one! Even if I have to drive or fly somewhere distant. I am determined! Maybe
Hugs
Brenda
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