I have recently had a couple opportunities to share a saddle stand I made
with other doll collectors. It made me think that more
of you might appreciate this DIY.
AS you know, regular waist stands are either
distracting to the outfit, like this one,
OR
Making the outfit pooch out in an
unsighlty manner.
SO, let me show you how I make
my own saddle stands.
This is the saddle stand I made for my
Madame Alexander Cissy doll.
she sits on it like a saddle and it is
invisible.
Like this, and...
This. You see, no stand waist clamps visible.
No unsightly bulges under her dress.
You will need a wire clothes hanger,
or similar strength wire,
a doll stand, and of course the doll
you want to make the saddle for.
You will also need some masking tape.
The stand must be about the same height
as your dolls inseam.
You will also need pliers.
The area I circled is for cutting wire.
Using cutters or pliers, cut your hanger about here.
save the remaining hook part of your hanger.
Bend the cut away part
of the hanger at the center.
This bent part is inserted into your
doll stand base.
Then fold out the wires in opposing directions.
Take the bent hanger out of the stand and create
this general shape that fits your doll.
Don't worry about the paint flaking
off the hanger wire.
You should end up with something that
looks like this. You may have to trim off
some excess wire.
Don't worry if it looks WONKY
like this one!
Next you will need painters tape.
Wrap the saddle with tape to create a smoother
seat and to protect from snags.
I suppose you could use the saddle like this,
but I like to cover the seat in felt.
I cut a rectangle a bit longer
than the seat.
I hot glue the felt to the top of the saddle first.
I think tacky glue would work too.
Next snip the felt in four places
like this.
Fold under and glue around the stem.
Continue wrapping and gluing the felt
to your saddle.
Trim off any excess felt.
Your saddle should look something like this.
reinsert your new saddle in your stand
and...
VOILA! DONE!
I am slowly creating saddle stands for the
different size dolls I have in my collection.
Before and...
After.
I hope you find this a helpful tutorial.
OH,
what about the top of your hanger?
I curl the ends like this to make doll clothes hangers.
These can also be covered in felt.
As you can see, I have made my own doll
hangers out of several wire hangers.
This allows me to hang all my larger size doll dresses.
I hope you found this helpful.
HUGS
Brenda
