Saddle Stand Tutorial

 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