Two thrift store dolls and a new dress.

This first doll I found at a thrift store and only brought 

her home after seeing her twice over a 3 week period.

What changed my mind about taking her home?  

Something I saw awhile back on Pinterest tickled my memory.

At first I thought, "this is just an old Raggedy Ann", right?

The second time I saw her, I suddenly realized she may be a 

'Georgene' Raggedy Ann! What's the difference?  

Georgene Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls were

 the style dolls copyrighted by Johnny Gruelle and his descendants.

Johhny Gruelle who wrote the Raggedy Ann books 

AND they are highly prized by collectors.

This is a tag from a Georgene Raggedy doll.  The original copyright was established in 1918 and 1920.  It was later renewed by one of Johnny Gruelle's family member, 

Myrtle T. Gruelle in 1945 and 1947.

Sadly this Ann does not have her tag, but I KNOW she is Georgene.

She has the same dress, the same collar, the simpler apron and her dress fabric is definitely old.

My guess is that she is from the late 1940s.

 

Here she is next to 3 other Georgene dolls.
It looks like my Ann has been washed.  

She's definitely cleaner than these poor girls!

They all have the double row of red stitching on the collar

and the same orange yarn hair.

I definitely found a keeper!

This next doll I also found in a thrift store and purchased after weeks of seeing her on the shelf.

What changed?  I can not tell you, but I know I suddenly decided she would come home with me.

She is a China Head Doll with a number 5 on her back.

 I don't know a lot about these dolls, but I suspect she is a reproduction.

She has a very sweet serene face with rosy cheeks.

But this fabric is awful!

I do already have two other china head dolls.

This little girl is definitely a reproduction, BUT her 

dress and hat just caught me!

 Again with the sweet serene expression and rosy cheeks.

This next doll belonged to my Grandmother. Such a sweet face!

She is only 7 inches tall and the only doll to survive from Grandma's childhood

Grandma had a large China doll, but she was broken by her young sister.

Maybe that is what drew me to this China Head Doll?

Grandma would have taken her home.

SO, what about that dress?

Not really flattering, fine for a day folding laundry and beating rugs, 

but this lady needed something pretty!

I chose this fabric.

I wanted something pink to bring out her rosy cheeks.

AND HERE SHE IS!

I think she looks lovely!

I made her a matching poke bonnet.

She has a vintage pearl button at her throat.

The lace around her collar is vintage and the 

scale is perfect.  I decided she needed a gold pin.

Her underskirt has a deep layer of lace.

She needed a little reticule of course.

She seems to like her new dress, I know I do!

She will be called Verabelle.

Raggedy Ann update:

I found this Georgene Raggedy Ann photo on Pinterest.

She has the identical dress as my ANN!

YAY!

The Cissy Spring Fashion Show

 I found this dress on eBay that I thought might fit my Cissy.  

It is slightly large, but I will refit it at a later date. 

It is a cotton dress with a white plaid pattern.  I just loved the fabric.  

I'm pretty certain it is from the 1950s and homemade, but still so pretty!

 It was SO pretty it made me want to do a fashion show with Cissy's Spring dresses.

So, without further ado...

PRESENTING CISSY'S SPRING FASHIONS!

Here is Cissy in the new dress.  I used this black belt at first 

but felt it needed something less harsh.

Here is Cissy's new dress with a flowered sash.

This dress is new made by a lady on eBay. 

I love the green collar.  I made the blue felt flower bandeau.

This is a vintage 1950s dress.  

I used the same belt and  flower bandeau

as the new pink dress.

This is another new made dress.

The hat is made by me.

 I debated about whether to use only

dark accessories or the ivory and black together.

Here is the dress with black shawl and hat.

Lastly is this yellow and aqua party dress.

This is vintage 1950s.

These Bandeau hats are so versatile.

And the new dress one last time!

Thank you for sharing in our fashion show.

Yellow Dresses

When I was a little girl, my greatest desire was

to have MORE than 2 doll dresses.

WELL!  I think I have made that dream come true.

I enjoy looking for vintage doll dresses and BOY,

Have I made some great finds.

It seems that recently I have been getting yellow dresses

in all the bundles of doll clothes I have found.

That started me wondering just how many 

yellow dresses do I have for my dolls?

SO! I decided to do a Yellow Dress Show!

First is this little yellow cotton dress

worn by Patsy Joan.

The white collar is edged with lace.

I added the black bow belt.

One of my absolute favorite finds worn by Nancy Ann!

This yellow check dress with ric-rac trim.

Her hairband is actually Patsy Joan's black bow belt.

 Another dress for Patsy Joan.

Such a sweet yellow dress with green circus trim.

 This yellow dress would actually fit Patsy Joan.

but I wanted Elise to have a dress to model.

This dress has a pretty eyelet inset with ric-rac trim.

This is Shirley's original yellow prom dress, but

I think it deserves inclusion.

Not a dress, but still SO adorable!

This was purchased on eBay from this lady,

Happy Dolls by Aeliza .

I just fell in love with this little romper.

And here is Cissy's yellow sundress.

Very pretty! Perfect for a garden party.

Her pin is actually a vintage earring!

Well, I just wanted to share all our Yellow dresses.

I hope you enjoyed the show.

YELLOW DRESS UPDATE!

I was scrolling through eBay and look what I found!

This is an Effanbee cuddles doll from the early

1950s wearing her original dress.

AND...

here is my Arranbee Nancy wearing the same dress in a smaller version!

So, now I know this is an Effanbee dress, probably for a Patsy Joan doll.

1930s gift doll dresses

My dear friend Joanne found these dresses in a trunk.

She thought I might like to have them for my dolls.

She was right! Judging by the fabric

amd style, I believe these were 

baby dresses from the 1930s

Both dresses were a little too big for my 

American Character Sally.

I told Joanne I could sell them and send her 

the money and she responded with, 

"Can't you make them fit your doll?

I thought about it and decided, 

"Yes I can!"

This is the first dress.

I believe it is linen. 

This is the second dress.

I only realized later that this was actually the back!

This is the front!

How cute is that?

The first dress I almost completely took apart.

I cut off about 3 inches from the length.

The collar I had to resize to fit a smaller neck.

Here is the collar ready to be put back onto

the bodice of the dress.

AND, here is the remade dress!

I added a little sailboat button.

I'm very happy with this dress.

The second dress was a little less work.

It was pretty quick, just a hem and gather in the back.

I added the little flower buttons.
I made her a headband with the leftover fabric.

Here is close-up of the headband.

I am SO happy with these gift dresses!

Thank you Joanne!