How to Create a Modern Heirloom

Part IV: Making Poppet's Body

All the pouring, firing, and painting are now completed and we are ready to put Poppet together. Dyan has done a wonderful job painting this doll, and she had a little fun in the process, too. I will take up the next challenge for our step by step doll making: to make the body and attach the porcelain pieces.

A beautiful body is the foundation for every beautiful doll. In my work I have dressed many dolls and have seen the wide range of bodies available to porcelain doll makers, and the problems doll makers have assembling the doll body. For a while I made doll bodies for Mary Zoch, a Doll Artisan Guild instructor, and have assembled many different kinds of bodies including babies and toddlers, girls and boys, ladies and men. I have seen the wide variation that doll artists and pattern companies have in body designs and I would now like to discuss some of the desirable attributes of a beautiful doll body, to examine methods of proper body construction, and to suggest some body pattern sewing solutions.

We are lucky that Rose Pinkul has allowed us to reprint the body pattern for Poppet and Sparrow in this issue of Dollmaking. Generally when you order a mold it comes with a body pattern but if not, you have to know something about drafting your own. We will discuss that briefly as well.

TYPES OF DOLL BODIES

There are many different types of bodies that can be found on dolls today and in the past: composition, leather or cloth. Many antique and modern porcelain doll heads are mounted on a composition or paper maché body. The composition bodies are made of a durable plastic that is all sculpted and painted a flesh tone color. You would be hard pressed, however, to find a doll in any ethnic color, but you could paint the composition yourself. The paper maché bodies are subject to wear, insects, and are not nearly as sturdy as the composition. Again, if you want to try this technique, be prepared for a mess and lots of work. Leather is a wonderful media for doll bodies; the body is warm and huggable and sturdy all at the same time. Most antique dolls were made from kidskin, and modern replicas from high quality cabretta leather. Leather bodies require a certain amount of skill to sew and are costly. There are vinyl bodies on the market which are much less expensive than the leather and still retain the look and feel of real leather without the cost. However, they may not be acceptable for some competitions.

Finally, there are cloth bodies. Doll bodies have been made with cloth from the beginning of time. Early dolls that were made at home can be found with every type of fabric. Later, plain cotton muslin was used as were some printed fabrics. Some china head dolls are found with "educational" bodies featuring printed information such as alphabets, flags, and geographical information. Today’s bodies are generally made from heavy unprinted muslin or cotton. If the doll is much larger than 20" you may want to use two layers of muslin held together as one to create a thicker, sturdier body. Please remember, if you’re making a dark skinned doll to use dark cotton. I generally take my ethnic dolls with me to the quilt shop so I can match the fabric to the porcelain exactly. It’s a nice touch that adds to the overall quality of your doll.

Wait a minute Julie. I have seen bodies made from a soft knit fabric called "peach skin." Can I use something like that?

I’ve seen that too but discourage its use. Knit fabrics stretch when stuffed and you could find your doll several sizes bigger than planned.

DESIRABLE BODY ATTRIBUTES

Your doll should have an attractive, natural and life-like body. If you are making a woman doll, make a defined waistline and bust line. Some of the most beautiful doll bodies I’ve worked with are from the now outlawed Shirley Temple (Donna Rupert) and Daisy Garland’s body (Doll Artworks). These bodies have darts at the waistline for gentle shaping and closed pleats at the leg for a back thigh and "bottom." Our Poppet body is also beautifully designed with a darted waistline and shaped behind. Other desirable attributes in doll bodies include proper sizing of the arms and legs, armatures that are working properly, and shoulder plates that completely fit the body.

Julie, does the type of slip I use affect the body pattern?

Yes, this is exactly the problem with some patterns. Some patterns are developed using one type of slip with minimum shrinkage. If someone uses another kind of slip that shrinks more or less than the original, the body pattern may be either too large or too small. The pattern must be tested against the porcelain and adjusted if necessary. The best patterns have enough room to accommodate all types of porcelain without being too big or small.

TODAY’S SEWING PROBLEMS

Sewing the body accurately and carefully will make your doll truly come to life, but there are some common stumbling blocks along the way.

1. Cut your pattern out carefully. Adding as little as 1/8" on your seams will result in a much larger body when sewn.

2. Seam Allowances. Many sewers because of inexperience or neglect make seam allowances that are too big or too small. With these small doll pattern pieces this can be a major problem. To improve your accuracy you can mark on your sewing machine where the ¼" falls. Put a piece of tape or mark with a permanent marker if needed. You could use a seam guide that screws into your machine or that is magnetic (not for computerized models). Many sewing machines have a separate foot available that is ¼". It is often called a "quilter’s foot" because of it’s popularity with quilters. This is an extremely useful foot and I recommend you purchase one for sewing all your doll clothes.

3. Adjust seam allowances. Some body patterns are made with such close tolerances that it is difficult for anyone to sew properly; especially patterns with 1/8" seam allowances. If the pattern is designed with 1/8" seam allowance (and some are, so be careful) you will need to redraw the seam allowance lines on the pattern. You may want to make a copy of the pattern pieces, then, using a ruler, add 1/8" additional seam allowance to all sides of each piece. It may seem time consuming, but it adds accuracy.

4. Clip seam allowances around the curves. For best results, clip the curves on the bias of the fabric – it will make a smoother seam and it won’t fray.

5. Test your pattern to make sure it fits the porcelain and that each piece matches up with the other. For example, patterns where the leg doesn’t match at the inseam will need some kind of adjustment, lengthening one side or the other. Sometimes these inconsistent seams are caused by inaccurate cutting, sewing or by misdrafting by the pattern company. Nothing can be more irritating than to not have the leg seams match up when you’re trying to finish the body.

ASSEMBLING POPPET’S BODY

1. Sew all darts. Sew the front center seam and the back center seam, leaving open between the dots. Run a gathering thread along the body backs to form the seat. Sew upper leg backs together along crotch seam with notch. Sew upper leg section to gathered body back, adjusting gathers.

2. Sew front and back shoulder and neck seams together. Gather top of arm slightly and sew into armhole. Turn up casing line on arm and sew. Run waxed cord through the casing.

3. Sew from arm casing to underarm down the side seam to leg in one seam. Turn up casing line on leg and sew. Run waxed cord through the casing. Sew crotch seams together from casing line to casing line in one seam.

4. After assembling the entire body, turn and press. Pressing will help set seams and make the finished product nicer.

5. After sewing the body, lay out the porcelain pieces with the body to check sizes. See if you will need to adjust the fabric tube.

6. Arm length seems to be a problem for many people. Measure your doll and the arm. The elbow should come to the waistline, the wrist comes to the hip joint and the fingertips to the crotch. No gorilla dolls, please! If the porcelain piece consist of a hand, wrist, elbow and a little above the elbow, you must properly place the elbow at the waistline. I have even seen these extra long arms on TV dolls.

7. Apply a small amount of glue to the porcelain, put the fabric over and tie securely. You may want to turn one foot out to have the doll in a pose if you’d like; it allows a more natural stance with the toes turned slightly outward. Allow the glue to dry, overnight if possible. If tied neatly and tightly, the knots will not be seen. Trim ends close to the know when the glue is dried.

8. If you’re going to use an armature you can put it in while the glue is drying or wait until the glue is completely set. For Poppet I used an electrician’s wire, turned the sharp ends over with a pliers and hot glued it into the arm openings.

9. For final assembly, stuff the complete body firmly, wrapping the stuffing around the armature so it doesn’t show. When firmly stuffed, sew the opening. For other dolls, if you’re making a socket-type head, put in a 3/8" dowel up into the neck opening and extending down into the body to prevent the head from slumping. Don’t use any glue at the neck so the head can be turned and posed.

10. Poppet’s arms are sewn right onto her body, but if the arm pieces are separate, pin the arms to the body, measuring carefully and checking to see that they are in the proper alignment. It helps to have a friend check, too. When you’re satisfied that the arms are in the proper position, sew with a whip stitch.

11. Put moleskin (an adhesive backed felt) or leather into the neck socket of the shoulder plate to prevent the porcelain from scratching and grinding.

12. Attach the head to the shoulder plate if needed. Pin the shoulder plate to the body through the sew holes. Make sure the head is centered and that everything is working properly. You can glue the shoulder plate to the body so it holds while sewing if desired.

13. For small dolls like Poppet, I use a long doll needle and go back and forth directly through the holes in the body. For larger dolls, use 1/4" twill tape threaded through the shoulder plate holes, double thread a needle and neatly sew the twill tape to the body. Cut end of tape at an angle to avoid fraying. Repeat for all shoulder plate holes. Your doll should be ready to dress.

In the next issue of "Creating a Modern Heirloom," Dyan and I are going to take you through making her entire outfit. I’ve designed a wonderful dress and jacket , just right for the fall days ahead.

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