A new Grodnertal

 I have been working slowly on a new Grodnertal style doll. This one has short curly hair. When I thought of the different hair, I immediately reorganized my Pinterest board with a section of original dolls wearing short hair. I was very surprised to discover there are many! I also pictured her in a turban. Sure enough, there are MANY portraits of early Regency women with short, and long, hair wearing turbans. I think I will have to reorganize that Pinterest board also. I have a picture in my mind of how the costume will look and I have picked out the fabric from my large stash of silk.

The dolls parts were again made from pressing Premier stone clay into an original mould. The mould has damage made by removing the original sculpt, and I am planning to make another. In the meantime, the casts I make require a lot of fixing up. Time consuming. I have worked on other dolls while the various stages of putting together this doll are completed. Slow going. Now she is painted and sewn together. She has shoulder and hip button joints and thread joints at elbows and knees. I like her expression. I think her feet have turned out well, too.

Next step is to create the pattern for her dress, perhaps using one I already have made. It is a lot of fun to research how to make a Regency turban. The fabric for her dress is a vivid blue, so I looked for paintings of women in brightly coloured dresses. Most of the dresses in Regency times were white muslin, but there were enough of the coloured ones to reassure me that I could proceed. There were a few dolls dressed brightly, as well.

I have made her a chemise and pantalettes, now on to the dress!