A boy Izannah Walker doll

 I follow the Izannah Walker dollmaker Dixie Redmond on Facebook. Recently she wrote a post about a doll auction where five original dolls were sold. One of these was a rare boy doll by the name of John Thayer, and Dixie was allowed to photograph him close up from all angles. We are so blessed to have such an accomplished photographer and discriminating enthusiast in our midst, for these pictures are truly what any dollmaker wants to examine in a period doll.

John Thayer is dressed like all little boys of the time, in a skirt, jacket and pantaloons. The fabric is a red and green plaid, sewn on the bias. He wears a linen collar with broderie anglaise scalloped edging. Dixie suggested that her group, MAIDA ( Making Antique Inspired Dolls and Accessories), might like to take on the dollmaking challenge of creating a cousin for John, using some elements from him.

This idea really caught my fancy and I immediately began researching images of little boys, and boy dolls, from the mid 1800's. I already had a doll that I wasn't happy with as it was, so I took off her clothing and made her into a boy with a change of hairdo (side parting) and a face overpainting. Then it was on to designing and making the clothing! The fun part.

I took a pattern from Godey's Lady's Book for inspiration and draped my own pattern on the doll. This has always been my method, using shop towels and lots of sticky tape. I had some plaid material, but I find sewing with plaid challenging enough without working it on the bias, so my product is less daring. My cousin doll is now dressed in a period correct shirt ( that turned out badly on the collar), a jacket with skirt attached and plaid pantaloons. I want him to have either a hobby horse or a toy whip as an accessory, but at the moment I am short of time, as I am getting ready for a holiday sale at Artspace here in Peterborough. Once it is over, I will move on to the hobby horse/whip. Perhaps he will get an embroidered collar and a hat.

While I worked on my pattern for the outfit, I took pictures as I went along. I am going to make my pictures, patterns and instructions into a tutorial that I will share here on my blog. I have to figure out how to do that, and then design the tutorial. That will take time, but I am looking forward to sharing my expertise, such as it is, with the wider world. So, watch this space!