Chapter 15 - The End

Dear Readers,
Kathi and I have had a CRAZY October. But I just had to do this one task that has been ridiculously late. It is the latest Chapter of the Emily Claire Journal. You can read the entire journal by following this link: Emily Claire Journal. It is in reverse order so start at the back and read forward. Thank-you for your patience. We have much new things coming up that were are excited about (hint NEW fabulous doll kit).
Thank-you for your patience!! Michelle Mahler minidolls.com
Accessories are the fun part of collecting and playing with dolls. They reflect and mimic every part of our lives. Whether you buy them or create them from a kit or your own talented hands, be sure to include accessories in your collection. Seen here are pieces of my collection; the fan from the talented hands of Alice Leverett and the dance card completed by me from one of her kits. Alice Leverett Originals and kits purchased at justalice.com. Mitts by Carole Sharp, Dance card from kit by Alice Leverett (justalice.com) , Diary and books by Kathi Mendenhall(minipatterns.com), Fan by Alice Leverett, fabric scrapbook - scrapbook kit from Ann Vanture of Paperminis (paperminis.com) and scrapbook completion and idea by Kathi Mendenhall.

Diary Entry

Dear Diary,
This spring has been a whirlwind. I continued my stay long after mother and father returned home. James and I became a pair throughout the celebrations and parties and we have developed a congeniality and affection between us. I remembered wonderful moments as I packed today. My beautiful fan, handmade, packed in its box, fluttering stilled until another day. I pressed a kiss with my fingers to a written name in my dance card and waltzed it across the room to place in my trunk. I travel home today and will return at summer’s end for the wedding. Sarah is so happy!
And I? I am happy, too. James is escorting me to the train station and will visit in the coming month.
The future starts tomorrow! I cannot wait…

The End

Emilie Claire - Diary Entry

Sarah said “YES!” Everything is a whirlwind! The engagement announcement made tonight at the party before we went to the ball. I am to be her Maid of Honor and the wedding will be late this summer. I met James Ian tonight, Dear Diary, and he is more handsome than I imagined. He is tall, though not as tall as William is. He has dark hair and his eyes are the summer sky! I was so shy when I met him I could barely look up. He laughs readily, dances divinely and his attention to me was the subject of conjecture. I was so happy tonight; I did not want it to end. Mother and Father are here and we are having a grand time visiting the fair and old acquaintances. Tomorrow we go on a picnic. I cannot wait. E~C

Emilie Claire - Chapter 14

The day of the ball has arrived and Emilie Claire has dressed. She is sweet in her white tulle gown. She wears her tiara and earrings. The other accessories in her parure are a necklace and two bracelets and a broach. Mother will not allow her to wear all the jewelry at her age. The pieces remain nestled in their velvet box at home and in a safe.

Emilie Claire Diary Entry

I have arrived! We are having the most wonderful time planning all of our upcoming events. I showed my gown to Sarah. The airing and steaming will bring it to life after the unpacking from the journey. Sarah’s dress is a sweet shade of blue. The dress is perfect match to her eyes. I dream of the sparkles as I waltz in the candle light. Mother has allowed me to bring my tiara and diamond earrings.
I met William for the first time today. He is handsome and charming. He brought news of James Ina’s delay, so I was unable to meet him. William assures Sarah James will be here and in time for the ball. James is required home, as his father had taken ill. It is not too serious I understand, he has a late winter cold but is on the mend. E~C

Chapter 13 - The Evening Wear

Emilie has a new ball gown for the events of the summer. The gown pictured is from a La Petite Modele fashion that Louise Hedrick adapted to fit the Ultimate Fashion Doll by Alice Leverett. (www.justalice.com) I made this gown in a class at the UFDC headquarters in Kansas City. The articles are so sweet I wanted to include them in Emilie's story. Swiss cotton tulle, silk ribbon and pearls make this gown a confection. Décolletage is low as were evening gowns of the mid to late 1860's. (There is a lilac cape to match not shown) Alice Leverett also created a wonderful accessory kit that I have not completed. (Who doesn’t have an unfinished project in the workroom? I know you do!) The kit includes the dance card (completely filled in with dances from a real antique dance card) a lace handkerchief, glove case, silk evening gloves, a keepsake box, silk evening slippers and a feather fan. (To purchase the pattern please contact Louise, lhstudio@worldnet.att.net)
Kathi

Chapter 12 - Emilie Takes a Trip

The suit of dotted Swiss is lined in pink Swiss batiste is most becoming on Emilie Claire. Emilie Claire is ready for her trip. The porter has taken her trunks and she waits with her personal items for the call to board the train, Lisabeth’s doll safely in her arms.

If you have reviewed the pattern for the original doll, you will see I have changed her jacket. It did not “suit” me. (Sorry I could not help it.) Emilie likes plainer clothes, more tailored and I made it to her wishes. The jacket is elegant in French ribbons and ribbon ties. I placed the purse as a belt purse as her hands are full.

Emilie is so rushed her bonnet ties are slipping. (That is my way of saying yes I noticed the picture is not perfect. We all do our best, do we not?) “Oh, I hear the whistle, the train is coming!” Emilie exclaims. Her parents settle her in and assure her they will follow in a few weeks. “Mind your best manners, Emilie Claire.”

Dear Diary
My hat arrived from the milliner yesterday. I was thrilled to open the box and see how special she made my bonnet. There is a sweet ruffle of lace added to the underside with a small bouquet of flowers peaking out. For my birthday, Father presented me with a new hatpin made with a real pearl. It is a treasure!
I still think of the young man I am to meet. It diverts me! E~C

Kathi

Chapter 11, The Carpet Bag and a Gift

After to long of a break....here is Chapter 10 of Emilie Claire......

Emilie has been shopping and returned with a new carpetbag for her travels. The tapestry is a beautiful floral that will go with her many outfits, and especially her traveling suit. She will have it delivered to her compartment for her immediate needs with her personal trunk. All her additional trunks and cases will be stowed in the luggage car and later delivered to her uncle’s house. Her new evening corset delivered while she was out is gorgeous in pink silk. In addition, she purchased a beautiful china doll as a gift for her young cousin, Lisabeth.

Diary Entry

My new corset arrived today. It is a beautifully quilted silk. Perhaps a gloved hand will guide me as we waltz and leave no handprint on my exquisite new gown. I have taken every precaution. Secretly, Dear Diary, I would prefer a handprint to no waltz at all.

The day grows closer as does my excitement! E.C.

Emilie Claire - Chapter 10

Emilie Claire is preparing for her visit to Cousin Sarah. Sarah’s father and Emilie’s father are brothers. Emilie’s father is the older brother, they live in the family home, and Sarah’s father works in the capital. It is several hours by train from Emilie’s home and she does not visit often during the year. Emilie will be gone for several weeks and needs her favorite things. Packed securely in her small personal trunk are her comb and brush set, a whisk to keep her clothing clean and her favorite scent. Emilie has laid her sewing kit out to needlepoint on quiet afternoons. She has saved her fabric scraps and some dress drawings in her scrapbook, and a few family pictures to share with Sarah. KathiDear Diary,
Today I worked diligently to prepare my train case. I have tried to thing of everything. As I place things about, I could not help thinking of how happy Sarah is with William. She has written so much of him in the months since Christmas. I have a suspicion they love each other. Is an engagement announcement forthcoming? I feel only happiness for Sarah. I wonder about William’s friend, James Ian. I understand he is charming and intellectual, easily conversant. I feel anxious about our meeting. E.C.

Emilie's Response

Click Image to See Larger. Kathi

Chapter 9 - The Accesories

Creating accessories for Emilie’s traveling dress has been quite fun. Along with the pink boots we received for Christmas, Kate made us a matching handbag. I have followed the directions in the book to complete the bonnet. I made a few artistic changes along the way. (Isn’t that the fun of it, making it your own?) The pink straw bonnet is a simple oval, with a row of silk piping before the finished edge of gathered straw. The ribbon ties run across the top and the floral decoration is old velvet flowers and some vintage leaves. The bonnet lining is tiny silk check. The bonnet needs something else as I am not yet satisfied and perhaps we need to visit the milliner one more time. Kathi minipatterns.com

Emilie Claire - Just A Short Note

Lily handed a short note to Molly. It read:

An Invitation for Emilie Claire

Click letter to see larger.

Chapter 8 - The Jacket

At the time, I was creating the jacket from the inspiration picture I found myself with limited quantities of trim on hand. (Do not tell me it has never happened to you, either. It happens ALL the time. I hate it, don't you?) I found myself having to improvise just a tiny bit. I chose to use the ruffled trim around the sleeves, the collar and the jacket hem and changed the front closure. Serendipity happens. To solve the front closure and decoration issues, I sewed hooks under prettily tied bows. It suits Emilie and her "style." Kathi

Emilie Claire Receives a Letter

Click letter to see larger.

Chapter 7 - Her Skirt

Emilie has taken her last growth spurt and has come of age so it is time to lower the hems of her dresses to full length. She is now a full 12" tall. (That is 5'6" in real people size.) Here Emilie Claire poses with her skirt both front and side. Her skirt created using white dotted Swiss with a pink Swiss batiste lining. There is a fine lace edging with a ruffle French ribbon on top. Emilie likes clean lines and simple decorations. The pattern she saw in a book had a beautiful ruffle around the bottom. Emilie thought it did not fit her personality very well and asked for a smaller ribbon ruffle. She is as pleased as the pink goes well with her strawberry blond hair and blue eyes. "This will be the most beautiful traveling suit," she exclaims to the dressmaker. "Mother", she adds, "Do you thing we can go the hat maker and see if she has roses the color of Grandmother's roses? Wouldn't they be grand on a pink hat to match?"
Kathi

Chapter 6 - The Inspiration

Evelyn Ackerman's book, “My Favorite Patterns for Dressing Antique Dolls, 1865-1925” contained the inspiration dress. Evelyn’s doll is described as a petite Bru and is 12 ½” tall. That would be perfect for our 12” dolls and my Emilie Claire! Ms. Ackerman describes the dress: “…The illustrated example is made from white dotted Swiss with china silk lining…. The trim is ¼” lace edging and is all the trim that is used.
I had a large piece of dotted Swiss and shared with my friends. The fabric would be perfect so we planned the stages of developing the dresses for our dolls. Each of us had the book so we copied the pattern and instructions, read them through and talked about the construction. We all had ideas about our dresses. Using the pattern from the book, we made muslin to use for fitting the gown to our own doll’s figure. We worked together on the garments but we each had different interpretations. Kate and Pat dyed their fabric pink while I left mine white and lined it with a pink Swiss. One has ruffles another does not. I chose not to make ruffles. Pat chose to ruffle but changed the form due to the fabric weight. We used different trims and ideas, all the same dress, yet all different when completed. Given the choices, each person makes from a wide variety of inspiration (fashion plates, favorite colors, movies); we believe this would be a great project for a club.
Kathi

Chapter 5 - The Bustle

Emilie now turns around so you can see her new bustle. Created using stuffed channels of pique over buckram, it is just the thing to hold out the backs of her skirts. Now I have said many times that I like to do things historically correct and I do. When we were creating our dolls, we were making many different items. I am going to say this was a transitional period as her suit is more a late 1860’s piece but this bustle is really in the 1870’s. Having fun and playing dolls was our first goal, period correctness game later. You can also see more of the corset construction and the lacing. I put the chemise ties down into the corset. She has such a pretty “do!”
Kathi

Her Boots - Chapter 4

Christmas arrived during our project. My friend and fellow Doll Artisan Kate Forrest had “borrowed” some suede from me to make a shoe pattern for us. What we got was completed boots and purse for Christmas. Pat and I were thrilled.

I thought I would share the boots, and you will see the purse with the other accessories in a later edition.

Kate also made the wig for my doll, as, well, I am not so great at that! Okay, so now you know I do not do wigs. We all have to be lousy at something. I am good at many other things, though!

“Emilie, you can put your skirt down now.” (She is such a show off!) Kathi

Chapter 3 - Her Slip

Emilie now models her slip. The mid Victorian period was one of opulence. The correct undergarments, an under slip, then hoops, and an over slip hiding the hoops would have been worn. For the sake of poor Emilie and the interest of truth telling, she does not have a hoop or an under slip. (I have not made a hoop, yet.) Therefore, we pretend! Emilie’s slip is made of fine Swiss batiste with rolled and whipped entredeux and Swiss lace edging. This slip will support the voluminous skirt.
(Please note: The doll stand is a bit large for this doll. No matter how hard I tried, she gets a fatter appearance. I promise it is the stand.)
Next time we will take a look at the garment progressing.
Kathi

Emilie Claire - Chapter 2

The foundation of a building has to be strong to support the building and its activities. The foundation garments of a dress are just as important as they support the style, the silhouette, of the period. Just as fashions changed, the foundations changed as well. During the mid Victorian era, the corset supported the body and brought attention to a small waist.
Corsets were generally utilitarian, but corsets have been made of fancy fabrics throughout. Emilie has now added her corset. When making clothing for small dolls, especially in period dress, I make each layer using fine, thin fabrics. The thinness of the fabrics allows for a doll that is not overwhelmed by the sheer quantity of clothes that women wore during that time. The corset pattern, and the pantalets and chemise shown earlier, is from Alice Leverett's Ultimate Fashion Doll ™.
Emilie wears a corset of fine Liberty cotton with a delicate rose pattern. The corset, lined in china silk, has eyes in the back laced with ribbon. Silk bias ribbon binds the top and bottom edges. Next time, we see a slip. Kathi