Past Workes: Meet Clara

Meet Clara. She may have a few rips and tears here and there, but that's precisely what gives her that primitive charm. As any proper girl of the early- to mid-nineteenth century should, Clara wears a quilted sunbonnet to keep from getting sunburned. She wears her favorite brown checked dress so often that it has a bit of a tear in the back and the elbows are nearly worn through. She doesn't mind, though. When the fabric wears out in places, she can just stitch a patch on the afflicted region, as was necessary with her apron. She's quite proud of her petticoat, since it's the first garment that she stitched all on her own. She can't wait until she can let the tucks in her dress and pantalette hems down herself, given her newfound needlework prowess.

Clara was my second Gail Wilson project. I sewed her from the "A Doll for Disney" kit, and she was a delight to make! At about 16 inches tall, she's my favorite size doll to make. Gail Wilson's detailed instructions made Clara come to life without much trouble at all. I found that the antiquing methods, none of which I'd tried before, really gave Clara a unique patina. As I sanded her clothing and cut holes in her bonnet and the toes of her shoes, I wasn't destroying her, but rather, I was letting her story shine through.

I especially loved the way her hands came out. I painstakingly stitched her fingers, and they were greatly emphasized by the antiquing methods. So, I made her a little cloth bird to hold in her hands.

A few years ago, I got a fantastic doll cradle from Colonial Williamsburg. It fits Clara pretty well, so I made her a ticking pillow and quilt to go with it. Since I'm not much of a quilter, I don't have any batting at my disposal. So, the quilt just has a front and a back. I find that the lack of bulky batting makes the quilt better for a doll scale. Also, I hand stitched the quilt, so it probably would have been harder to hand stitch batting.