©  Jan Duda.  All Rights Reserved.

The doll used is by Katy Sue Dolls with the china painting further embellished by my dear and talented friend, Cindy Gates.  You will also need jewelry findings for the gold arm cuffs, the gold medallion at the neckline, and whatever you wish to embellish the front bodice.  (Figure 1).

Assemble your doll and dress her in pantaloons and petticoats.  I make a stiff under-petticoat by layering a very stiff interfacing between wonder under on both sides, and then laminating the cotton batiste to both sides.  Finish the raw edge on the bottom with lace.  Glue over pantaloons at the lower hip line.  By doing this, you won't need a doll stand.  Add the over-petticoat, pin, drape and spray with Aqua Net. (Figure 2).

Glue silk underskirt seam, press to heat set. (Note: press means to press with iron on silk setting).  Press in tiny rolled hem, glue and press.  Gather top edge of underskirt with quilting thread, pull tightly around waist, tie thread securely, trim thread.  Adjust gathers so front is flat and all fullness is to the sides and back.  Pin, drape, and spray with Aqua Net. (Figure 3).

Cut out bodice sides and glue at waist, right sides together, let dry. (Figure 6).  Apply glue to wrong side of bodice sides and smooth in place (Figure 7).  Cut bodice back from stiff Pellon with dress fabric laminated.  Trim "V" with gold braid.  Glue gold braid around waist.  Apply bodice back (Figure 8).  Assemble upper and lower sleeves, trim with small band of gold tissue lame, and glue on jewelry finding for metal arm cuffs (Figure 9).

Cut out bodice sides and glue at waist, right sides together, let dry. (Figure 6).  Apply glue to wrong side of bodice sides and smooth in place (Figure 7).  Cut bodice back from stiff Pellon with dress fabric laminated.  Trim "V" with gold braid.  Glue gold braid around waist.  Apply bodice back (Figure 8).  Assemble upper and lower sleeves, trim with small band of gold tissue lame, and glue on jewelry finding for metal arm cuffs (Figure 9).

Attach arms to doll.  Cut out front bodice from underskirt fabric which has been laminated to the stiff pellon interfacing.  Trim with gold braid as shown, leave extra braid attached to finish upper bodice.  Embellish front of bodice as desired (Figure 10).

Finish assembling doll and wig as desired.  Pin and drape the gown and sleeves.  I both pin draped and stitched in some of the draping for this doll.  There is a bit of fabric in those sleeves to manipulate and you may need to use both methods to achieve the proper look.  After you are pleased with the result, spray with Aqua Net hairspray and let dry.  (Figure 11, 12, 13)

Remove pins and enjoy your new doll!    Jan                   Top