My mother-in-law greeted me one day with the remark, “I’ve got a doll I want you to dress!” I cringed. I hate dressing someone else’s dolls and began planning ways to try to get out of it without hurting her feelings too much while my husband was sent off upstairs to find it and bring it down. “She was dressed in a kind of a prairie type dress and a sunbonnet when I got her, but the great grandkids ruined her clothes playing in them,” she continued, “but it shouldn’t be too hard for you to figure out how to make her some new clothes.”
Great. There are times that I dearly regret learning to sew. I’d just like time to work on my own dolls instead of being overwhelmed with all the requests to replace broken limbs, reset eyes that have dropped out, or whip out an outfit for someone else’s naked doll. I have trouble making myself replace broken pieces on my own dolls, and even though I do like dressing my dolls, I usually have a few setting around in their “altogether” because I just haven’t had the time to get them dressed. It’s gotten so bad that I refuse to fix dolls for anyone, but Vancene just can’t seem to get it through her head that that includes her dolls and those of her friends from her old doll making days. Does that sound mean? Trust me, it’s just self preservation! I was wishing we’d decided to stay home.
Then my husband came down the stairs lugging a wooden doll. Oh boy! What a doll! I’d never seen anything like her before! She stood about 41” tall, has moveable joints and a head like a giant billiard ball with a painted face and a hairline reminiscent of Betty Boop’s. Her feet resemble horses’ hooves. I loved her! She came with a wood stand and a peddler’s tray with one pole type leg and a ribbon that fits over her head to hold it in place, and her hands are shaped to fit around the edges of the tray and appear to be holding it. And let’s don’t forget the important part … she was buck naked! I knew instantly that I had to have her.
She’d be great to stand on our table at doll shows as an attention getter.
Well, I told her I might consider dressing her if I was going to get her someday, and if I could take her to doll shows to decorate my booth in the meanwhile. She readily agreed to my terms as long as I promised I wouldn’t sell her. No problem there! She said I could dress her however I liked, meaning, I’m sure, that I could pick the color and whatever trim for her long dress that I wanted. She went on to tell me that she had bought her some years ago here in Oregon from a guy who was either a logger or had some connection to logging, and who was making and selling several smaller versions of this doll. She liked them so much that she bought one in each size, and special ordered this large one.
We took her home and I stood her in the living room and stared at her from time to time, trying to decide how I wanted to dress her. She still didn’t have any clothes when the next Wagon Wheel Doller’s Doll Show in Rickreall rolled around, but I loved being able to see her joints, so we decided we’d just use her on our table the way she was. And I have to admit she caused quite a stir! Everyone stopped to comment on her and ask where we had gotten her. Furthermore, some of the other vendors from the area recognized her as the work of a gentleman by the name of Showalter who had been quite well known for his dolls and rocking horses, and they were amazed to see such a large example of his work. And they all readily agreed that it would be a real shame to cover her joints with a long dress!
By the time the show was over, I had a picture in my mind of a classy little costume for her that would set her off well while leaving her joints uncovered. Once home, I dug around in my stash and came up with the material and trim for her costume, including the head piece and garter, and didn’t have to buy a single thing. Naturally I didn’t have a pattern, so I taped some paper towels around her and cut them to fit her torso, marking the neckline and desired length on them at the same time. It was fun to do and the results are eye catching.
So what did Vancene think of the costume? Obviously not what she had in mind, but she loved it!
I’d really like to have more information about the guy who made this doll. Someone told me that he had been contracted to make a batch of them as souvenirs for a doll convention some years ago, but I haven’t had much luck finding out anything else. If you know something more than this, I’d love to hear from you!
