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Doll making failures!


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Remember Gypsies have some objections to certain colors, e.g.  shades of red, any red that resembles blood they will not wear. A UK Gypsy male would wear pants that were loose at  top but went very narrow at the bottom below the knee and traditionally had 6 rows of sewing where the narrow part was, this resembles jodhpurs a bit .he would wear a waistcoat, leather when working and very elaborate for best. He would always wear a hat and he would wear a scarf round his neck ,a square tied in knots which he would use for various things, a shirt would be plain and a peasant type shirt with gathered  shoulder sleeves. and he would wear a wide leather belt.A woman would wear a skirt and blouse and often an apron, and  a waist cincher sort of waistcoat not one that went over the shoulders, white blouse various styles but often with a wide  gathered neck and almost off the shoulder. She would wear a scarf on her head. Skirts would be in  layers each one get fuller from the waist down, with the one by the waist having just a bit of fullness, then the next three getting gradually more full.as they go to the hem. Skirts were 2 to 4 layers usually the bigger person had the 4, a young teenager may have three and child just two. Nothing transparent.

Babies were dressed very elaborately and in cribs that were covered in satin and lace as was the baby, very very fancy.

Traditional Gypsies did not travel with cats.

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All this is fascinating to me, as I just traced the pattern pieces and copied out the materials list and assembly instructions for the gypsy girl's clothes from an article in Dolls' House & Miniature Scene that has the doll dressed in a RED petticoat and striped tiered skirt and a scarf on her waist with bright RED flowers and a WHITE blouse.  Rebecca, take note of Jeannine's and Kelly's comments when selecting your fabrics for the clothes.

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Working with the Gypsy (Travellers) families was part of my job in the UK during the nine years we went back. I got to know them well, I went to a few  of  their special occasions including  Appleby Fair with a family. Gypsies had their old fardos there and  those folk were dressed in authentic costumes I found the christenings mind boggling, the babies and small children were almost smothered is lace and silk. The layette for a new baby was always very ornate.

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14 hours ago, Thimble Hall said:

Working with the Gypsy (Travellers) families was part of my job in the UK during the nine years we went back. I got to know them well, I went to a few  of  their special occasions including  Appleby Fair with a family. Gypsies had their old fardos there and  those folk were dressed in authentic costumes I found the christenings mind boggling, the babies and small children were almost smothered is lace and silk. The layette for a new baby was always very ornate.

Wow - that is so cool!!  Fascinating and thank you so much for the tips on colour!  I had no idea!  Thankfully I don't have any red on the wagon anywhere....I do have a white pillow but that's easy enough removed if I need to.  One thing I will go against is the cat!  My Gypsy HAS to have a cat!  She'll not be too traditional anyway as she's a single lady travelling on her own. 

BTW - SHE'S ARRIVED!!!!!!!  She is GORGEOUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Karin - you're amazing!  I started assembling her the minute she arrived yesterday - she lay on her cushions overnight to dry properly before going any further.  I'm heading out today (as I do every Weds because I have to do payroll for our business) and I'm going to go to our only big craft store chain in NZ.  I so wish we had a Joannes or Hobby Lobby here!  So anyway, looking for material for her clothing is something I'm going to do today - so very pleased to have this knowledge before heading out.  I'm also picking up an overlocker for my daughter - they're on 40% off and she's wanted one for ages.  Now that she's working she can afford it!!  I'm getting a light pad....it's sort of a Mother's Day present.....sort of.... :D 

I've got it down to three names - well, I've actually got it down to two.  I'm really leaning towards the name that I don't think is overly pretty but has been in my head from the very beginning.  It'll either be Ashling - which is pronouced the way it is spelt, is Irish and means 'a vision' or 'a dream'.  OR it'll be Hester which means 'Star'.  I'm really leaning towards Hester - a very unusual name and a very old name.....but it just seems to be calling to me.

On ‎16‎/‎04‎/‎2018‎ ‎10‎:‎12‎:‎25‎, havanaholly said:

All this is fascinating to me, as I just traced the pattern pieces and copied out the materials list and assembly instructions for the gypsy girl's clothes from an article in Dolls' House & Miniature Scene that has the doll dressed in a RED petticoat and striped tiered skirt and a scarf on her waist with bright RED flowers and a WHITE blouse.  Rebecca, take note of Jeannine's and Kelly's comments when selecting your fabrics for the clothes.

I'm picking that I'm best to get light weight fabrics such as silk for her clothing??  Would that be easiest to work with??

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I’ve tried quite a few different types of silk now and I like what’s called tissue taffeta silk the best, also like Habotai. I usually buy remnants on eBay, or if I need yardage I use eBay sellers from India or china, it’s much cheaper. 

Whatever you use though, just so it’s really thin fabric, otherwise it gets too bulky around waist and sleeves. An old set of thin, white, cotton curtains has made a lot of my dolls bloomers. 

So glad you like her! Have fun shopping :) 

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Gypsies do wear white , it is Ok to do so but it is  sometimes used as their color of mourning so they might  wear it as we might wear black. We wear black at other times as do the gypsies with their white. All the gypsy kids I worked with wore white shirts , it was part of their school uniform and no one ever objected.

Don't feed the cat in the caravan...no cat dish. to contaminate the area LOL

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2 hours ago, Thimble Hall said:

Don't feed the cat in the caravan...no cat dish. to contaminate the area LOL

Well alright then!!  I'll have the cat dish outside! :D 

I bought mostly purples and pinky purples.  I bought cotton, silk, a very light crushed velvet and some wide embroidered ribbon which I thought I could potentially use for her waistcoat....

I've been out most of the day - spent a good couple of hours in the craft store!  I feel so at peace in there!  :D I hadn't realised, but they sell fabric in as little as 10cm width!  So I just got 15cm width of each material which was a) really cheap and b) well and truly enough for several projects!  I only got home around 3pm and I'm in pain and very tired so not feeling much like doing anything now.  Plus I'll have to go out this evening (an hours round trip) to pick up my daughter from her tertiary education place - she's doing an electrical engineering apprenticeship and usually goes to 'school' one day a fortnight, but this is a catch up and exam results evening.  Fingers crossed she passed....anyway.....

 

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  • 1 month later...

Rebecca,

are you willing to share the info regarding the base of the doll you purchased?  I think your doll was just lovely and am anxious to see if you were able to repair her?  and of course how you dressed her!

cheers!

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14 hours ago, Motorhead said:

Rebecca,

are you willing to share the info regarding the base of the doll you purchased?  I think your doll was just lovely and am anxious to see if you were able to repair her?  and of course how you dressed her!

cheers!

Hi Brandie!  I bought the doll kit off Etsy....  https://www.etsy.com/nz/transaction/1425121001 I haven't done anything more to her.  Once I finished my wagon I've taken a break from crafting - mostly because I have to tidy and sort my craft cottage before doing anything else!

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