I was a teacher for almost 25 years and developed a real love of history and literature. I spent several years researchingHistorical eras from the early 1700s to the Victorian and Edwardian Eras, with special attention on the lifestyles and clothing. When I discovered the American Girl Dolls from Pleasant Company in 1988, I fell in love with those first 3 Girls: Kirsten, Samantha and Molly. And a
s it turned out, they represented 3 generation of my family. My Great-Grandmother was Kirsten; she came to this country on the boat from Sweden. My Grandmother was Samantha, growing up in the early 1900s and my Mother was Molly, making her way through the War years. When my daughter was 7, she got her first AG doll, Samantha, and I started making clothing for her and her doll, and then both of my nieces and their dolls. My daughter has long-since outgrown playing with dolls, but she still had her girls and all the clothing and accessories I made all those years ago. Ten years ago, I found the Life of Faith Dolls, a similar doll, with historical stories, beautiful clothing and lovely dolls. Since that time, I have developed a true love for the historical dolls, their stories and their clothing. And my daughter is responsible for motivating me to get back into sewing clothing for the 18 to 19-inch historical dolls. I envision dolls as Doing toys, especially historically-based ones. They should spark imagination and invention and creative ideas, and I hope, a love of history. I make my clothing to embody those ideals, to create a true heirloom-quality dress or outfit or collection that can easily be passed down to the next generation. I also believe that if clothing is worth spending money on, it is worth getting an heirloom-quality toy. My Clothing
All of the clothing is made with top-quality, heritage-style fabrics and laces, trims and decorations. I do not use cheaper, light-weight materials used by the mass-producers of inexpensive doll clothing. I use buttons and snaps rather than velcro so the doll wigs and fine fabrics won't be frayed and pulled. Many of my lace and trims and even some collections of buttons, are vintage, to add that classic historical look. I use the time-honored sewing techniques taught to me by my Grandmother, who was a professional seamstress way back in the day. I use wide, tightly-sewn seams and carefully pinked seams to prevent fraying and keep the edges sof to the touch for younger collectors. I use these old-school techniques in keeping with the design and purpose of
Heirloom Doll Clothes
I truly hope you find clothing you would like to add to your or to your Girl's collection of historical clothes.
