Vintage Cloth Doll Making (Group)

I wanted to let you all know about the Vintage Cloth doll making a yahoo group is having a really awesome challenge actually two options challenge..I have decided to do the Presbyterian cloth doll challenge..It is really a fabulous pattern created by Lucinda C. Durbin (Cinders)
I hope you all will think about joining too..This is a incredible group of doll makers,,Warm friendly always right there to help in any way..This group has been around 10 years I know of..I feel like their all family..

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/VintageClothdollmaking/

here is the info on both challenges......
Our current group challenge has TWO options!
First Option: To recreate a historic Presbyterian cloth doll using a pattern created by Lucinda Durbin. (Lucinda used her original Presbyterian cloth doll in creating the pattern!!)

According to Linda Edward, on page 28 of her book Cloth Dolls From ancient to Modern - "The First Presbyterian Church of Bucyrus, Ohio, started making rag dolls in 1885 as a fund raiser. These dolls measure about 17 inches (43 cm) and have hand painted faces. Their bodies are made of unbleached muslin which is stuffed with cotton and they are jointed at the hips and shoulders. The mitten shaped hands have fingers indicated by stitching. Their feet are stub shaped. The dolls and their original clothing, consisting of an ankle length dress and prairie bonnet, are all hand sewn.

In 1956 the church again made these dolls using the original patterns, however, the differences in the finishing and fabrics make them readily discernible from the older version. The hands of these latter dolls do not have the fingers stitched and the oil paint used for the face and hands is very heavily applied. The fabric used for the clothing is also easily identified as being from the 1950's."

You will find the pattern and pictures of Cinders' doll in our files:


You may also want to refer to her photo album for some progress pictures of her own Prysbella coming to life!


Second Option: To create a molded face doll-could be a Kaethe Kruse,Helen Pringle, Izannah walker , or Lenci type.
If you choose this option, be SURE your outer layer of the molded head is cloth, to qualify.

Linda Edwards gives quite an extensive presentation in her book about Lenci dolls, starting on page 86.
Her Izannah Walker discussion starts on page 21.
The Kathe Kruse presentation starts on page 34.

DEADLINE FOR COMPLETION: APRIL 5, 2009!!!

Be sure to post progress pictures of your dolls while you're working on them. Share your tips/thoughts on construction techniques you've used. We all need to learn from each other along the way!
Have your pictures placed in the challenge folders by midnight April 5, 2009 to qualify

I'm excited to see what you all come up with for this challenge! MaryColgan