It is my very great pleasure to introduce you to “Lily Two”. She is a special commission doll, that is the very first doll made from a mold of the original Lily. This little reproduction Lily is going to be living with her older sister, the real Lily, and will no doubt acquire a new name of her very own when she goes home. 🙂
Lily 2 has a second skin made from an amazing piece of dark red glazed cotton. The red fabric once graced the back of an intricate silk crazy quilt. The front side of the quilt has deteriorated over time, and most of the silk has shattered and crumbled. The never washed backing is as bright, crisp and vibrant as when it was new, Because the dark red fabric was originally sewn with a brighter red thread I have chosen to recreate that pairing in Lily’s 2nd skin.
The fabric for Lily’s undergarments all came from a pair of antique split pantalettes. The antique Lily is going to have waved braid (rick rack) trimmed unmentionables, and so will have a strong zig zag theme. Lily Two’s white underpinnings all have a circular theme, on both the embroidered petticoat ruffle and the tatted chemise and pantalette trim. I liked echoing the geometric design, with the substitution of circles for triangular points. 🙂
Lily’s dress is made from a fabulous piece antique wool challis. Lily is a small 17 inch tall doll, and this challis has a fairly large size print. This is something you will find in many extant dresses belonging to antique Izannah Walker dolls. I absolutely adore larger scale prints on Izzys ❤ The look is so perfectly evocative of the clothing worn by many antique Izannah Walker dolls. People often feel that they need a small scale print for doll clothing and fail to take into account the reality of the way antique dolls were actually dressed.I cut the waistband and neck band of Lily’s dress from a matching border print challis. Notice that the green flower is centered in the middle of her waistband. I cartridge pleated the skirt of the dress onto the bodice using a brown thread. My thread color choices stay true the the original stitching on this piece of fabric, which was also the back of a silk crazy quilt. The seams of the backing were sewn with off white thread, but all of the quilting stitches (which I had to remove one by one) were sewn with a medium brown thread. I have a vast collection of antique and vintage thread that I use to make all of my dolls and their clothing.
Lily and Lily Two. Now that I have had a chance to do a “practice run” on Lily Two I can move forward with Lily’s restoration. I am in the midst of removing a very ill considered layer of fabric that someone decided to glue on to her shoulders at some point in her life…The Lilys! Sisters, best friends and bosom companions through thick and thin ❤ You can see how the red in Lily 2’s second skin and dress print compliments the red in Lily’s antique dress.
Thank you so much for dropping by to meet Lily. We enjoyed having you come visit! Please come back to see us soon ❤
❤ ❤ ❤ I have been searching for months for thin antique black velvet ribbon to use on the original Lily’s dress. If anyone should happen to have any that they are selling or know where some can be found, will you please send me a note at paula@asweetremembrance.com ? Thank you!!!
My name is Paula Walton. I’m a working craftsperson. I’ve been self-employed since 1986, when I started selling the items that I make under the name A Sweet Remembrance. Among other things, I am a doll maker, a dressmaker that specializes in reproduction women’s and children’s clothing, maker of spun cotton ornaments and holiday figures, and a freelance designer. Upon occasion I write magazine articles and am a Craftsperson in Residence. I teach and do demonstrations quite frequently, plus I was previously the director and curator of a small museum in Connecticut.
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It is my very great pleasure to introduce you to “Lily Two”. She is a special commission doll, that is the very first doll made from a mold of the original Lily. This little reproduction Lily is going to be living with her older sister, the real Lily, and will no doubt acquire a new name of her very own when she goes home. 🙂
Izannah Walker Journal 
She is absolutely beautiful and I loved seeing the pictures!! Billie Aye
Thank you Billie!
Both dolls are just wonderful.
Thank you ❤