Waved Braid or The Amazing Things You Can Do With Rick Rack

December 28, 2011December 28, 2011 paulawalton2 Comments

I’ve always been rather fond of rick rack. It reminds me of my childhood. The dress I wore to my first day of kindergarten was trimmed with white rick rack and I remember seeing it on countless aprons and kitchen curtains during my youth.

In truth, rick rack or waved braid, as it was first known, has been in existence far longer than I have. 🙂 I haven’t been able to track down an exact date yet, but it was certainly available when this papier-mache milliner’s model was made in the 1830’s.

The waved braid on the dress above is an exact color match to the dress fabric. Both the braid and fabric are cotton and I am speculating that they were dyed to match. The dress is original to the doll. Three rows of waved braid circle the skirt and the bodice is adorned with a lavish combination of braid and knotting.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA — Waved braid and knotting trim the bodice of this 1830's doll's dress. (click on image to enlarge) Collection of the author.

By 1882, when the following paragraph from The Dictionary of Needlework was published, waved braid was certainly common place and was being used to trim children’s clothing. It’s not a far leap from children’s garments to doll clothes, which explains why waved braid is often seen on doll clothing from this era.

“There are also waved cotton braids, used for trimming children’s dresses, which are sold by the gross, cut into lengths. The numbers are 11, 17, 21, 29, and 33. There are also waved worsted braids for children’s use, which are sold in knots of 4 or 5 yards each, and sold by the gross pieces. The numbers are 13, 17, and 21.”

In the 1880’s it was also popular to do crochet work using waved braid. Some fantastic laces can be created in this manner. I don’t crochet, but if you do and would like to read more about how to make this type of lace, follow this link.

No matter what name you call it by, waved braid, snake braid, corrugated braid, rick rack ( alternately ricrac, ric-rack or ric rac) is a very authentic choice for trimming historically accurate, mid-1800’s reproduction doll clothing.

Antique Izannah Walker Dolls · Celebrations · Doll Clothing · Doll for Sale · Izannah Reproduction Doll Class · Izannah Walker History · Izannah Walker Reproduction Doll · Where to Shop

Happy 194th Birthday Izannah!

September 25, 2011September 29, 2011 paulawalton2 Comments

Izannah Walker was born 194 years ago today on September 25, 1817. Happy Birthday Izannah! To commemorate the occasion I’ve created a special Izannah Birthday Doll with an outstanding eleven-piece wardrobe. I’m also having a birthday sale, from today 9/25/11 through next Sunday 10/2/11, all reproduction Izannah Walker dolls, Izannah Walker Doll Making Classes, Izannah Walker Doll Clothes Patterns and Spun Cotton Ornament Classes are 10% off. This sale includes custom order dolls and as always you are welcome to place items on lay-away. If you have any questions, want to place an order, or would just like to chat about Izannah and her dolls and mine, I can be reached at 860-355-5709 or paula@asweetremembrance.com.

Izannah Birthday Doll

Doll clothes 600_7865 — SOLD - Birthday doll and her wardrobe.

Even though I was rushing to beat the rain and falling darkness, I had the best time yesterday taking photos of this doll. It was great fun to “play dress up” with her. Her extensive wardrobe includes three dresses, two chemises, two pairs of pantalettes, two petticoats, an apron and a real coral bead necklace. If you’d like to add more pieces to her wardrobe I can make her hand made leather shoes, a cotton sunbonnet and a straw bonnet.

White closeup 400_7854 — SOLD - This dress has wonderful sleeves, notice the rows of gathers at the top of the sleeve by the shoulder line.

Brown dress 400_7869 — SOLD - This view shows the yards of 1/8th inch velvet ribbon encircling the sleeves, skirt and waistband.

SOLD - The fabric for this dress is a very old 24 inch wide pumpkin orange on white print with small brown leaves and red berry dots.

Doll w apron 400_7873 — SOLD - Here she is wearing her brown and red dress, which is made from another fantastic early fabric.

White doll close 400_7876 — SOLD - She comes with a real coral necklace, which matches the Turkey red embroidery on her linen apron.

Feet 400_7874 — SOLD - This view shows her tiny stitched toes peeping out from beneath her pantalettes. The pantalettes have Turkey red embroidery to match her apron and crocheted lace in a triangle pattern that echos the zig-zag stripes in her dress fabric. Look at the coordinating fabric lining the "false hem" of her dress.

White closeup 400_7899 — SOLD - She's all dressed for a party in this sheer cotton dress embellished with row upon row of lace insertion.

White Closeup 400_7880 — SOLD - Two long ringlets curl in front of each of her ears. Thank you for looking!

To read more about, or purchase this doll please visit my website A Sweet Remembrance. I’d be happy to answer any questions you may have or provide additional photos, just ask 🙂 860-355-5709 paula@asweetremembrance.com.

Make a Wish

This year the girls and I baked a pound cake for Izannah’s birthday using a c.1754 receipt that I found in The Williamsburg Art of Cookery. This receipt is old enough to have been a well loved family favorite by the time Izannah was born. Here’s the recipe so that you can bake one too.

Pound Cake

Beat one Cup of Butter to a Cream, slowly beat in one and one third Cups of Sugar. Add one Teaspoonful of Mace and beat in five whole Eggs, adding them one at a time. Sift in two Cups of Flour, turn at once into a greased and floured Pan or Mould and bake slowly for one Hour.*

*I baked my cakes in a 300 degree oven, 30 minutes for the doll size cakes and two hours for the larger version.

Click here to see the recipe for last years Birth-day Pudding.

Thank you for stopping by to party with me and don’t forget to light a candle and make a wish for Izannah!

Antique Izannah Walker Dolls · Doll Clothing · Other Types of Doll Making · Reference Materials

A Visit to the THE ROSALIE WHYEL MUSEUM OF DOLL ART

September 21, 2011November 23, 2024 paulawaltonLeave a comment

Last month, while in Kirkland, WA for a family wedding, I had the chance to visit the Rosalie Whyel Museum in neighboring Bellevue. Sadly the museum will be closing in a few months on March 1st, 2012.

If you can get to the museum before it closes, do so! The collection is wonderful. The highlights for me are the two Izannah Walker dolls, a lovely pre-patent doll dressed in red wool challis, with a trunkful of belongings and a tiny 13 inch patented doll with the molded shoulder-plate. The wooden dolls are also amazing, especially one 24 inch George II era English wooden from 1750-1760 with a large original wardrobe of superbly sewn garments.

The day following our museum tour we headed over to Rosie’s Too , which is a second, off site, collectible doll shop owned by the museum. I found a cute, tiny black bisque baby doll and an antique chemise just the right size for one of my Izannahs.

If you can’t visit in person, the museum sells a book entitled The Heart of the Tree, which chronicles their 2002 exhibit of the same name. It’s a lovely book and I didn’t mind paying the $49.95 cover price, but I do wish that it included the fantastic 24 inch 1750-1760 doll that I mentioned above. I had to make do with buying several postcards of her and her wardrobe. They also sell a small paperback souvenir book about the museum called Rosalie Whyel Museum of Doll Art Opening Our Doors to You for $11 or $12, which has a nice photo of their pre-patent Izannah. I did not buy their larger book “THE ROSE UNFOLDS”
RARITIES OF THE ROSALIE WHYEL MUSEUM OF DOLL ART Volume One. It wasn’t so much the $79.95 price tag as it was the size and weight of the book. I just couldn’t face dragging it around Washington, then on to California and finally back to Connecticut 🙂 I may have to break down and purchase it a some point, because it does have large lovely photographs of both of their Izannah Walker dolls.

You can also find photos of both the Rosalie Whyle Izannahs in the article “Izannah Walker – Godmother to Cloth Doll Makers” by Susan Hedrick, Soft Dolls & Animals, Summer 1998 and a photo of just their pre-patent Izannah in “Early American Stockinette Dolls: Part 1- Izannah Walker and Martha Chase Dolls” by Judy Beswick, The Cloth Doll, Fall 1998.

If you would like to read more about the museum there is a nice article on page 14 of the July 2011 issue of Antique Doll Collector.

Doll Clothing · Izannah Walker Reproduction Doll · Where to Shop

BOTH OF THESE DOLLS HAVE BEEN SOLD – September 1st – Fall is Approaching – A First Look at Autumn Works from My Studio

September 1, 2011October 7, 2011 paulawalton1 Comment

"Double double, toil and trouble. Fire burn and cauldron bubble." These Izzys are dressed for a girl's night out on October 31st.

These two dolls have already found new homes. Thank you for dropping in to see them! Just for fun, the girls are dressed in antique mourning print fabrics and wool felt hats to celebrate All Hallows Eve. Pack their hats away after Halloween and pose them with antique daguerreotypes or tintypes for a stunning monochromatic year round display. Check back soon to see additional pieces in their wardrobes.

If you would like more information on these two dolls or others that I am currently working on, please call 860-355-5709 or email me at paula@asweetremembrance.com .

Doll Clothing · Doll for Sale · Izannah Walker Reproduction Doll

Red Hot Summer! This Doll is Now SOLD – Thank You

July 23, 2011September 29, 2011 paulawaltonLeave a comment

The last few days have been scorchingly hot here in Connecticut! Much too warm to garden, or work on the antique cupboards that I’m in the midst of cleaning and painting. So I have been distracting myself from the heat by making doll clothes. Which has worked pretty well for several hours at a time, once I finally made allowances for the heat. It’s been too hot to sew in both my new studio and my sewing room, so I wandered around the house until I found the least stifling hot room and set up a sewing machine. After all, that is why God made portable sewing machines 🙂

My newly claimed sewing area was not without it’s problems. First off, I needed a flat surface to plop the sewing machine on. I didn’t want to haul anything heavy or have to move furniture too far. I wound up grabbing a child size Mission oak desk that was the nearest thing to hand. Not ideal, but I was starting to work up a sweat, so I didn’t really care.

Next it was time to plug in the machine and get it threaded. Oops! No bobbin in the machine. That meant a trek out to my studio through the blazing sun to get one. I grabbed two, just for good measure and came back in the house.

With the machine finally threaded, I started sewing on some glorious early brown and red stripped fabric that I had chosen to make an Izzy dress. More problems, the tension on the Singer Featherweight I was using was off and the machine was skipping stitches. There ensued a small pause for the removal of the offending stitches and tension adjustment. Back to sewing… and still skipping stitches!!! Reread the last two sentences a few times and you’ll begin to see why I trooped back out to my studio to get a different Featherweight! Good thing I have a spare 🙂 Once I cooled down and gulped a glass of iced tea I finally got to sew!

I am quite pleased with the way the dress is turning out and once it’s finished I’m planning to make a Turkey red sunbonnet to go with it, as well as a red embroidered apron. I had such a good time sorting through my antique fabrics and picking out just the right ones, that I almost managed to forget I was hot 🙂

I hope that where ever you are that you’ve managed to find a moderately cool spot of your own. This doll has been sold. Thank you for stopping by to look at her:)

Antique Izannah Walker Dolls · Doll Clothing · Izannah Walker Reproduction Doll

Pantalettes

April 18, 2011April 19, 2011 paulawaltonLeave a comment

My Valentine’s Day post this year was about chemises. Continuing with the undergarment theme, today I’m talking about pantalettes. Unlike my previous post, this time around I will not be modeling any of pantalettes. 🙂

Doll in pants 400 5824 — One of my reproduction Izannahs and her pantalettes.

All of my reproduction Izannahs wear pantalettes as part of their authentically recreated clothing. I base the pantalettes that my dolls wear on a pair that are part of the original garments belonging to one of my antique Izannah Walker dolls.You can see another photo of these pantalettes here.

The origins of pantalettes can be found in early 19th century France, and from there the fashion soon spread to England and America. Pantalettes were worn by women and children of both sexes.

Pants split 600_5853 — Antique pantalettes with two separate legs.

Pants closeup 400_5854 — Close-up of the center leg edge.

The legs of pantalettes can either be two separate pieces that are joined only at the waist (as is the case with my doll’s version) or the legs can be sewn together with either a side or back opening. The hemline of the legs varied from below the knee to ankle length.