There is only one Ancestor HItty (see Who is Hitty?), but there are many people who carve Hitty dolls. Each carver uses his or her own artistic vision to create Hitty. Dolls can be hand-carved, power-carved, turned on a lathe or made using a combination of techniques. They can be peg-jointed, ball-jointed, or strung with elastic. The method of carving can be stylized or realistic. The finish can be sanded completely smooth or left unsanded to show individual marks from each carving tool. The only thing all Hitty dolls have in common is the inspiration for their creation.
Header photo above shows 15 Bill Fifer Hittys in progress from 2007. Courtesy of Bill Fifer.
Here is a comparison of several different Hitty dolls. Artists are (from left to right): Michael Langton, Helen Gibson, Janet Cordell, Brienz Swiss doll, Janet Cordell, Sabino Serna, Robert Raikes, Adina Huckins (or Janet?), Judy Brown, Elaine McNally.
The first step in carving a doll is to cut a “blank” from wood. The blanks provide the basic shape and structure of the doll. The time from cutting a blank to the painted, finished doll can take many hours, days, or even weeks, depending on the methods used. Below are three Hitty blanks by (from left to right): Janet Cordell, Maria Dale, and Susie Graber. Elaine McNally is the carver. Elaine makes and sells Hitty dolls inspired by antique dolls such as the cloth dolls of Izannah Walker. Elaine’s individual style is evident even before they are finished.
If you want to learn to carve, taking a carving class is very helpful. You will get a blank to start with, and if you have questions, you will have someone to ask for advice. You will also learn what tools are necessary for carving. Although you can carve a Hitty with only hand tools, some power tools can be helpful as well. Adina and Janet hold carving retreats. Janet also has an online video about how to carve Hitty on the Woodcarving Academy. I took this class when she first offered it in 2021. Here is a photo of my doll in progress. It’s amazing to see the doll’s personality emerging from a block of wood.
Some carvers want a doll which looks like the original Ancestor Hitty, If that is your preference, take a look at these reference photos of “Naked Hitty” from the Stockbridge Library. You can also download the exact “Hitty Dimensions,” along with reference photos of Michael Langton’s Perfume Hitty, made from a laser scan of Ancestor Hitty.
When carving a small doll, a good pattern is essential. You will use the pattern to cut out your blank. Woodcarver Bill Fifer designed his pattern using the measurements which he and his wife, Pat, took of Ancestor Hitty in 1996. Pat passed away in 2021, but her contributions to the Hitty world live on.
Click here to download Bill Fifer’s Hitty pattern
Esther Robertson’s first Hitty doll was Bill’s Hitty No. 31, carved in 2002 from Mountain Ash wood. Esther named her “Hitty Robertson.” She was soon joined by several friends made by Judy Brown because, as Esther put it, “Hittys do not like to live alone.” Esther shared the stories and adventures of her dolls in the Hitty Robertson blog. Here is a picture of Hitty Robertson (the doll on the right) talking about a Quilt show.
Courtesy of Esther Robertson.
“One of our quilts is very special to me! It was made by Mrs. Fifer and her friend Barbra-Jean Male who patterned it after Ancestor Hitty’s summer quilt. Of course it would have special meaning for me since I came into being in the hands of Mr. Fifer.” – Hitty Robertson
In order to show Bill’s method of making a doll, I received permission from Esther Roberston to share her booklet, “Carving a Hitty.” Esther wrote this booklet, which features Bill Fifer’s photos, for a presentation on the art of woodcarving, given at the Zelienople Traveler’s Club in Pennsylvania.
Click here to download “Carving a Hitty: Bill Fifer’s Method”
Here is a photo of Bill Fifer’s workshop taken in 2006 during a visit with Betty Lubbert’s doll club.
Here are two of Bill’s dolls. The unpainted doll on the right, made from kiln dried mountain ash, is the one he made for Esther’s booklet.
Courtesy of Bill Fifer.
The unfinished doll was painted and sealed with Deft. Pat dressed her using custom fabric designed to mimic Hitty’s Library Dress. The Fifers traded doll No. 37 to Judy Brown in 2003.
In return, Judy sent the Fifers a Hitty made from Birch, costumed in the Dickens Dress outfit. Here is Judy’s doll, standing in front of Bill Fifer’s first edition copy of the Hitty book.
Judy is a highly regarded Hitty carver. She taught classes on carving Hitty and sold blanks, along with a Warren carving knife and instructions. Although no longer actively carving, her legacy lives on through the many dolls she created. Here is a photo of Judy Brown’s workshop from Esther’s blog. The two Hittys are Judy’s personal dolls, Hitty Dallas and O’Honey.
A CONVERSATION WITH BILL FIFER
I have often emailed Bill with questions about Hitty-related topics, and I wanted to share some of his replies about carving dolls. Bill carved his first Hitty out of rock hard White Ash. Over the years, Bill continued to carve Hitty dolls out of a variety of woods. He made a total of 82 dolls from 1996-2018, including some mini Hittys. The woods he used were most commonly Basswood (27 dolls) and Mountain Ash (27), but he also carved dolls from White Ash (4), Maple (10), Holly (2), Birch (4), White Pine (2), Tupelo (2), Jelutong (1) and English Rowan (1).
When I asked Bill about the type of woods he used, he responded: “Without doing any deep research, my memory is that Mountain Ash, known as Rowan in Europe, is not from the ash family. I believe it is from the ‘rose’ family. But for a doll carver, Mountain Ash, although a ‘hard’ wood, is much softer to carve, very similar to Basswood. Bass is my favorite wood for carving. White Ash is very hard, like Walnut. Commercially it is used to make tool handles as it is very strong.”
Bill shared his Hitty pattern and photos freely with other carvers. When I asked if he taught the artisan, Hanna Kahl-Hyland, to carve Hitty, he said: “I could not teach Hanna to carve anything! She was professionally schooled in some famous Art School in London and was very talented and accomplished as a sculptor in stone, a wood carver, and as a painter in oils. When our mutual friend, Barbra-Jean Male, who lived less than ten miles away from Hanna in CT, persuaded Hanna to start carving Hittys, I provided her with the photos and measurements.”
Bill is modest about his influence on other carvers, but I suspect they learned a lot more from him than he thinks. He remarked: “I was always learning from others and never taught anyone else to carve anything. I probably learned most from Janet Denton Cordell when I attended a week-long Hitty carving class at her studio in the Ozark Mountains of northwest Arkansas.”
Bill modified his master plan for carving Hitty over the years. One change he made was to Hitty’s hip joint. The “V” shape at the bottom of the torso proved tricky to build, so he changed the shape to a rectangular “T” joint. The “T” joint was similar to the joints used on antique peg wooden dolls. This new, tighter-fitting joint allowed the dolls to stand on their own. Bill explained: “The ‘V’ shape at the bottom of the original Hitty’s torso is difficult to make a smooth joint that will be tight both when standing and sitting. When we closely examined the original Hitty on our second visit in September 1996, the very loose and sloppy fit of her hip joint was strikingly obvious. I did not like it at all, although I did my best to replicate it when carving my first Hitty.”
Courtesy of Bill Fifer.
Bill studied antique penny wooden, or “Grodnertal” dolls, which have straighter hip joints. He switched to using the “T” joint for his Hittys, which stays tight whether standing or sitting. These Hittys can all stand up on their own two feet, unless the joint has loosened over time (a common issue with wooden dolls). Here is a dollhouse sized replica of a Grodnertal doll that Bill gave to the curator of the Shelburne Museum in Vermont. He was in charge of setting up an IGMA Guild Study Program at the museum. Credit reads, “Reproduction Peg Wooden Lady, Gift of William Fifer 2003.”
ADVICE FOR BEGINNING CARVERS
If you want to give carving a try, you may be thinking, “Where do I begin?” My advice is to look for a local woodcarving group in your area. Even if they don’t carve dolls specifically, you will be able to watch them work and find out if carving is something you might enjoy, before investing much money in tools and equipment.
You can also find out what type of carving you prefer. Many people enjoy hand-carving using knives and gouges, but I prefer power carving. I recently set up a carving space in my basement with an LED shop light over two work tables. The higher table is used for the bandsaw and the belt/disc sander, and the lower table is where I do my carving. I also have a dust collection box with a filter. Power carving creates a lot of dust which is not good to breathe in, so I always wear a dust mask, safety goggles and an apron.
Safety must-haves for hand-carving include a carving glove and stretchy wrap to make a thumb guard. The knives and gouges are stored in a box nearby so that I can switch back and forth between power and hand carving as I work. Flexcraft knives are reasonably priced and good quality. I chose the less expensive Flexcraft gouges that fit into a removable handle. It’s a little inconvenient to switch them out, but it takes up less space. You will also need sharpening stones or a grinder to keep your knives sharpened.
I can’t stress the important of safety enough. Carving can be hazardous if you don’t take precautions — keep those dinosaurs away from your workplace!
One reason why I prefer power carving is because following the grain of the wood is not as critical: the tool rotates when cutting. Power carving can also be easier on the hands, although you still need to grip the handpiece firmly to maintain control of the carver. I use a Foredom model K.8301 with H.30 handpiece. It is similar to a Dremel but lighter and easier to hold. Of course, there are other brands and sizes of power carvers to try. Check out the manufacturers’ websites and look at reviews to learn more.
The handpiece can take different size bits. The ones I use are 1/8” and 3/16” bits. There are many different types of bits. I use the sanding drums a lot for basic smoothing, but for carving details, I really like the Ruby and Sapphire bits.
I have covered how to carve Hitty but you may still be wondering why to carve a Hitty. Let me answer that by sharing a photo of my friend Alice Swann’s Hitty-sized doll, Millie. Alice carved Millie from Butternut, using a teenage photo of her mother, Mildred. Alice’s mother used to wear colorful muumuus around the house, so Alice made her a bright, cotton muumuu. Although Alice’s mother passed away in 2013, little Millie continues to keep her mother’s memory alive.
We have lost talented Hitty carvers over the years: Sherman Smith, Helen Bullard, Mary Lee Sundstrom, Hanna Kahl-Hyland and many more. But even though they are gone, their dolls remain. And those dolls will bring joy to many generations to come.
Today, thanks to the efforts of Bill and Pat Fifer and the other Hitty carvers who have shared their methods, we have a whole community of Hitty doll collectors and carvers. Carving Hitty can be a wonderful hobby. As you can see, there are many ways to interpret Hitty, and the only limit is your imagination. Make a doll the way YOU want to. Use whatever tips and tricks you learn along the way, and don’t be afraid to experiment. As our world becomes more and more digital, the ability to create a simple, wooden doll that you can hold in your hands is a precious skill. I hope this article inspires you to give it a try!
