In Polynesian cultures, a lei is a common gift to greet visitors as a symbol of friendship, to honor a loved one, or to celebrate events such as birthdays and weddings. The beautiful, fragrant garlands are made of flowers, leaves or other materials strung together. The Summer 2024 issue of Doll News magazine includes my pattern, “Make a Muumuu for Hitty.” In the article, my Hittys all wear miniature leis made from beads. This tutorial will show you how to make a similar lei for your own Hittys or other small dolls. I purchased strands of flat, flower-shaped polymer clay beads from Hobby Lobby, but you can also find them…
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The Book Cover Dresses
A few months ago, I received a request to make a fabric design based on the Hitty book dust jacket. It took me a while, but I finally finished. There are two color variations based on different editions of the Hitty book. Both designs are now available in my Spoonflower shop. New Hitty Book Cover Designs on Spoonflower Hitty Book Cover Classic The first design is based on a jacket from the September 1946 Macmillan edition, which has a dark red background and greenish-gold crosses with off-white flowers in the middle. There is a also a faint white line along one edge of the crosses. Hitty Book Cover Bright The…
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Tutorial: Hitty’s Sunbonnet
This pattern was inspired by Ancestor Hitty’s antique sunbonnet in the Stockbridge Library Museum. I have created a replica of the fabric, but any lightweight cotton fabric will work. You can purchase Hitty’s Sunbonnet fabric in my Spoonflower store, Designs by Frendi, and an 8” swatch is large enough to make two bonnets. I recommend making a trial bonnet with practice fabric before you cut out the custom printed fabric. Click here to download Hitty’s Sunbonnet Pattern! The original bonnet was quilted. This pattern uses lightweight fusible interfacing instead, to get the stiffness in the brim without the extra bulk. Measure your Hitty’s head to see whether you need the…
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The Ginger Club
Kitty often gets together with some of her friends who like to cook. They share recipes and take turns hosting. And by coincidence, all of them have ginger (red) hair, so they named themselves “The Ginger Club.” Today is special, because the girls are celebrating St. Patrick’s Day. They are also welcoming a new member, Kelsey, who recently moved to Maine. The girls gather in Kelsey’s new home for the meeting. Maeve gives Kelsey a housewarming gift. It is a treasured piece of heirloom Irish crochet lace made into a table runner. Here is a closeup of the lace. The thread is crocheted into intricate roses and pinwheel shapes. Kitty…
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Restoring Kitty
My antique doll, Kitty, had a unique experience when she was scanned by a CT scanner for the Virtual Kitty project (see Virtual Kitty). Unfortunately, the anti-glare spray used for the scan left a white haze on her face. Here is a photo of Kitty before and after scanning. I had trouble removing the haze. Finally, I decided to use “Mr. Super Clear,” which has a solvent that was able to dissolve the haze, leaving most of her face paint intact. But it also loosened the glue holding her shoulderhead onto the body. This was the push I needed to do a full makeover of Kitty. To practice techniques, I…
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Georgina’s Makeover
Georgina is a 7.5” tall antique wax-over paper mache doll with glass eyes. Her arms and legs are carved from wood. But her most amazing feature is her feet, which look a lot like Hitty’s and Kitty’s. It’s my guess that all three dolls were made around the same time, since the style is so similar. I named her Georgina after Georgina Hogarth, sister-in-law of Charles Dickens and Mekitty’s Great Aunt. Restoring Georgina When I purchased Georgina on ebay, she was in frightful condition. The area surrounding her glass eyes had lost its coating of plaster, resulting in a scary, wide-eyed look. Her face was dirty, and she had a…
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Virtual Kitty
You may be wondering what “Virtual Kitty” means. Compared to the original, physical doll, which you can touch and see, a virtual doll only exists as digital bits in a computer file. So why would I want to create a doll that doesn’t even exist in the real world? Because a virtual doll is the first step towards my ultimate goal of making the fictional version of Kitty a reality. I love my antique Kitty doll (see Meet Kitty), who inspired A Tale of Two Hittys. I really enjoy dressing her and taking photos of her with my other dolls, but her fragile nature means that I have to be…
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Tutorial: Tiny Crochet Lace
Those of us who sew for Hitty are aware of the difficulty of finding tiny trims and lace in the right scale. Purchased trim often looks too big and bulky. When we do find something tiny enough to use, there is rarely an option for any color other than white. This crocheted lace pattern makes great trim for doll clothing. It is very versatile: you can experiment with the hook and thread sizes for different results. Try making cute collars, as well as trim for dresses and petticoats. Download the Tiny Crochet Lace Pattern Here! Many thanks to the Hitty & Friends Facebook group members (Shelia B.W., Penny G., Sue…
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Hitty’s Library Dress
For the past few years, Ancestor Hitty has been displayed at the Stockbridge Library wearing a copy of her original sprig print dress. This dress, also known as the “daguerreotype dress,” was the one Hitty wore when she posed for her daguerreotype photo. The original daguerreotype dress has shredded in several places, and it has been stabilized and put on display next to Hitty. But where is her dark red dress with oval blossoms, often referred to by Hitty admirers as “the library dress?” When I contacted a curator at the Stockbridge Library, I was told that they could not locate the dress. Furthermore, their records did not contain an…
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Hitty Dimensions
The original Hitty doll, also known as “Ancestor Hitty,” is a one-of-a-kind creation. Many of us wish we could have an exact copy, and the only way to do that is with accurate measurements. Keep reading to find out how I made a comprehensive list of Ancestor Hitty’s dimensions. Download Ancestor Hitty Doll Dimensions Download Photos of Perfume Hitty Download Bill Fifer’s Hitty Photos Of all the artists who have created Hitty dolls, only woodcarver Michael Langton made exact copies. Michael Langton began carving in 1972, but his big break came in 1979, when he carved a wooden doll for the movie On Golden Pond. He discovered a way to…
