If you have already ordered my American Hitty Sampler and are ready to make the Miniature American Flag Pillows for Hitty, you are on the right page. This tutorial will show only one pillow, but all four pillows are made in the same way. The finished size of each pillow is 2″ x 3″. You can also reverse the pillows and use the plain white back side, for a different look. Instructions for American Flag Pillows Materials Needed American Hitty Sampler on PrintreeThread (red or white works best)ScissorsNeedle for hand sewingPoint turnerPolyester stuffing 1. Wash Fabric Wash the fabric before cutting out the design. Before washing, zig-zag the raw edges…
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American Hitty Sampler
This year is the 250th anniversary of America’s independence from Great Britain. Since Hitty is an American doll, I thought it would be appropriate to create new fabric designs to celebrate our Semiquincentennial. The patriotic one-yard sampler features four brand new coordinating red, white and blue prints, as well as two of my top-selling designs: “Hitty’s Garden” and “Hitty’s Hexagon Quilt.” PRINTREE’S TWILL FABRIC Instead of using Spoonflower, I decided to try a new company called Printree. The reason I chose them is because they have a different printing process that uses higher resolution, which makes it easier to print tiny details. I tested three of their lightest cotton fabrics…
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Perfume Hitty’s Travel Case
Perfume Hitty has a new travel case made by Michael Langton, and she wants to show it off. On the front are the words, “Hitty’s Here!” because Hitty loves to travel to new places and visit friends all over the world. With this travel case, she can feel at home wherever she goes. The hinged case opens to reveal four sections: a bedroom, a closet, a place to hold Perfume Hitty, secured with ribbons, and a dressing table with mirror. The design is very clever, and it’s perfect for traveling. The travel case has a built-in Murphy bed which can fold up when not in use. Perfume Hitty’s closet holds…
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Hitty’s Daguerreotype Dress
When Rachel Field purchased Hitty in “The Antique Shop” in New York City, the doll was wearing a simple tan cotton dress printed with tiny brown sprigs. The dress is sometimes called the Daguerreotype Dress, because Hitty wore it for her Daguerreotype photo (see Hitty’s Daguerreotype Photo). If you want to make your own reproduction of the dress, click on the link below. Special thanks to my pattern testers, Alice Swann and Martha Allen. Click here to download the dress pattern and tutorial! SEWING DIAGRAMS The Daguerreotype Dress pattern combines hand and machine sewing techniques. Below are some diagrams which show the hand-sewing stitches used. The tutorial also uses snaps.…
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Niagara Falls Part 2
The next morning, Kitty watched the sun rise over the falls, an impressive sight. Then she put on her very best “garden party” dress with a matching lace hat and left the hotel. NOTE: This is the second part of Flat Hitty and Kitty’s trip to Niagara Falls in Ontario, Canada (see “Niagara Falls Part 1”). Kitty and Flat Hitty met up at Tim Hortons for some coffee and doughnuts (yum!), before heading to their destination. The girls went to the Niagara Falls History Museum to see a special exhibit called, “It’s My Party: 1950s Women’s Fashion Exhibit.” The temporary exhibit was created by the Wedding and Fashion Museum (on…
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Niagara Falls Part 1
This year Flat Hitty and Kitty decided to go on vacation to see Niagara Falls in Ontario, Canada. They were very excited to visit a new country and were eager to explore the falls. Flat Hitty wanted to see the falls up close and personal. She went on a touring boat called, “The Maid of the Mist.” The boat was electric-powered and very quiet, but the roaring of the falls drowned everything out. All the people on the boat wore raincoats. Flat Hitty was not concerned about a little mist. It’s a good thing she was laminated, because when the boat approached the Horseshoe Falls, she did get wet! Meanwhile,…
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Hitty’s Floral Dress
Summer is almost here! What could be more appealing than a relaxing walk in the garden? Maybe it’s a dress for Hitty that embodies that feeling! Hitty’s Floral Dress is one of three original dresses from Hitty’s wardrobe in the Stockbridge Library (see “Who is Hitty?“). Hitty’s Floral Dress is printed with green leafy vines and red and blue flowers amid tan-colored branching shapes. The background is brown, and the fabric has a twill (diagonal) weave. In a letter, illustrator Dorothy P. Lathrop stated that she made the dress: “out of somebody’s great aunt’s ‘all wool mousseline-de-laine’ with rosebuds on a dark plum color ground, very flattering to her [Hitty’s]…
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Tulip Time
It’s Tulip Time in Holland, Michigan. Every year, in this picturesque town, thousands of tourists arrive to view the Tulip Festival in early May. Flat Hitty and her friends decided to check it out. In the 19th century, settlers from the Netherlands brought their unique culture to Holland (see Kitty at Dutch Village). Planting tulip bulbs each year is a tradition that continues to this day. Header photo: Hitty Sienna, made by Fung and Bruce Hicks; Wooden Flat Hitty; Hitty Sis, carved by me. Hitty Sienna wore a blue and white printed dress and apron, inspired by a Dutch costume. Hitty Sis wore Hitty’s First Dress, with the addition of…
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Hitty’s Clothes
An article about Hitty’s clothing was written by Patricia Fifer shortly after she and her husband, Bill, visited Hitty at the Stockbridge Library in 1996 (see Bill Fifer’s Gift). It was previously published in the Friends of Hitty Newsletter, Volume III, Issue 1, Spring 1997. The descriptions of Hitty’s underwear and the Library Dress are of interest to any Hitty admirer, but especially to those who want to recreate her clothing. Patricia’s article was one of my sources for “Hitty’s Wardrobe in the Stockbridge Library,” in the Fall 2024 issue of Doll News. The photos taken by Bill and Patricia are extra special because they show Hitty’s clothes before restoration.…
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Hitty’s First Dress
When Phoebe Preble wanted to play with her newly created doll, “Hitty,” Phoebe’s mother insisted that she needed a dress first. This dress, as described in the book, Hitty: Her First Hundred Years, was made from “a buff calico strewn with small red flowers.” Six illustrations by Dorothy P. Lathrop in the book show Hitty wearing her very first dress of calico roses. When she was accidentally left behind at the Preble’s church, she spent a harrowing few days underneath a pew, frightened by a bat and hemmed in between a footstool and an illustrated Bible. I loved reading the part when she tried to get the attention of the…
