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…
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Meet Hitty Dede
It seems hard to believe that a whole year has passed since my last blog article. I apologize to my readers, but a variety of circumstances made it difficult for me to create new content during the past year. Recently, I was able to do some sewing, and I decided that sharing my latest project would be the perfect way to get back to the blog and celebrate World Doll Day 2023 on Saturday, June 10th. World Doll Day is a way to share the joy of dolls with people all over the world. Last year, I wrote about how Kitty Friend Maxine spent the day in New Mexico with…
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World Doll Day 2022
On World Doll Day, Max traveled to New Mexico to visit her good friends, Squash Blossom, who is one of the Diné (also known as Navajo), and Elder Hitty, who is a member of Zuni Pueblo. The Zuni people call themselves the A:shiwi (the People). Elder Hitty is carrying a leather pouch. What could be inside? It’s a beautiful Zuni Fetish beaded necklace. A Fetish is a small carving of an animal used for ceremonial purposes. These guardian animals give the owner special powers. Elder Hitty asks Max if she would like to have the necklace, and of course she says yes! Then Max asks Elder Hitty to tell her…
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Native Pueblo Manta Dress
The Pueblo peoples are Native Americans living in the Southwest, mostly in New Mexico. Pueblo is a Spanish word meaning “village,” and there are 19 pueblos in New Mexico, each with its own unique culture and traditions. You can learn more about them on the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center website. This off-the-shoulder dress, called a “Manta,” is a typical style for women of the Hopi and Zuni Pueblos. Traditionally, it was made of dark colored wool or cotton blankets. Some of the blankets had fancy red woven borders. Here is one example in the National Museum of the American Indian: Other blankets were white with elaborate multi-colored borders. Here is…
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Hitty Fabrics Part 1
UPDATE: July 2023 I can no longer find the website for My Fabric Designs! This is very concerning because I am not able to order any more fabric. When I find out what happened, I will post another update. I have disabled any links to their website as a precaution. I must admit that I have an obsession with fabrics: specifically, the fabrics used for Hitty’s dresses. Some of these dresses are fictional: they are described in the book Hitty: Her First Hundred Years by Rachel Field and appear in the illustrations by Dorothy Lathrop. Other dresses are real and belonged to the actual Hitty who now resides in the…
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Renaissance Festival
In April, Sharleen had a fun weekend at the Scarborough Renaissance Festival in Waxahachie, Texas with her Flower Fairy friends, Faith and Hope. Sharleen wanted to get into the spirit of the event, so she made a Robin Hood dress, complete with a feathered hat, a bow and arrows. Here she is exploring a wooded area at the Festival. All throughout the Festival, the landscaping is a feast for the eyes. Here is Hope enjoying Springtime in Texas. Faith finds a planter with some beautiful flowers. Sharleen walks past a very realistic-looking castle called, “TerraMythica Castle.” In front of the castle, performers dressed as knights are practicing their sword fighting…
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Tutorial: Paper Fortune Teller
This antique-inspired paper fortune teller comes from an activity in The Girl’s Own Book by Lydia Maria Child, published in 1833, and if you read my post about Fortune Teller Dolls, you know that they were popular during the Victorian era. The original illustration from The Girl’s Own Book is below. Notice the stylish harem pants and turban, reflecting the influence of the Ottoman Turks which was so fashionable at the beginning of the 19th century. You can see the book here:Read on Open Library (pp. 79-80) Here is how the doll was meant to be constructed: “This is a toy made of about a quarter of a yard of…
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Fortune Teller Dolls
We’re all curious about what the future holds. In the mid-19th century, many traveling peddlers and gypsies earned money by advertising their services as fortune tellers or “fate ladies.” In the same vein, Victorian ladies were soon creating miniature fortune teller dolls to predict their futures. The dolls had paper skirts which could be unfolded to reveal the fortunes. It became a popular pastime for ladies to read their fortunes while taking tea or at parties. Most fortunes painted a rosy future, but a few warned of trouble ahead. I find fortune teller dolls fascinating, and their scarcity makes them even more special. Most didn’t survive due to the fragile…
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Happy Earth Day!
Every year on April 22, we reflect on the beauty of nature and the wonderful planet we live on by celebrating Earth Day. The Kitty Friends decide to mark this momentous day by visiting some of the places that they love the most. Maxine visits Arches National Park near Moab, Utah. She loves to hike the trails and meet other nature lovers. Olivia likes hiking, too, but she prefers the sand dunes near Silver Lake, Michigan. It’s a lot of fun, even if you do get sand in your shoes. Jordan’s favorite place to walk is in the Redwood forests of California. Aren’t those trees impressive? Sharleen decides to visit…
