More on the Sinamay Hats

Posted on January 28, 2026 by Deborah Cooke

I shared my first efforts in making sinamay hats for the girls last week, but have been modifying my strategy since. Here’s an update on my changes.

As much as I love those first hats, changes had to made.
• the crowns are a bit too tall. Depending on how the doll’s hair is styled, the hat might fall right over her eyes – which is not a winning look.
• the join in the bias binding isn’t as neat as I’d prefer.
• I needed a larger crown for the 16″ dolls.

I also remembered another book on my shelf. The Art of Making Miniature Millinery is an older book that I found at a used bookstore. It documents the making of hats in many materials – but not sinamay. The authors use buckram for stiffer hat foundations, and they recommend placing a wire in the brim to help the hat keep its shape. I love their pillbox hats, which are reinforced this way.

I put a wire in the brim of several of the hats in this round of hatmaking, sewing it under the bias trim on the outer edge. This is a 22 gauge wire, a fairly stiff one, which seems about right.

Here’s a pic of it being sewn into the brim of the black hat with the shorter crown for the 11.5″ girls. I just tucked it under the bias binding, which in this case is a plaid silk.

inserting wire to the brim of a sinamay hat

I also improved the join in the bias binding on this round of hats. On my first few hats, I sewed most of the binding onto the hat, then made the join. This is what I do with bias binding on people-sized items, but it was tough to get the angle right, given the scale. Instead, I figured out the length the binding had to be cut in order to make a circle of the right size once it was seamed. After it’s seamed, the seam can be pressed open and the binding can be sewn completely onto the hat in one go. The result is much neater – on some hats, I can’t even find the join. If you look at the hat brim above, the join is hard to locate.

The shorter crown, about 1.5cm, is really good for the 11-12″ dolls. It maybe could be a little smaller in diameter for the Silkie girls, but again, that depends upon their hairstyle. This hat is never going to fall over their eyes, and the wire in the brim means it can be shaped.

Best in Black Silkstone in sinamay hat made by Deborah Cooke

The shorter crown with the wider diameter, intended for the 16″ girls, didn’t work quite as well.

Lacey Churchill in sinamay hat made by Deborah Cooke

Daphne Dimples in sinamay hat made by Deborah Cooke

I added lace to the hatband of this one, but it’s still not a fave look for me. (It doesn’t help that the girls aren’t dressed to match. Lacey is in her altogether, while Daphne is still in her lingerie.)

I made another with a deeper crown (2.5cm, like the earliest hats) and a 5″ brim instead of the 4″ brim I’ve been using all along. I also made the crown a little bit wider where it joins the brim. This worked out really well.

Tyler Wentworth in sinamay hat made by Deborah Cooke

Tyler is in the buff, as well. I’m glad I discovered my stash of feathers.

Finally, I made a hat for the 11.5″ girls with a curved crown. This was supposed to be a pillbox hat, inspired by the book, but I watched Four Weddings & a Funeral again and had to add the big brim instead.

Lingerie #6 Silkstone in sinamay hat made by Deborah Cooke

These last two are my favourites of the seven (7!) doll hats I’ve made in the past week or so. I’m going to take a break from sinamay now. Soon, the coloured sinamay will arrive from the UK and it will start me all over again. Not today, though.

I finished the knitting on my Quintessential Cardigan in Judy Long Alba in Kilt (which is a plum heather). This is the second kit I bought of this cardigan – I finished the green one in June 2024. So, I’ll be sewing that one together next and knitting the neckband etc. I decided against buttons on this one, so it’s pretty much a case of just sewing it together. (Ew. I hate seaming, but I will Just Do It!) This has to be a record for me to knit two sweaters in two years and right after getting the kits, too.

Sinamay Hats for Dolls

Posted on January 23, 2026 by Deborah Cooke

sinemay hat made for Silkstone B Best in Black by Deborah Cooke — Sinamay hat for Silkstone B

Sinamay is a material used to make hats. Even if you don’t recognize the name, you would know the material if you saw it. It’s woven from abaca fibres and can be dyed in many colours – it looks similar to a loosely woven linen. It can be steamed and stretched and shaped. Think of all those fancy straw hats and fascinators worn to British weddings and you’re probably imagining sinamay. It’s sold by the yard/meter by millinery shops or as pre-shaped hat forms.

You might remember that I made some hats for the girls, out of linen and felt. I used the DBD Brimmed Hat pattern, which is no longer available for sale. Here are a couple of them:

brimmed linen hat for Tyler — Linen hat for Tyler

I never thought about using sinamay to make hats for the girls until I saw a series of posts by a European maker in one of the doll groups on Facebook. She makes the most gorgeous hats for Silkstone dolls and posted photographs of her process in making various hats of sinamay. Wow! I knew I had to give it a try.

I ordered some sinamay from The Trimming Company in the UK – both ivory and black. I had to debate and think about the process for a while, then this week, I dug in.

For the first two hats, I kept things simple. I just went for a plain brim, and finished the outside edge with self-made bias blinding in silk. (This was in the instructions for the DBD Brimmed Hat.) The crown has to be steamed into shape and left to dry – I used a spice jar from the dollar store as a form. Once the crown and brim were secured together. I decorated the crown of the hat, which is good fun, then glued a piece of ribbon to the interior of the crown to finish that edge.

sinamay hat made for Silkstone B Lingerie #6 by Deborah Cooke

On the left is Silkstone Best in Black wearing an off-white sinamay hat trimmed in a floral cotton print. She’s also wearing the Danielle two-piece dress. On the right is Silkstone Lingerie #6 wearing a black hat trimmed in the black silk. The dress is Hankie Chic’s Simple Sundress. The flowers and ribbons on the hats came from my stash, including the flowers, which are paper flowers from the dollar store.

sinamay hat made for Silkstone B Best in Black by Deborah Cooke

I decided that the crowns were a bit too deep on these two, so I trimmed down the crown for the third hat, an off-white sinamay hat trimmed in the same silk taffeta plaid as the dress worn by Lingerie #6. I did a better job on the join of the binding on the crown for this one, with the help of the plaid as a cutting guide.

These little hats are remarkably sturdy once they’re completed. Here are the three hats I’ve made so far:

1/6 scale hat stand made by Deborah Cooke

I made the hat stands, btw, with more supplies from the dollar store. That’s a styrofoam egg, a bamboo stick and a wooden wheel. On the bottom, there’s a metal washer that’s just a little smaller than the wheel, to keep the hat stand from tipping over.

I really like these hats, although there’s plenty of room for improvement in my technique. They’re Ascot hats to me, or Kentucky Derby hats – or hats like Andie McDowell wore to weddings in Four Weddings & a Funeral. I’m going to try a few with even shallower crowns and do more shaping of the brims.

I’m now on the hunt for a slightly larger jar to shape crowns for the 16″ girls, and more flowers for decorating the crowns. I could probably make some smaller hats and/or fascinators – I have a LOT of sinamay to work with!

Japanese Books

Posted on January 20, 2026 by Deborah Cooke

Things have been quiet here this month, as I’ve been deciding how to go forward. At the end of last year, I discovered that several of my pictures of my dolls were being used on scam sites. I had thought that taking mediocre pictures would keep them from being stolen, but evidently that’s not so – now they look “authentic”. As an author, I have a whole lot of issues with the general dissolution of copyright and its protections, so hmm. As much as I love sharing my progress and results with others, I’m not interested in providing anything to aid scammers or pirates. This is the reason why I’ve never published any patterns or designs for dolls.

I did treat myself to some Japanese books this year and will share that with you today. Again, copyright is a concern – there are people on Etsy selling digital editions of many of these books, sometimes even with a translation by Google, but I doubt these are licensed digital or English editions. The beauty of Japanese craft books is that they’re so thoroughly illustrated that you can follow the directions even if you don’t read Japanese – plus buying the actual print book supports the creator and his/her copyright.

This first book is Doll Knit by Mieko Watanabe, for 20 – 22cm Obitsu dolls. You can find her on Instagram right here. The knits are detailed and very cute. The knits are all charted, so you don’t have to read Japanese to follow the instructions. They’re sized for the Obitsu dolls but fit the current MTM regular Barbie pretty well.

The big challenge is finding yarn substitutes. The designer has used yarns from a Japanese company called Puppy which aren’t available here. There is a Kidsilk Haze equivalent, so that’s easily replaced, but otherwise, not so much. I used Knit Picks Palette for the fair isle cloak and it’s slightly too heavy – I got gauge but the garment is thicker and stiffer than would be ideal.

The best match so far for the Puppy 3-ply is old 3-ply Kroy Socks, so I’m rummaging in my odds and ends for more of that. It does looks as if Holst Garn Supersoft would be a good substitute for the 3-ply, and it comes in shade packs, with five small balls in coordinated colours. I’ll make a road trip to a LYS that stocks this yarn to see it. The 2-ply Puppy is a lace weight, so I’ll try those patterns with some odds and ends in my stash. Maybe I’ll get lucky and find a lace pack of many little skeins in different colours.

I also want to get out my crochet needle and try at least one of those adorable hats.

Next is a sewing book of doll clothes, also for 20 cm dolls including Blythe dolls. I think this is called Tournesol (which is French for sunflower). It’s by Satomi Takei, who can be found on IG right here. These have the usual aesthetic of Blythe doll patterns – lace and petticoats and tiny florals, straw bags and hats – although the fashions are shown on other dolls too. Again, the book is beautifully photographed.

I tried a few of the patterns and they more-or-less fit the MTM regular Barbies – the designs are more like little girl dresses and I’m not sure I like the look on my B girls. There is a pattern for a kimono, which is a tempting project.

Finally, an accessories book from Dolly Dolly Books, although the other two books also have patterns for accessories.

That purse on the cover is what sold me. The instructions for that bag cover seven pages and I’m determined to make one. The author is Taeko Sekiguchi, who has designed a lot of beautifully detailed clothing for dolls. It’s very inspiring to see the work of people who stretch higher.

I bought the books from Pomadour on Etsy. This shop ships promptly from Japan and packs the books extremely well.

McCalls 6260

Posted on December 30, 2025 by Deborah Cooke

This is a vintage pattern for dolls which is out of print. I found a PDF version on Etsy. Like most such PDFs, the sizing of the pages was a bit off – I ended up printing mine at 104% in order to have the measuring tape scale come out the correct size.

Thank goodness it had the scale! If you ever download a pattern that doesn’t have a scale, you can print the pattern pages at different sizes until the seam allowance comes out to 1/4″ – if that’s what the pattern uses. Most of them do.

I like the vintage look of some of the pieces. The kimono reminds me of a bathrobe my grandmother made for my dolls when I was a kid – she (very cleverly) used a baby wale corduroy for that robe, then pre-made narrow bias tape which she applied with a decorative zig zag. (Yes, I still have it.)

I made the ballgown first, which is view B. This one fits pretty well, though the bodice could be a little more snug. I used Chinese brocade, which is quite thick, and that could be a contributing issue. I lined the bodice, as instructed, but not the skirt, also as instructed. When I make it again, I’ll line the skirt too. That brocade sheds like mad, even though I finished the edges.

Of course, I made B a pair of gold opera gloves to go with the dress.

McCalls 6260 gown with stole made by Deborah Cooke

McCalls 6260 gown with stole and gloves made by Deborah Cooke

The stole is interesting. I thought it was like the big bow on the back of that other ballgown, but it isn’t. For this one, the doll’s arms go through the loops of the bow – ha! I looked back at the historic images I found for that bow dress and sure enough, the Balenciaga from 1950 has a stole with similar design. I had found this pic before but hadn’t noticed her arms going through the loops of the stole. You can see that the top loop, for her arms, is lined with another fabric, while the other loops and train are plain tulle. B is always so very stylish, isn’t she?

Interestingly enough, the 80th anniversary Barbie has a gown and stole that looks to be inspired by the same Balenciaga design.

The skirt on this gown could be a teensy bit shorter for vintage B (which might be my fault) and I’m thinking I’ll add a back slit next time around. The colour made me think of this tall B.

McCalls 6260 gown with stole made by Deborah Cooke, modelled by a tall Barbie

It is a fabulous shade for her. She’s thinner than vintage B, so the bodice is a bit loose on her, but the fabric is perfect. (The dress could be maybe 1/4″ longer for her.) I’m thinking she needs a frock coat of this pink brocade, maybe with a pair of black silk cigarette pants and some great boots.

In this image, you can see the topstitching on the part of the stole that goes around the doll’s arms. It’s faced with ribbon and I decided to use a contrasting one. So, the ribbon is bright pink and so is the stitching. It gives the sheer fabric a bit more structure, too.

I also made the coat from this pattern. It’s a swing coat, which I cut from a cotton flannel that looks (in scale) like wool coating. I cut the collar of a thin (very soft) fur and the undercollar of rayon Bemberg lining.

I lined the pockets (which is not suggested by the pattern) with the same rayon Bemberg as well as the coat itself. I like the result, but similar to other swing coat patterns I’ve made for B that are cut this way, there’s really a lot of fabric in the bodice for size of the doll. I’d like to modify this design to make a more flattering swing coat for her – and I have the perfect leopard print fur for that.

It’s hard to see on the pattern image but there’s a matching fur hat for this coat. It’s a band of fur, lined with ribbon, with a bit of elastic at the ends. This is a clever idea, but the one I made was far too small for B. The instructions specify that the fur strip should be cut to 3.25 inches long, which makes it 2.75″ once the edges are turned under. B’s head is over 5″ around, so my elastic wasn’t nearly stretchy enough. I tried another with a strip of fur that was 5.5″ by 1″ and that worked out reasonably well. I think it could be a little bit smaller. In future I’ll start with the circumference of the doll’s head then maybe take it down by half an inch. The elastic stretches but the fur doesn’t. I can’t show it to you because this whole ensemble has been shipped off to a friend. 🙂

Finally, I made dress A in cotton. This pattern is a real gem. The bodice fits B really well.

McCalls 6260 dress made by Deborah Cooke

I lined the bodice – as instructed – but didn’t follow the assembly directions. The pattern says to join the bodice and lining, and turn, then to sew the darts with the two pieces of fabric held together. Since the seam allowance on the dart is trimmed afterward, this would leave raw edges on the inside of the garment. The side seams are also to be sewn with both fabrics held together, which would give more raw edges on the inside. Instead, I did the darts on each piece separately so the raw edges could be trapped between them.

The skirt wasn’t supposed to be lined, but I lined it anyway. (Are you surprised?) I then followed my usual dress construction sequence. I sewed the hems of the skirt and skirt lining together, pressed the seam, and understitched the hem. I then sewed the center back from the lining below the opening around to the main fabric below the opening. I turned and pressed the skirt and top stitched the edges of that back slit. The skirt went into the bodice in the main fabric, then I enclosed all the seam allowances under the bodice lining, sewing the side seams in the bodice by hand. In the picture, you can see that I understitched the neckline as well. I added a ribbon belt, too.

This one had quite a deep hem in the original design, so I could modify the skirt and lining pieces to make the lining longer.

I really like this little dress, and of course, the skirt could be easily changed to be straighter, fuller, longer or some combination thereof. What’s unusual about it is how easily the bodice can be turned, once the lining is sewn to the neck edge and the sleeve edges. Because there isn’t a shoulder seam in either the bodice or the bodice lining, it’s easier to turn the garment. It reminds me of the sleeveless dress bodice McCalls 7550, one of the first patterns I used to sew for B, but turning that bodice was much more challenging – possibly because the neck was smaller. I’ll have to take a look and compare the two.

I had cut a piece of lace for the overskirt as shown in this dress pattern, but decided that it looked too much like an apron, and a permanent one at that. I left it off. I do have a dress that my grandmother made for my dolls which uses lace and taffeta together – they’re treated as one fabric, with the lace giving more interest to the taffeta, instead of the lace being a separate skirt. I may try that with this pattern.

I had originally planned to make view E as well, the jacket and trousers, but the pants are actually cut of a knit. You need the stretch to pull them over her hips. I didn’t have a knit thin enough to be in scale for the girls, but I’ll keep looking.

See how it is? I finish trying out one pattern and end up with a whole list of potential modifications and projects!

Vintage Knitting Patterns for Dolls from Mary Maxim

Posted on December 22, 2025 by Deborah Cooke

Last week, I discovered these older knitting patterns for 11.5″ fashion dolls available as PDFs from Mary Maxim. They were also on sale at the time, so I snapped them up. They include quite a number of garments each.

The first one is called Fashion Doll Wardrobe – you can find it on the Mary Maxim site right here.

It includes a (blue/white) houndstooth coat with pants, top and hat; a (green) poncho and dress; and a (peache/blue) capri set with top and short pants.

Apparently, the top and capris both have a beaded fringe at the hem, although it’s tough to see in the picture. The whole thing looks like an old photocopy. 🙂

The second one is also called Fashion Doll Wardrobe – the pattern samples are all knit in red and white.

It includes a “skating outfit” with sweater, skirt and headband; an “aran outfit” with sweater and skirt; a “casual outfit” with sweater and pants (I think that’s the top middle one); an “office outfit” of dress and short jacket; and an “evening outfit” of a long skirt and sleeveless top.

Again, the PDF pattern looks like a photocopy, but there’s a chart for the top sweater. It has a contrast star on the back.

The third pattern has a black and white product image, which is very fuzzy. This one is called Teen Doll Pattern.

From left, the pattern includes a coat and boots, worn with a straight skirt; a skating dress with panties; a long dress with an eyelet pattern on the skirt; a jacket, pants and tank top; and finally, a crocheted long dress.

Finally, there’s a very vintage pattern, Teen Age Doll Pattern Book. The description says it includes 8 outfits. Ravelry lists the original publication date of this book as 1950 but that can’t be right. The doll on the right is Midge, who was introduced in 1963.

There is the 3-piece suit for B shown on the cover, and the 3-piece outfit for K shown on the cover. There are two dresses for B: one “off-shoulder” and one v-neck. Both have a hat and purse. There’s a v-neck sweater and hat for both B and K – these look like polo shirts to me. There’s a Bermuda shorts set for both B and K, including shorts, sweater, knee socks and hat. There’s a sweater, skirt and hat for B with Rudolph on the sweater front. (That’s what it says. I don’t see it, but maybe it will be more clear in real life.) There’s a coat, hat and purse for B with fur trim which is very pretty. Then there are “ski outfits” for both B and K, with sweater, pants, mittens, socks and hat – knit in a variegated yarn, they look a bit like pjs. 🙂 I count more than 8 outfits in total, so there’s a lot of knitting in this little book.

All of the knits call for either fingering weight yarn on 2.75mm needles, or DK/sport yarn on 3mm needles. Sounds big to me, but I’ll check it out.

Ravelry shows a book (Mary Maxim, Teen Age Dolls, Vol 2: Mary Maxim Exclusive Knitted Sportswear for 9″ to 11½” Teen Age Dolls, Vol 2) which has classic Mary Maxim sweaters for Barbie, Ken and Skipper. Those would be fun to knit.

I found a print copy of this one on Etsy and have ordered it. I figured I’d print it out since the sweaters are charted, so a print copy made sense. I’ll tell you more about that one once I dig in.

Hankie Chic Caracas Dress for 12″ dolls

Posted on December 16, 2025 by Deborah Cooke

Caracas pattern for 12" dolls by Hankie Chic

I made some holiday dresses for the girls, using this pattern by Sylvia Bittner at Hankie Chic. The pattern is called Caracas, and you can buy the downloadable PDF from her online store right here.

This dress has an interesting wrap around the shoulders. It’s attached to a bodice flap overlapping the front body of the dress. The skirt has a big pleat in the front, then there are three bead buttons at the side of the bodice.

I found this pattern an easy make, so long as I didn’t think about it too much. I referred to the pictures of the final dress for that front pleat, because I would have sewn it down wrong otherwise. Similarly, I wrapped that shoulder bit a couple of times before I was convinced that I had it right. It folds back on itself (kind of) which confused me at first.

Here’s the first one I made, modelled by Continental Holilday Silkstone B.

Caracas pattern for 12" dolls by Hankie Chic made in red silk by Deborah Cooke

The three little “buttons” are gold beads, although they’re hard to see from this angle. I also bought the girls some Kaiser stands, which are pretty awesome. They almost disappear and are much more stable than the stands that come with the dolls.

I really like the base bodice design on this dress – it has a center front vertical seam from the waist to the bust, then a crosswise dart on the bust – and may use it in other garments. It fits quite well.

Caracas pattern for 12" dolls by Hankie Chic made in red silk by Deborah Cooke - bodice detail

I did change the order of assembly, in my usual way. I really like to sew the skirt and the lining together at the hem while they’re still flat, then understitch the lining. I did that with the skirt, then the same with the bodice. My handsewn seams end up being the waist seam in the lining, then the back edges to finish up.

I am lucky to have a number of friends who sew and who give me scraps of their wonderful fabrics. The red dress is made from a silk taffeta given to me by Laura.

Caracas pattern for 12" dolls by Hankie Chic made in blue silk by Deborah Cooke

Caracas pattern for 12" dolls by Hankie Chic made in pink silk by Deborah Cooke

The blue and the pink are from silk remnants given to me by Helen. The girls like them all. 🙂

These models are Lingerie #6 in the blue and Lingerie #2 in the pink.

After the first doll was dressed, I realized that she reminded me of Ravishing in Rouge from 2001. I had a look and found one at the right price, so she’s joined the other girls here. She really is lovely.

2001 Ravishing in Rouge Silkstone Barbie

I’ve still planned to make another Caracas, with the wrap in a contrasting fabric. For the moment, though, the girls have some party dresses for the festive season ahead.

Another Wardrobe

Posted on August 28, 2025 by Deborah Cooke

I don’t think there’s anything worse than a summer cold, and I’ve had a whopper of one this past week. Ugh. I shared it with the mister, so this is officially The House of Misery. I think we’re starting to improve, though – at least today, I did some crafting that I can show you.

I made another wardrobe for the girls, given that their selection of clothes is constantly increasing. This time, I’ll show you the process a little more.

First up, I started with a storage trunk from Michaels. This series had a nice big size, and the outside pattern didn’t have a direction – when I stand it on end, nothing is sideways. (Always a bonus.) This one is 16’5″ tall, not tall enough for the girls but perfect for their clothes.

I took the handle off one end – the left side, which will become the bottom. Again, this particular trunk was an excellent choice as it had tied cords for handles. I undid a knot and pulled out the cord on the left side. I added some felt feet, too.

Next, I added that cord to the top, doubling up the handle.

Stand it on end and open sesame!

inside the Michaels box, as it becomes a doll wardrobe

I papered the inside with gift wrap – this is from Hallmark. I cut a pair of 6mm bamboo needles from the dollar store to the right length and secured them in blocks of foam board (covered with the gift wrap) for the clothing bars. (That little block is necessary on the door to hold up the organizer so that the box will close. Trust me. You’ll see.) I also glued in some ribbons.

The ribbons are to hold two organizers from the dollar store. The large one is in with tools in my dollar store, not in craft supplies and organizers. The little cabinet with the pair of drawers is in the make-up section.

The large one is perfect for shoes and jewellery, while the drawers hold hats and purses. (See why we needed the lift?)

organizer in the doll wardrobe, full of shoes etc.

I tied them into the carrier, then hung up the clothes.

This particular wardrobe holds the original clothes that came with my Tonner girls. I label them (with tags from the dollar store) so I remember what came with each doll. The clothes are pretty easy to remember – the accessories, less so. One of my girls had a wig so I made a stand for it and it’s in here, too. (I bought her a different wig, which she wears most of the time.)

I buy these hangers for the wardrobes. You can find them on Etsy or at I sew for doll in several colours and sizes. (That link will take you to the product page. I have no affiliation but have had good experience with this site.) These are the large ones in bronze. They’re about 4.25″ wide and perfect for the 16″ girls (although they might push out the shoulders on a snug sweater). I hang hats with my homemade hat hangers – this is made from a mini-clothespin and a piece of wire. You can find mini-clothespins in packs of 50 or so in various colours at the dollar store or craft outlet. When I make more, I’ll make the hook a little longer, as they tend to jump off the rack.

I also add thread loops to skirts and trousers to keep them on the hangers. I use buttonhole twist and don’t fasten it in too securely – it will hold the garment on the hanger, but anyone could remove it easily to return the garment to its original state.

Voilà! The girls are organized!

I also have a new Instagram account, which is as yet quite sparse, but you can follow me there and watch things shape up.

Those Two New Girls – & Théâtre de la Mode

Posted on August 12, 2025 by Deborah Cooke

I mentioned a bit ago that I’d bought a pair of Tyler Wentworth dolls from an estate sale. They were NIB and arrived recently.

The two dolls are Capital Investment (2002) and Théâtre de la Mode La Petite Ensemble Noir (also 2002). Yes, I really should have been buying dolls in 2002. It’s amazing how many from that year (and 2003) are in my collection now.

Here are their official pix:

2002 Capital Investment Tyler Wentworth — 2002 Tyler Wentworth Capital Investment

2002 Theatre de la Mode La Petite Ensemble Noir Tyler Wentworth doll — 2002 TDLM La Petite Ensemble Noir

Why these two? Well, I was curious about the knits on Capital Investment and whether I could copy them. I also liked her blonde bob. My other blonde Tylers have updos. And I’ve wanted a TDLM doll all along, so this one spoke to me. They’re both BA body types.

And here they are in real life – I suspect that after 23 years, they were relieved to get out of their boxes.

Tyler Wentworth dolls Capital Investment and TDLM La Petite Ensemble Noir in Deborah Cooke's collection

Both dolls have earrings – the blonde’s earrings are on, while the TDLM doll’s earrings were still in their little bag. I also found a second pair of earrings in CI’s handbag, which is a bonus.

One thing I’m loving about these girls is their footwear. The boots worn by Capital Investment lace up the back, which was a nice unexpected detail. The laces are very thin elastic. (You might also notice that one heel is broken. I noticed that when taking the picture, so checked in the box in the hope that the piece was there. It was! So, now I need to get the mister to figure out what glue or epoxy will stick on this kind of plastic. Fortunately, he loves these sort of challenges.) The shoes for the TDLM doll are wonderfully detailed and very vintage-looking. Peek-a-boo toes!

boots for Tyler Wentworth Capital Investment

shoes for Tyler Wentworth TDLM La Petite Ensemble Noir

I also think that Capital Investment’s knits will be easy to replicate. In fact, all of her outfit could be copied. I think I’ll make her one in a different colour. Maybe plum.

clothes for Tyler Wentworth Capital Investment photographed by Deborah Cooke

And now that I’ve laid out her clothes to photograph like this, I think I’ll document the outfits of all the dolls in my collection this way. Since I do undress them, this would be a good way to know what pieces belong to which doll.

Here are the clothes for La Petite Ensemble Noir. This doll often sells at a low price on ebay, I think maybe because she doesn’t photograph very well, but her clothes are a delight and very detailed.

clothes for Tyler Wentworth TDLM La Petite Ensemble Noir

The black fabric feels like a fine wool. The white top is made of that taffeta that they use a lot for the Silkstone girls, as well. I’m not so much of a fan, so I may try to replicate that in silk.

The hat is amazing. From the top, it’s a swirl of feather fronds. From the underside, you can see the hat itself, a little felt (?) cap.

underside of hat for Tyler Wentworth TDLM La Petite Ensemble Noir

When you put it on the doll, the fronds spill down (in artful disarray) and you can arrange them so that they hang away from her face. It’s a bit of a precarious balance, so I think I’ll make her a little hatpin with a headpin (probably gold) and some black beads. It’s a good model for making other hats, though, maybe with fewer feather fronds.

The doll herself has beautiful vintage make-up and hair. Her fingernails are red like her lipstick, and her hair is several shades of brown. I’ll be sewing a lot for this girl!

Tyler Wentworth TDLM La Petite Ensemble Noir

I haven’t written about the Théâtre de la Mode here, but have been fascinated by it for a while. The original exhibition was assembled in Paris after WWII, to draw attention to French couturiers and encourage people to support them. It was a touring exhibition of 1/3 size dolls (70cm tall and made of wire) each one dressed by a different designer or couturier. There were 237 dolls in total, and 15 sets designed by artists. The collection ultimately ended up at the Mary Hill Museum of Art in Washington state, where they are still displayed in rotation.

Robert Tonner took inspiration from the collection for a number of Tyler Wentworth and Sydney Chase dolls, all labelled TDLM. You can read more about that (and see some pictures) in this wonderful post at The Bold Doll. (Note that the picture beside the doll I just acquired is not the inspiration for her.)

Théâtre de la Mode book by Edmonde Charles-Roux and others

Here’s an article on the exhibition on a dressmaking blog where you can see the wire dolls. The one on the left in the third row is Marcel Dhorme’s suit and Tonner’s inspiration for La Petite Ensemble Noir, my new girl.

There are several books about the exhibit. I bought this one which includes a catalogue at the back of all the mannequins. This is an Amz.ca link. (No affiliate link on that one.)

There isn’t a really great picture online of Marcel Dhorme’s cocktail suit, so I took a photo from my copy of the book. It’s not a great picture either but it’s the one on the left.

Marcel Dhorme's black cocktail suit from Théâtre de la Mode

I had a peek at the Dreamcastle Dolls Tonner reference and they list 23 TDLM dolls by Robert Tonner. (You can find them listed in Doll List Q – Z.) Surely, I won’t collect them all….

Here’s a wonderful video by the Bold Doll site, showing the Tonner TDLM dolls and their inspiration, as well as a bit about TDLM. You can also read their blog post here.

A Knitted Coat for Tyler

Posted on July 29, 2025 by Deborah Cooke

You might remember the knitted coat and hat I made for Barbie, using patterns from Sticka till Barbie. The pattern was #101 Yellow Coat along with the coordinating hat. That post is right here.

I decided to resize the pattern for my 16″ girls, and I think it came out pretty well. I used Koigu KPM and it took almost the entire 50g skein for the coat. Fortunately, I had another skein to make a matching hat.

This is Mosaic Modern Sydney Chase doing the honours today. I wish I had an umbrella to add to this combo. It has a bit of a retro look, and not just because of the shoes. (They are from a shoe pack, which included the pink slingbacks that Tyler is wearing in the picture below this one.)

Knit coat for Tyler Wentworth, knit from Koigu KPM by Deborah Cooke

The Koigu KPM has a kettle-dyed look, which worked out really well for this one. I was afraid a variegated or space-dyed yarn might pool – also Sydney says she can wear it with more things.

If I knit a second one, I might add pockets to the front. I thought of that this time, but wasn’t entirely certain what row they should be on. I’ll mark this one, just at her hand, then count the rows up from the front to know for next time.

I would make them like the pockets in this cardigan – it’s hard to see the line of cast off stitches in each front but have a look. The pocket hangs inside, like a welt pocket without much of a welt. I can just slide the tip of my finger into it.

Cabled cardigan knit by Deborah Cooke for Tyler Wentworth

I also made Sydney a blouse and skirt to wear with this knitted coat. She looks like a librarian to me in this combo, thus the glasses and book.

Top and skirt sewn for Tyler Wentworth by Deborah Cooke

This is the blouse from McCalls 3701 (the same pattern used for the pink one above) which is actually a bodysuit. It’s made of Liberty Tana Lawn. Quite a clever little design, even if the collar is fussy fussy.

Fashion Doll Clothing by Rosemarie Ionker

The skirt is drawn from the basic skirt sloper in Rosemarie Ionker’s Fashion Doll Clothing. It’s made of Kaffe Fassett shot cotton and lined with Bemberg rayon.

And two more girls are on their way to me, NRFB and from an estate sale. I’ll show them to you when they arrive. 🙂

Dolls, Dolls, Dolls

Posted on July 14, 2025 by Deborah Cooke

It appears that when I’m stressed, I buy dolls. Who would have guessed that my comfort-indulgence would have no calories at all?

Here are the two newest girls who have joined the party.

First up is Alexandra Fairchild Ford, a doll from 2000. On the left is a pic of this doll still in the box. On the right, mine is unboxed and in all her splendor.

Alexandra Fairchild Ford Museum Gala 2000 — Alexandra Fairchild Ford 2000 Museum Gala

This is from the first year of Alexandra Fairchild Ford dolls. She has no articulation in arms or legs, but I think she’s pretty. Since this one had been in the box all these years, her taffeta skirt was a bit creased – it’s longer than the doll is tall, so it covers the stand. It also has to get jammed into the box a bit when she’s packed up. The humid weather we’ve had lately has helped the taffeta to relax.

The AFF dolls have particularly nice clothes, IMO. This taffeta skirt has beads and a bit of embroidery on it, as well as having a tulle underskirt to make it stand out. It’s worth an attempt to copy. The knitted sweater opens at the back, and I’ll be taking it off the doll to figure out how to replicate it. The jewellery was packed separately – a necklace and a wire bracelet – so I put them on. She also has a purse with a beaded handle but since her wrists don’t bend, she doesn’t hold onto it well.

The AFF dolls also have eyelashes, which is kind of neat, and this one has a bellybutton stud. You can see her eyelashes a little better in the right picture.

She also has thigh-high black stockings with a back seam, and a pair of shoes. I’ve seen a lot of people trying to make shoes for their 16″ dolls on social media lately, and these have a design that could be copied if you had the shoe bases. It’s a bias tube pressed flat (although you might be able to use a 1/4″ ribbon) and there’s a metal snap on the strap under the shiny bead.

Alexandra Fairchild Ford Museum Gala doll shoes

The trick, of course, is finding the shoe forms.

Another interesting detail in that shot. You can see that the skirt is lined in a contrasting taffeta. It’s shot taffeta, with the mauve in one direction and a pewter similar to the outer skirt in the other direction. All the little details. 🙂

Daphne Dimples 2004 Black & White Ball — 2004 Daphne Black & White Ball

Next up, a Tonner doll. This is the first nude doll I’ve purchased. Here’s her official photo, although I don’t have any of her clothes or accessories. She’s Daphne Dimples Black & White Ball from 2004.

I’ve always thought she had a beautiful face sculpt, but she’s hard to find in the wild and often pricey.

So, this time, I bought a nude doll. I’ve been wanting a girl with long blonde hair – my two blonde Tylers have updos – and I like the vintage look of her make-up. This character is a rival reporter to Brenda Starr and a lot of her outfits are wonderfully retro. You can see them on the Dreamcastle site right here – mine is the first Daphne.

Here’s her picture from the listing:

She is taking the US tour typical of packages shipped under ebay’s international shipping program, but I’m hoping she turns up soon. I immediately thought that she needed a cheongsam, maybe because she does reminds me a bit of Kate Capshaw in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. When I work out the cheongsam (and she arrives) I’ll show you both. (Let’s hope she doesn’t start singing Anything Goes in Mandarin.)

Alive & Knitting

Knitting and other tangled webs we weave

Category Archives: Miniatures & Dolls