somebody get that baby some clothes!

This is my Madame Alexander doll. My mom had several very beloved Mme Alexander dolls as a girl and they all had the most incredible wardrobes. My grandmother would make dresses, nighties, coats, and hats for them. And these dolls were no collector's items, encased in glass for viewing purposes only. Mom loved them fiercely and played with them so much that by the time I came along, a few had become half-bald, a few had lost a limb or two, and at least one had eyes that no longer did that thing where they pop open when the doll is vertical, then close when the doll lies down. But they were still the most beautiful dolls.

While my Mom's dolls are all Velveteen rabbity, my doll is not feeling the love. I got her about five years ago, because she's beautiful and I'm nostalgic about these dolls. But she has sat on the shelf, in the outfit she came in and never even got a name. Or maybe I named her several times, and then forgot what I named her. She's been wearing the same froofy Easter dress for the last five years and she's tired of it.



I went on eBay and found some vintage patterns—at least one of them is the same pattern Grandma used to make clothes for Mom's dolls. They arrived in the mail a few days ago and I have already started a nightgown. Patterns from the fifties, however, seem a bit cryptic to me as they assume a higher level of sewing skill than I currently possess. But I plan to persevere because this baby needs some clothes.

And I've settled on a name for her. She is Dolly.