"I am ready for my close up now......"

“Sunset Boulevard”

Gloria Swanson

as

Norma Desmond

(photo courtesy of TED - thanks)

WOW... I am overwhelmed.. I won a second challenge! And this was a really hard challenge. Thank-you TED and Alexandria.

Truth is this is a design idea I have wanted to revisit for quite a while. I also was not interested in doing the challenge exactly by all the guidelines (doll) this time, because in the end I wanted to have a beautiful doll. I started a cocoon coat a few years back and lost interest in doing it when a new challenge presented itself. So when I told a coworker about this challenge she suggested “Sunset Boulevard” I snapped up that suggestion knowing it would give me another chance to play with that design idea again. When I first attempted (years ago) to do this design my fabric choice was just too heavy + my intention was to douche it in fur which made it sooo bulky. But now I have a chance to rethink and redesign. I tore my doll room apart to find the old project but I must have dumped it ..Luckily TED was gratuitous enough to give us the challenge early to research I was able to design and sew on my day off (Sunday). The biggest part of that day was designing the cocoon coat. Knowing the one I did before was a failure I could take some short cuts I would not have normally. Luckily the first mockup I made looked perfect and my test was out of some odd silk I had so I have a coat to spare, which I gave to Dot. I only had to tweak the hem line to get some additional drama I was looking for.
Early on I knew I was not going to use the Alex doll even though I had one. She is not articulated. I am so spoiled now I will not do a big doll with out actuation. I also knew to get the dramatic stance I wanted to project the character the doll would have to be articulated. I love this period in textile design but to get the really drapey effect on a small doll is not an easy task. So off I go on Monday’s lunch break to find silk georgette. No luck. So back to my fabric stashes...I did find the fabric I had for my original project and hoped I could get it to do my bidding.
I draped the dress mostly on the doll with out a pattern. The skirt is simply 3 half circles with an inset of silk down the front. After attaching the skirt it was not draping happily for me. So my next step was to my happy Rowenta Iron.
With pins and steam I stretched the bias of the skirt and created lots of little pleats. When complete I was thrilled for the skirt contentedly snugged into the body of the doll for the silhouette I was hoping for. One thing I have been thankful for doing PDW is that I have been doing a lot of experiments due to time restraints. Lucky for me experiments like this one has been successful and has added tools to my sewing arsenal.

Another truth about this doll is she is NOT finished. This doll “Screams” for beading and it is my intention to go back and add a lot of beading detail. Jim Farone has ask me to donate an OOAK for the Live Auction benefiting Children with Aids at this summers IFDC. This is the doll that I will be donating.

There were some questions on the group about where I got the cigarette the doll holds. Well I made it and it was so easy any one can do this. I used a round Tooth pick and cut off one pointy end.
I always keep black nail polish in my doll craft cart It comes in very handy for soooo many doll projects you would not believe. I painted the whole tooth pick black and when it dried I simply dipped the end of it in the bottle of white paint to what I thought would be a good size for a cigarette. When that dried I dipped just the end into a puddle of gold paint.
Sooooooo easy...right?

Dollie-ON,

Durelle