Certainly Helena deserves a dress (and a body). Please channel your inner Beth and set the doll hospital to work once more. What lovely objects to have in your home. Imagine the stories they could tell over the tea table.

Nice! She looks much more at home in the new dress. Maybe you can make & stuff some tiny gloves/mittens. She can hold one and wear one like in the book. Or her hand is small enough you might be able to put one over it either way. I think I saw gloves in one of your references.

If you haven't watched Katelyn Heisch's series on making an 1850's wardrobe for her period china doll, I highly recommend it. She is also sharing the patterns. I believe she is planning on making an 1860's one next year. I was lucky to find a porcelain doll with a cute little dress at my local thrift shop. I bought her instantly with no hesitation to work on a wardrobe to show the layers when I am doing living history. I later found out that she was a part of a set from a Japanese company that was the March sisters and Marmee. I did a little more research and found out that the one that i have is Beth!!!! So I have named her Elizabeth Anne: Elizabeth in honor of Beth and Anne so she has the same middle name as myself. She will have a new wardrobe in the coming months as well. Ms. B of the Flying V-S Farm.

I loved all the pictures of girls and their dolls! Your doll’s dress came out beautifully! 💜

I have a couple of old dolls that I make clothes for all the time. It's fun and harmless and I enjoy it. Her name will come to you, just be patient.

Lovely dress. You can make her a replacement hand with paperclay, which is an air dry clay that is white. You can form it right onto the doll. I recently made a replacement foot on an antique china head doll with paperclay.

Nice job restoring this pretty China doll! I recently thrifted one and have just finished her. Luckily I didn’t have to make a new dress but I had to do some “splinting” on her body as you did. Her dress turned out great. Thanks for sharing your process. 😃

She looks lovely. She's a beautiful doll. I think she looks like an Amelia.😊❤

All dolls deserve to live

Traditional glue is hide glue. Normally it comes in flakes, needs to be mixed with water in a bain-marie, and hardens when it cools, so have to pre-warm the thing you are gluing otherwise it hardens when you put it on the cold items to glue, but modern technology has helped create a more stable, less messy hide glue that comes in a liquid form, and can be applied with a paintbrush. If you sew a piece of fabric to the fabric part of the arm, then carefully glue it down over the china, it will stay and keep the china part of the arm from falling off and breaking. Be sure that the fabric is glued over the china arm only, since it dries hard. When the glue is wet be sure to wipe off any excess before it sets otherwise it won't come off easily.

Yay for dolly content!

Clara could use some pantaloons! Any chance of ordering a new right hand when you get the parts for Helen? Love to see you make a body and dress for Helen! I have two colonial adult dolls , just the China parts! I’ve been meaning to construct them.

Clara might be a nice name for your doll.

You did such a wonderful job! Beth March would be proud! (and I totally recognized that Kirsten bed and quilt!)

Beth of course.

❤❤

I decided to name one of my (reproduction) china head dolls "Anna Eleanor" after Eleanor Roosevelt.

What about calling her Louisa?

My antique china dolls say hi

Can you wash the bodies of these dolls somehow? I have my great grandmother's china head doll with original body - that my great great grandmother sewed and stuffed with cotton. The body needs cleaning, I have no idea what is a safe way to do it. Any ideas?

Mine need names

😻 Promo sm!!!