Corseting Tascha


18th and 19th century dolls were both plaything and teacher for little girls. Not only did they provide a friend to play with and hours of loving company, but they also taught little ones rules of fashionable dress and how to be a proper little ladye. As some modern dollys teach how to tie shoe laces, some early dolls taught how to tie up a corset or set of stays.

Tascha is an antique 1830 mache doll on milliner body with carved wood arms and legs. I dressed her as a fashionable ladye of the time, which required her to slip on her pantaloon and chemise first, before her new corset. To corset dolly, first I lay the corset, with back fully undone, over the front of her, where it is intended to fit

The top of the corset should come up to, bit not overlapping the shoulder plate. 1830 corsets were meant to compress and flatten everything, even the bust. Towards the latter 1830s, gussets were inserted to allow fullness in the breast, but still retaining the sleek flat lines

I then flip dolly over on her tummy, and hold the lace directly in the center. Each end is then thread onto a blunt eye tapestry needle, and the back of the corset is very loosely laced down both sides, from the top to the hips, going thru every other hole, just like a shoe is laced. At this point , we just want the laces to run thru each hole, with even amount at the excess of each side.

I flip dollye back over, and tie her shoulder straps in bows, tucking the excess lace ends into the corset under the arms. Women would usually just tie and knot these laces, and cut off the excess, as they would shimmy in and out of them without bothering to untie the shoulder straps.

Flipping dollye back around, you can see her corset fully laced, very loosely, with the ends hanging. For Tascha's little corset, her back lacing is over a yard long.

Starting at the top, and slipping your index finger under the first set of 2 laces, where they cross and make an "x", gently pull up and snug up the laces in pairs, to draw in both sides at the same time, and follow this down all the way to the bottom.

A properly fit corset will have a wide gap in the back. Once the fit suits the wearer, the laces are tied in a double bow at the bottom, the excess coiled and tucked up within the corset.

With her wide wooden busk running the full length of the corset, Tascha could never ever bend at the waist! The hips are well enclosed by it as well, making sitting a very uncomfortable affiar for a fashinable ladye of the time. Furniture of the period recognized this, and chairs were made differently for men and women. A ladyes chair was not as deep in the seat as a mans', and often had no arms, or arms that only extended half way to the edge of the seat, to afford her a little more comfort whilst trying to balance herself on the edge of it.

Dreaming...

Our snow is gone, and hark this! What a beautiful Autumn has befallen us. The days seem to pass so quickly to me, hardly any time for dreams, but I must make time~ for who else shall? Dollys have been very very lively, and all excited....why is it that there is such a feeling of merriment when the crisp breezy air comes? Tascha has finished her repose here at the Inn for now, and has gone away back home, we all miss her Dearly. Emma dressed to say her goodbyes, and while she was waiting for me to say my own fare-thee-wells to Tascha, here she had gathered Grete in her arms and was softy, gently swaying back and forth, muttering little girl's secrets that a goode dollye would never, ever tell............

Emma is wearing a beautiful late 1830's dress of super thin tissue silk in a multi color blue stripe. The height of the huge full gigot sleeves was 1835-6, after this, they began to deflate, in the form of the fullness being tamed down in the form of pleats~ 1837 the pleats at the top of the arm, and gradually made their way down, 1838 sleeves banded down to the elbow, until just an awkward poof remained at the fore-arm, and by 1839-40, sleeves were tight as a second skin with the armscye seam waaaaay up under the armpit, usually making for a horizontal stress fold as seen in pictures of the era~ anyways, looking at unaltered sleeves are a good way of dating. This dress has matching lined pelerine as well.


Silhouette wise, the 1830s are my favorite era, just imagine a whole schoolroom full of sweet little cherubs...and some not so sweet I'm sure, bobbing about and playing in dresses such as this, but in a more washable cotton vis silk.

This dress was in my mind when I designed Tascha's dress, but since Tascha is older, and not a child, I gave her a wider and fuller pleated band on the front of her gown, more grown up. Here you can see the pleating on the sleeves to hold the fullness in, and the superb use of the stripe to lend effect of movement Doesn't Emma look like she could have walked into a store, and picked out a new dollye to take home? She is holding a c1820 patchwork reticule in silks, and wearing a period net cap

I could see a smile stretch on Tascha's face, a feeling of being one and whole again. At one time, a little girl beheld her for the first time, just like this

I hand stitched her dress(Tascha) from mid 19th c very thin calico. I did NOT wash it, as the age marks do nothing but add character and realism~ she loves her new dress. The arm, shoulder and side seams are piped, as well as the front plastron that holds the pleats down.

There are 2 piped bands round each sleeve, and I faced about the bottom 5" of her skirting with heavy polished cotton, as it just didn't hang right without the added weight. She wears her new dress over polished cotton petticoat, corset, chemise and pantaloon, all hand stitched from antique fabrics.

I will be posting her dressing into her corset in the next few days. Dollys like this were used for play, but also to teach the little ones proper dress, and what work was required in getting in and out of everything. Imagine if all they had to do was learn how to tie their shoes....instead of lace up a corset for their sister!
Dancing and Dreaming with dollye...........how I would love to spend all of my days

City Springs......

In olde days, if a person needed refreshment....a place where they could cleanse their body and spirit, they oft found themselves on a journey to the nearest hot springs.....which were always revered for their special powers to heal. Our Dear Tascha was in such a need~ her precious porcelain white complexion blackened so horribly by the fire. Thru all the smoke and soot, her spirit can be seen shining so bright!

The previous repair to her shoulders did not like the heat, and bubbled up and chipped off, taking the layer of gesso under the paint with it. Here you can see the raw mache she was made of~ to study it up close was a gift in itself~ little wee bits of horsehair and sawdust can clearly be seen, along with the seams of her 3 part mold she was cast in.

Originally, I was to repaint Dear one....something I just could not bring myself to do. I just could not cover up her character and disposition with a new layer of foreign modern paint. To look into her eyes, is like looking into a living soul~ she begged me for something better than paint. Over the next several weeks, I carefully and slowly cleaned off her layers of soot. She was refreshed to have her skin breathing again! Being clean is a wonderful feeling~ she has told me this, and as well, you can see it in her expression! I blackened her hair where the heat had turned the black to green....her hairline, and all the paint on her precious face is ORIGINAL .

Her arms and legs were a mess. What the fire didn't blacken, the water from trying to put it out lifted and puckered the gesso, causing it to pop off in many places. Her shoes were a deep Forest green~ what is left of the paint here shows the original paint lines, and as well a most curious detail! See the little hole there? That was where a twig once was. Once, c1830, a carver was sitting whittling away on pairs of hands and feet for the doll factory. He most likely carved a perfect foot there, but between carving and painting, was knocked around in a satchel or bag, and the twig fell out. The painter simply painted over the hole, and off the feet went for our Dear Tascha!

Grubby, sooty hands. You can see the line on the left, half way betwixt her fingers and wrist, where her dress sleeve protected her arm from the hot smoke

Cleaned arms & legs with newly painted dark green shoes~ ready to be reattached!

Her pretty sawdust filled kid leather body was soaked and cut away after the fire. This is the top of her wooden legs~ one of the original paper tapes remains, and I was able to save it, as well as the one remaining on her right arm, and reused them on her new body.

On a MM body, the arms and legs are longer than a normal doll, and they attach to the body higher up~ with no elbow or knee joints. I hand stitched her body using a copy of an original MM body pattern, and once enlarged, she has now the exact proportions as she was originally~ There was still a scant bit of kid wrapped around both the arms and legs~ I was able to peel this off, and use for the measurement of the pattern at these key areas. I enlarged the pattern until the fit was right, and everything else fit into place like a puzzle.

I left her upper arms unstuffed, so they would be nice and floppy to be easily dressed again. I also did not want to add unneeded pressure to the shoulderplate, as this could cause it to crack over time. She is stuffed potato firm~ very hard, which enables her to stand. I made her new body from a thick duck~ didn't use kid as it does stretch with stuffing, and is a bit more difficult to sew. This type of body would have been originally stuffed with sawdust~ which can mold and attract rodents over time, so Tascha is filled with an inert poly. The legs are attached, with glue first , before stuffing...when dry, the body is then filled up to the neck edge, where it is stitched closed. I basically did the same thing, except with poly. After the glue was dry on the joins, I replaced the paper tape bands

A happy girl, back to her shapely self!

As to not stress the shoulderplate, I carefully stuffed the top torso to fit her chest juuuust right, then a smidge of white glue, and she is whole again

What a happy girl! Here she is with her new chemise standing in the gallery. I am working on her pantaloon now, and then we will take pictures of her wearing her new corset.

A Dear Corset for Dearest Tascha......

Firstly, let me say that it is sooooo good to be back online! We have had absolutely horrible service from our old internet provider, Hughes Satelight Internet, and finally took the plunge to go with Wild Blue~ what a mistake that was, waiting so long to do it! I just couldn't be happier with Wild Blue, I'm zooming along at light speed and and am finally back online after waaaay too long! While we were on holiday for a month, I took along a few things to work on, and Tascha's corset was one of them. I don't have a size reference in the pictures, but ruffly it fits in my outstretched hand.

I am so behind on my blog postings and do so apologize for that!~ In the near future Ill be posting more pictures of Tascha as I cleaned and restored her body~ but until then, I just had to share her 'unmentionables' with you, as they came out so far beyond my expectations, and honestly, I'm really proud of how they turned out!

Tascha is mid to late 1830s, so I gave her a period fitting corset with gussets at the hips and breast. Being that she is very flat chested in her shoulderplate, just like Dear Grete, the gusset at the breast is done in embroidery only....to give the look, but with no extra fullness there. I hand stitched this in taupe linen & cotton threads over antique polished cotton. 6 strands cotton were used for the cording in the body

I embroidered a simple primitive floral design in the same thread I used for the corded channels. I really like the monochromatic look...if you recall, I did Grete's in a dark indigo blue color, which was very popular in the period(surface embroidery & quilting in contrasting color than the base material)

I hand dyed 1/8th inch all cotton braid for the back lacing, and hand stitched all 28 eyelets over brass rings that I also hand made from 1/32 solid brass rod.

I left the top and bottom bindings for last, since I didn't take Tascha with me, so if needed I could adjust the fit a little, with the width of the bindings....but as it was, it was just perfect so I went with a scant binding just showing on the front.

I love the look of the lacings on the back. Those you see to the side, are tapes for tying the shoulder straps towards the front. Usually these were tied at the first wearing, knotted and left tied, so the wearer would only undo the back lacings and then shimmy out of her corset at the end of the day.

Next is a picture of the center front wooden busk. I sanded and sanded a sliver of pine to fit, and then just burned a simple little design into it. A pretty little hearte at the top, a tall masted ship in the middle, with date, and my 'Diamond K' trademark at the bottom. Burned into the back is Tascha's name, Edyth & My names, and the date I made it. I left the binding at the top of the busk pocket unstitched, so it may be removed if needed....its a tight fit, so I didn't bother to remove it for another picture. If you click on the picture to enlarge it, you can see where I drew on my embroidery design before stitching.
Hope you enjoyed seeing Tascha's new corset! I have her a reproduction chemise already finished, and we are working on her new dress as I write. As I get caught up, I will be posting a lot more on the blog~ sharing a bit of what we did on holiday, and dollys and dresses and bits of olde~ Hope you come on back soon, I have missed you all!

Once Upon a Time......

In a land not too far away down in Texas... lived a beautiful, Mystical, Heavenly dollye, named Tascha. She was an all original, late 1830's, 22" mache Milliner's Model, with hand carved wooden arms and legs on her pristine kid leather body.

She resided in an 18th century Red Cape with her owners, and lived a privileged life of leisure....dare I say, at a place here in our world, where past met present, and Heaven really did touch the earth.

She held the most coveted spot in her Mistresses' heart, and stood faithfully beside her bedstead. It was a charmed life. An unbelievable life of a fairy tale, when one horrible day, lightning struck her beloved Red Cape, and so much was lost


Tascha was a lucky girl, pulled with so many of her sisters from the fire. Her kid body, soaked from the fire fighter's valiant effort to save her home, was cut away and her arms, legs and head set out to dry. I imagine it was a strange and horrible time for her....but as you can see, her spirit could not be broken. Tascha has been sent here to me for restoration, and having received permission from her owner, I would be honored to share her story here with you all on the blog.

She is such an amazing doll, and we have come to admire each other greatly over our time together. She has many tales to tell, that no amount of smoke or fire could strip from her.

Tascha is nearly finished now, we are having a wonderful time stitching up her new wardrobe. I will be posting bits of our journey together here a little at a time, and you may keep track of her and her progress by clicking on the "Tascha" tab on the sidebar. She will one day be her Grande self once again, to take her place by her Mistresses' bed stead once more.........