My head has been busy in the 17th century, so dolls have taken a back seat. But they’ll be back. Today I cut out the dresses for the triple flips and I will do a tutorial this week showing how to use my basic small doll dress pattern to make 3 very different dresses. Stay tuned.

Last time we visited the 1600’s (Plans and Progress), I was thinking about making a small, doll-sized embroidered casket.

17th Century Flat-topped Casket

I have decided that my big one will be a flat-topped casket and all about fairies. But, I didn’t think fairies would be good for the small one. Doing figures with faces on such a small scale wouldn’t allow for the detail I want.

When I discussed this with DH, he immediately cut through my befuddlement and suggested that the small one should be decorated with forest life: where the fairies live. Animals, birds, bugs, flowers, trees, etc. He loves to solve problems and fix things. That’s one of the best reasons why I keep him around!

Since DH was busy on July 4 working on a project outdoors and SG was with her parents, I had an independent day (sorry for the pun).

I was able to figure stuff out and get inspired without interruptions.

17th Century Double Casket

With my plans buzzing in my head, I made the 1/3 scale templates for my doll-sized, double casket. It will measure approximately 4″ x 4″ x I’m not sure how tall.

The casket forms available from Thistle Threads have beautifully-made, period-style hardware. The beautiful one shown above was just completed by a Cabinet of Curiosities student, Janice Gail. You can read more about it here.

To recreate the hardware in a smaller scale would be problematic. But I studied pictures of 17th century ones and many had hidden hinges and simple escutcheons, so that’s how I’ll do mine.

I purchased bass wood planks at the craft store and “pink champagne” (light beige) colored Duchesse silk satin on sale at the fabric store for my background fabric.

Next step will be to make the wood form. Then, I can start designing the embroidery. I’m excited.

My “Winter Casket Keepsakes” are coming along nicely and I am learning so many new stitches that I can use on my caskets. The grey stitches in the photo above are just basting stitches. Amy Mitten’s tutorials are very clear and easy to follow.

I also need to get started on my Bru’s fairy costume. My next step is fitting the neckline, then tracing the embroidery. I always slow down on the fiddly bits of a project.

My goal was to post at least 3 times each week over the summer. Last week, I only posted twice. I’m juggling as fast as I can. I’ll try to keep up.