In the December, 2014 issue of Antique Doll Collector magazine, Margaret Gray Kincaid wrote an article about “Christmas Fairies” with beautiful photos and their charming English history. The story goes that Santa fills the stockings, but the Christmas Fairy brings the tree and toys.
So I needed to make a Christmas Fairy myself.
Yesterday afternoon, after a trip to the craft store for star stickers and silver wrapped wire, then to the local garden center for wired tinsel, she came to life.
The doll is 10″ (25.4cm) tall and has a composition head and body. She is marked SFBJ Paris. I’ve had her for a while and I was just waiting around for her to tell me what she wanted to wear.
She told me that she wanted to be a Fairy. Her wig is an old lambskin that I had taken off another doll.
Her dress is made from cotton pointe d’esprit net over BLUE cotton gauze. I tied it in the back, so it is removable. This is another patternless dress made from rectangles of fabric. It is all machine stitched.
Then I got busy gaudy-ing it up. For the wings, I marked a pattern on tissue paper, placed the net on top and stitched the wired tinsel down over the pattern lines. Then I tore away the tissue paper. The wings are just tucked into the back of her belt.
I was thrilled that the Christmas Fairies in the article didn’t have shoes, so I didn’t have to make shoes for her. Whew!
I like her.
I’ve been wanting to try to make one. Yours is wonderful! What did you use for the wand (besides the star sticker)?
The wand is a bamboo skewer, wrapped with silver thread covered wire from the florist department at the craft store. I just glued it with tacky glue and wrapped it, then added the sticker with a “jeweled” star on top.
Thanks! I’ll have to look for the wired thread. Didn’t know there was such a thing.
I like her too))))))
I love her. Now I just need the right doll. Thanks for the inspiration.
Your fairy is charming and quite a standout at Sugarland Doll Searchers Dec. Meeting last night!