Project: Pippi Longstocking 2

For my Pippi, I purchased an Australian Girl (Matilda) doll. I had seen a few of these dolls online, but never actually seen one "in the flesh" before and I was very pleased with her when she arrived.

Her vinyl is smooth and an attractive colour. I've never been keen on fabric stuffed bodies, however, her firmly stuffed fabric torso only extends from just under the bustline to her crotch. Her limbs have an acceptable degree of movement and her head can be rotated in several directions which is critical when photographing a doll. 

She has a very pleasant face with a lovely smile. Her shoulder length hair is curly and reasonably soft to touch. I like her big green eyes and those little teeth are perfect . . . not too large or intrusive.

Lashes are a soft, but I would like them better if they were more shapely. She can sleep on her back and she has body blushing in the right places.

She has a little gap in her toes, so she can wear thongs (flip flops) on her feet. 

The fingers on her hands are quite nice, not too pudgy with beautifully shaped fingernails.They are partially curved, so she can hold things, like a ball or perhaps a teddy bear.

Overall, I think she was the right choice for my Pippi. What do you think?

Project: Pippi Longstocking 1

My Pippi (yet to be completed) is inspired by the Pippi Långstrump books written by Swedish author Astrid Lindgren, which were first published in 1945.

REFERENCE WIKIPEDIA: Pippi is red-haired, freckled, unconventional and superhumanly strong – able to lift her horse one-handed. She is playful and unpredictable. She often makes fun of unreasonable adults, especially if they are pompous and condescending. Her anger comes out in extreme cases, such as when a man ill-treats his horse. Pippi, like Peter Pan, does not want to grow up. She is the daughter of a buccaneer captain and has adventure stories to tell about that too. Her four best friends are her horse who is nameless, a monkey called Mr. Nilsson, and the neighbours' children, Tommy and Annika. Pippi's two main possessions are a suitcase full of gold coins (which she used to buy her horse) and a large chest of drawers containing various small treasures.

The first U.S. edition was published late in 1950 by The Viking Press with illustrations by Louis S. Glanzman.

My edition is more recent, it was published in the UK in 2007 and is illustrated by Lauren Child.

All the illustrations of Pippi vary from book to book, and there have even been different versions of Pippi dolls (on eBay) from time to time. However, I shall use my own imagination and a little creative licence to bring you my version of Pippi based on descriptions of her clothing in the book.

Her full name in the original book is Pippilotta Comestibles Windowshade Curlymint Ephraims daughter Longstocking. Which is quite a mouthful, I must say!

This will be an ongoing project over the coming months and I will often be so engrossed in this project I may not be here for days or weeks on end . . . but I will return, I assure you.

Big hugs,
X

A New Model Coming Soon

I have been tempted on several occasions to purchase an American Girl doll purely as a model for making a new range of clothing. However, I'm not overly fond of soft body dolls and have never really liked that the neckline on these dolls doesn't look the best as you can see in this photo.

So in my search for a suitable replacement I found this little home bred sweetie on eBay . . . Matilda, an Australian Girl.

Australian Girl dolls are 50cm tall (5cm taller than American Girls), made from firm phthalate free vinyl. They have two thirds soft body with a vinyl breastplate which, unlike most soft body dolls, makes it possible for them to wear garments with lower necklines.

They have strong fully rotational ball joints with durable elastic cord, can stand alone and be posed in different positions. The hair is finest quality kankelon (used in human wigs) and can be washed and styled.

Although a new American Girl sells for around US$115, by the time you add international shipping and then convert it to AU$'s they work out costing over $200. So at AU$159.95 with free delivery, I thought Matilda was a reasonably priced purchase.

She's being shipped via Fastway Couriers from Queensland, and her ETA is 22nd May.

She also has the bonus of red hair, green eyes and little teeth. :)
Hugs till next time!