Poppets Archives • Page 4 of 6 • Paper Thin Personas

Explorer’s Outfit with a Bunny Companion

May 28, 2020November 11, 2016

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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations: Fig & Me Dolls, Stuffed Bunnies, Oliver & S Sewing Patterns and Adventures

I have fond memories of exploring as a child. I was lucky enough to live in a small town in Alaska with lost of wilderness around me, so it wasn’t hard to just hike back into the woods and feel like you were in some secret place where no one had ever been.

So, the Poppets are off exploring today in this outfit designed for the occasion complete with a bag to carry back treasures in and a bunny companion.

I had a stuffed bunny as a child named Mr. Bunny (I still have him) and so I have always had a fondness for stuffed bunnies.

Today’s paper doll’s shirt is based off an Oliver + S sewing pattern called Hopscotch Skirt and Knit Top. I’ve always had a fondness for Oliver + S, because they used to use paper dolls in their pattern packaging.

Her shoes were inspired by this Fig & Me doll’s shoes.

So, my question to all of you is this- Did you have exploring adventures when you were a child? And where did you go to have them?

As always, if you love the blog, then think about supporting it on Patreon.

Need a paper doll to wear today’s outfit? Pick a Poppet Paper Doll Here.

Poppets: Floral Border Printed Vintage Inspired Paper Doll Dress

May 19, 2020October 21, 2016

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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations: Bow-Tie Blouses, Mary Engelbreit’s Flowers, Colorful shoes and the November 1954 Betsy McCall Paper Doll.

Personally, I can’t imagine putting a child in a cream colored dress and not expecting a disastrous spill/stain or something to happen to that dress five minutes later, but part of the pleasure of paper dolls is that reality doesn’t actually have to enter into it. Plus, the Poppets are based on ball-jointed dolls and not real children, so presumably pieces of resin are capable to keeping out of trouble.

One of the things I really love about this dress is the floral border. It was a later addition to the design. Originally, I was just going to do a wide stripe, like I did on the coat-dress from Tuesday. However, I didn’t want to repeat myself so soon, so I decided on some Mary Engelbreit inspired flowers along the hem.

The November 1954 Betsy McCall paper doll had two dresses with ties around their necks, but I’ll confess that I spent a lot of time looking at different Betsy McCall paper dolls and they all start to flow together after a while. Each page also has a little story on it. I tried to read a few, but stuff written for children in the 1950s, just isn’t that compelling to me.

So, next week will begin my first week of different pieces from different series posting. I am nervous and excited. We’ll start the week out with a Retro inspired astronaut and continue from there.

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Need a paper doll to wear today’s outfit? Pick a Poppet Paper Doll Here.

Poppets: Heading to the Seashore in a Nautical 1950s Inspired Paper Doll Dress

May 19, 2020October 20, 2016

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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations: Sailboats, Maritime Signal Flags, and Satchel Bags, like these

I grew up on the coast. On sunny days, which aren’t that common in Southeast Alaska, you could watch from the living room the sailboats as they whipped up and down the channel. I remember watching them as a child. There was a large marker warning people that there was a shoal, but people often ignored it during sailboat races and so, once in a while, a boat would end up stuck in the mud until high tide.

None of the boats on today’s paper doll skirt will likely have that problem.

The color scheme of today’s Poppet paper doll dress is based on maritime signal flags. When my father was studying for some sort of nautical exam, we spent time together looking through the signal flags and I’ll always think of those colors when I think of nautical inspired paper doll outfits.

When I was studying in England, I got a brown leather satchel, a lot like our paper doll’s red version. I carried it for many years, bit eventually the leather split. I’ve always loved how a nice satchel looks.

As always, I’d love to hear that people think in the comments.

Need a paper doll to wear today’s outfit? Pick a Poppet Paper Doll Here.

Poppets: A Yellow and Blue Vintage Style Paper Doll Dress

May 19, 2020October 19, 2016

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It is easy, given that most photographs of the 1950s and 1960s are black and white, to forget that there was color back then. I really wanted to embrace color when I designed this dress. I was super inspired by a February 1959 Betsy McCall paper doll, but then I simplified things and changed some things too.

Along with the dress, I decided to do a journal and a piece of paper with a pencil as today’s accessories. I remember that all through Elementary and Middle School we had to keep a journal. I never really liked do it, but it was one of those things. I was once way to honest in my journal, called my teacher a name I won’t post in my family friendly blog, and got in trouble with her.

Oddly, I didn’t get in trouble with my parents. They were super understanding and were like, “Well, don’t do it again and remember, private isn’t always really private.”

So, that was a useful lesson at least.

Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations Include: Wanting Teal and Yellow Shoes, February 1959 Betsy McCall paper doll, and All those Journals I kept in School

Because these shoes have socks, they can be shared with any of the Poppet paper dolls, but Monday’s doll with her blond hair would look particularly cute in this dress, I think.

I clearly love drawing vintage and historical clothing for the Poppets, but I have been wondering if people feel like their Poppets need some modern duds.

So, here’s a poll!

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Now, you are also totally welcome to tell me your thoughts in a comment as well. I always enjoy getting to hear from you guys.

Lastly, if you like the blog, think about supporting it through Patreon or just leave me a comment to let me know you like it. I always enjoy getting to hear from you guys.

Need a paper doll to wear today’s outfit? Pick a Poppet Paper Doll Here.

Poppets: A Vintage Purple Paper Doll Coat Dress

May 19, 2020October 18, 2016

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In my original plan, today’s dress was red and had a Scotty Dog on the skirt. Then you know what I learned? Scottish Terriers are hard to draw.

So, after one too many deformed looking pups, I decided to go with a nice simple stripe along the bottom.

My mother told me once that when she was a little girl in the 1950s, she had one school dress for each day of the week. So, when I created Monday’s paper doll, my idea was for a week of school dresses. Each dress will have some school accessories. (Okay, mostly books. I like drawing books.)

Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations Include: Sport Socks, 1950s Coat Dresses, Children’s Vintage School Books and Failed Scotty Dog Doodles

In my head, I imagine this as a winter dress, probably made of a heavy wool. I went back and forth about the color, but settled on this dark grape purple, because I like purple. I also think purple is a fun winter/fall color without being totally an obvious choice.

Thoughts on today’s dress? Leave me a comment if you like.

Lastly, if you like the blog and want to support it, than consider becoming a Patron.

Need a paper doll to wear today’s outfit? Pick a Poppet Paper Doll Here.

Poppet: Vintage Paper Doll with Her Lavender Dress

December 6, 2020October 17, 2016

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First off, I want to say thank you for all the kind words I got while I was taking my week off. It was needed and it let me regroup a little. I’ll admit openly that this last few months have been among the crazier in my life.

Secondly, this week’s theme is for a vintage inspired school girl look which owes a lot to the Betsy McCall dolls and paper dolls of the 1950s and 1960s. I have always loved vintage children’s clothing, so we are starting with our unnamed member of the Poppet family and continuing with four other dresses.

Thirdly, starting next week, there will not always be a weekly theme. I’ll get more into that next Monday.

Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations Include: Betsy McCall Paper Dolls, Two-Tone Shoes, Abby Glassenberg’s Soft Toy Designs, and The Color Lavender

Now, as I said, I didn’t name today’s paper doll. I just don’t know if naming dolls where I am never going to reuse the same face makes sense. Like it makes sense to me that maybe someone likes say 1830s Greta and therefore wants to see if there’s a Creepy Ghost Greta, but since I won’t ever use the face of this paper doll again, does it matter if she has a name?

I am thinking on this and I haven’t decided the future of naming the Poppets.

These are the questions that try men’s souls. Really.

Anyway, you can follow the blog on Twitter @paperpersonas and, if you love it, consider supporting it through Patreon.

Need more clothes for today’s Poppet paper doll? Find Additional Outfits Here.

Peony in the 1860s: A Dress from January 1864

May 19, 2020July 29, 2016

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I seemed to me that I should close up the week with a winter dress from 1864. A dress that speaks to snow and city streets. In my head, I picture Peony wrapping up in this velvet coat trimmed in soft white fur and heading out to shop for the holidays. I had looked for a plate from 1865 (that’s when the Civil War ended), but I fell in love with this winter dress from 1864. A year early, but I hope people don’t mind. Technically, the war ended in May 1865, so I guess I’m still safely in my Civil War era theme.

And to go with the coat, I had to create a muff. I love muffs, but don’t think they would be practical today since I need my fingers for driving and things.

I simplified the coat a bit, because I couldn’t seem to figure-out what was going on with the sleeves in the fashion plate. I thought they were maybe bracelet length, but then maybe not, based on her raised arm… Anyway, in the end, you can’t really see the sleeves thanks to the width of the skirt. One advantage of those wide skirts from Civil War era children’s clothing.

This particular coat comes from a fashion plate from Le Follet. Le Follet is yet another French fashion publication. It came out weekly from 1829 to 1871, making it useful for tracing 19th century French fashions. Like all fashion magazines, it is important to remember that the plates show an idealized and fantasy version of contemporary fashion.

Women didn’t actually dress in these outfits anymore than women today dress like what we see in Vogue. However, these images offer a window into what women aspired to look like. In short, the these images are a fantasy of the idealized world of glorious dresses and domestic life.

So, this ends our little foray into 1860s or Civil War era children’s clothing for the Poppet Paper Doll series. I’m a little sad to see it wrap as I have had a lot fun showing the fashion plates and talking about the era. If you missed a post, they are all linked below.

A Printable Paper Doll & Her Wardrobe of Civil War Era Children’s Clothing

I’ve had some questions about printing, so I want to mention this: When you print, you must make sure “fit to page” is NOT selected. That should give you the same size prints as before. I also do not recommend printing from the PNGs, because you can not control how your printer treats the file. This lack of control makes sizing a problem.

Importnat announcement: I’ve split up my personal and blog related twitter feeds. The new twitter feed for the blog is here. So, that will be home for the blog updates from now on.

As always, if you love the blog, consider supporting it on Patreon or just leave a comment. I always love comments. 🙂

Poppets Visit the 1860s: Accessory Thursday with Shoes and Underwear

May 19, 2020July 28, 2016

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Guess what day it is?

It’s Accessory Thursday!

The whole point of Accessory Thursday is to allow me to show off some of the smaller pieces that make up a paper doll collection.

For a child’s wardrobe in the 1860s, accessories meant shoes and underwear. Now, kids back in this era wore a lot of underwear, but I decided to focus just on a pantaloons and camisoles. Staybands where also very common. Staybands were like a corset, but they weren’t boned the same way. The idea was to keep the spine straight and help with development.

If you feel that you need a stayband, than check out Promenade & Play which features one from the 1870s.

Shoe-wise, she’s got brown leather boots with a bow detail and some black and white button up boots. I think I just like the idea of two-tone boots. I confess I don’t know how popular they actually were back in the day.

As always, I’d love to know what y’all think of the continuing trend of Accessory Thursdays!

Also, if you love the blog and want to help support it, consider joining my Patreon page.

Peony in the 1860s: A Paper Doll Dress from May 1860

May 19, 2020July 27, 2016

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This is the paper doll dress that started it all. One fashion plate from 1860 inspired this whole week of 1860s children’s paper doll dresses. Isn’t it funny how that can happen? I came across this fantastic plate from Le Bon Ton (another 1860s women’s fashion magazine) and I just knew I wanted to dive into this era. It helps, I suspect, that I’ve always had a soft place in my heart for Victorian children’s clothing.

Mostly, I think it is more true to say that I’ve always had a place in my heart for antique dolls and that has led me to a soft place for children’s clothing.

Just like yesterday’s 1860s dress, today’s paper doll dress features a dress over a guimpe. (Yesterday, I got into a whole definition of the guimpe which I am not repeating here.)

As you might notice from the fashion plate to the left is that you can see her pantelettes or pantaloons. Tomorrow, there will be two pairs of 1860s children’s underwear, so you two can create that look along with two pairs of shoes.

The fashion plates from the Casey Fashion Plate Index which is such a great resource. I will keep repeating how much I love it probably until the end of time, or at least this week.

As a friendly reminder, the black and white versions are linked above with the PDFs. Also, if you need a doll, here she is from Monday.

If you love the blog, than think about supporting me on Patreon or leaving a comment. As always, I love to hear from everyone.

Peony In the 1860s: A Dress from August 1864

May 19, 2020July 26, 2016

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It’s day two of our Civil War children’s clothing week. Today’s paper doll dress is a mix of two dresses from the 1860s. A fashion plate from August 1864 inspired the dress design. The color scheme is from a different fashion plate from June 1865. The pink and black combination from that fashion plate was so contemporary that I wanted to use it. I think it is easy to forget how bold the Victorians could be.

This dress would have been in several parts. It’s not clear from the illustration, but I think the bodice and skirt are meant to be separate pieces. Underneath the bodice, a guimpe is worn. While It is also possible that the bodice and skirt connect, like a jumper, that is not how adult women’s dresses in this era were made.

fashion-plate2-1864 — The dress design comes from this fashion plate.

If you’ve never heard the word guimpe before, don’t fret. It’s not a word that gets tossed around in most conversations. A guimpe was a high necked blouse-like garment women and children wore underneath a low-necked dress. Think of it like like a dickie or a camisole today. A guimpe was never supposed to be seen without a something over it. Some weren’t even complete blouses, but were just dickies and matching sleeves. Part of the appeal of the guimpe, I suspect, was that washing it was more easy than washing the entire dress.

(If you ever have a time and interest, laundry practices of the 19th century are actually fascinating if, you know, you’re me.)

fashion-plate3-1865 — The color scheme comes from this fashion plate.

Both of the inspirational fashion plates come from the same publication Magasin des Demoiselles. This French fashion magazine in the 19th century was very popular. Many of the 1860s plates from Magasin des Demoiselles include children, along with the ladies. It’s a great resource for what the fashionable girl, or, more rarely, boy, would have worn while running about and being a kid.

Not that running around being a kid was really condoned too much in this era.

Both fashion plates are from the Casey Fashion Plate index which is an excellent resource for 19th century fashion plates.

As a friendly reminder, the black and white versions are linked above with the PDFs. Also, if you need a doll, here she is from Monday.

So, what do you think of my pink and black color scheme? Too bold for the era or okay? I always love to know what you think. Love the blog? Consider supporting it by becoming a Patron, every dollar is lovely.

Peony in the 1860s: A Paper Doll Dress from August 1862

May 19, 2020July 25, 2016

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This week I’m diving into civil war children’s clothing with the help of the Casey Fashion Plate Index from the Los Angeles Public Library. This fantastic resource has literally hundreds of fashion plates. Today’s Poppet dress comes from Magasin des Demoiselles, a French fashion magazine of the 19th century.

I named today’s Poppet paper doll Peony. I thought I was out of P flower names, but I never did a Peony, so Peony it is! Then I’ll have to decide what to do about Poppet paper dolls and their P names.

Despite what I was once told in a costume history class, children of the 19th century didn’t dress like miniature adults. There were, in fact, many complex social rules governing how children were dressed.

While adult women did not expose their arms unless they were attending a ball (or swimming, sometimes), children could have short sleeves, especially in the heat of summer. Today’s dress is and example of this from August 1862. I simplified some of the trimming and chose blue tonal color scheme over the red and black scheme of the original Civil War children’s clothing dress design.

Alternatively, you can download the black and white version from the links at the top of the post.

Peony’s hat is trimmed in contrasting yellow roses and matching blue ribbon. Her boots are flat soled and side lacing, which was typical for civil war era shoes. Side laced and button up boots were both worn in the 1860s, but by the end of the decade button boots were much more popular. Her stockings should really be tights or held up by a garter belt, but in the interest of making things simpler, I decided to ignore that particular fact of history.

Should you be worried about her going commando, than fear not- she’ll get some proper undergarments on Accessory Thursday.

If you need another set of dolls to wear this clothing, here’s more of the Poppet family, just be sure to print them from the PDF without fit to page and everything should work out.

Thoughts? Comments? Solutions to my “P flower names” problem? As always, I love to hear from y’all and if you like the blog, consider supporting it by becoming a Patron.

Poppet’s in Spring Time

May 19, 2020June 17, 2016

So, I wasn’t going to post this today. I was going to post it later, but then I was complaining about how I didn’t know what to write.

And he said, “Do you have anything ready?”

And I said, “Well, I have some poppets, but I said I was only going to post paper dolls on Monday..”

And he said, “Do you really think anyone will mind an extra paper doll?”

And I was like, “You make a good point, honey.”

And here we are.

So, it’s not a Monday, but here’s a paper doll anyway!

A colorful set of paper doll clothing for the Poppets! A dress, blouse, shoes, pants and a skirt, plus some fun toys. Free to print from paperthinprsonas.com.

A colorful set of paper doll clothing for the Poppets! A dress, blouse, shoes, pants and a skirt, plus some fun toys in black and white. Free to print and color from paperthinprsonas.com.

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These outfit pieces are in the same color scheme as Paradisea and Petal, so they cam mix and match with those girls wardrobes. The toys in this set are all based on two designs from Abby Glassenberg and are used with her permission.

I am somewhat embarassed to admit that I think I drafted this set at least a year ago. Possibly 2 years… either way, its finally up now. 🙂

Sometimes I am slow on these things. Don’t judge me!

I am hoping beyond hope that I can get out my sewing machine, but I’ll need to do some cutting first, so I don’t know if I am ready to sew. The truth is that very little sewing is actually “sewing” and a lot is “prepping”.

But this time I am going to make something I can post here in progress rather than have to wait until it is done.

Anyone else have fun plans for the weekend? Or want to say what they think about the paper doll? Drop me a comment.

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A Printable Paper Doll & Her Wardrobe of Civil War Era Children’s Clothing

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