To view this content, you must be a paying member of my patreon! Join us here and help support Paper Thin Personas. Already a qualifying Patreon member? See below on how to access the content.
Cut and Color Couture
Chivalry in Paper: Cut & Color Couture Knight Paper Doll
Download Black and White PDF | More Paper Dolls from the Cut & Color Couture Series
Today’s paper doll is a knight, decked out in her armor and ready for adventure. She comes with both a sword and an axe, because why settle for just one weapon when you can have options? I really love her sword and her axe. I’ve done a fair number of knights over the years. You can check all those knights out here. This knight’s series has been running for a while, so you can mix and match with Archer of the Realm, In Full Armor, and Gallant Garb, of course.
Of course, I couldn’t resist giving her cute hair, because knights deserve good hair days too. Just because you’re wearing heavy plate and carrying sharp objects doesn’t mean you can’t have style. I have always loved two buns as a hair style. I think it’s super cute, even though I’ve never worn it much myself.
Underneath all that metal, she’s wearing a padded coat called a gambeson. Gambesons were basically the medieval multitaskers of clothing. They could be worn on their own as light armor, or layered under chainmail and plate to add cushioning and keep the metal from rubbing skin raw. Think of it as a combination safety pad and anti-chafing solution, because no one wants to spend the day riding a horse, swinging a sword, and getting stabbed while also dealing with terrible blisters.
So, this knight paper doll isn’t just fierce. She’s also fashionable and practical. You might remember some of the previews of these outfits, if you’re a patron.
September has just slipped away from me. I don’t mind. I’m busy and that’s not a bad thing, but it hasn’t left much time for working on paper dolls. I hope once winter comes things might slow down a little.
Printable 1640s Paper Doll: Dive into Baroque Elegance with the Cut & Color Couture Paper Dolls
Download Black and White PDF | More Paper Dolls from the Cut & Color Couture Series
And today’s creation is a 17th century paper doll printable and I’ll be the first to confess that the 1600s isn’t my favorite era of historical fashion. But maybe that’s exactly why I chose it. I’d already explored the art deco silhouettes of the 1920s and suits of the 1940s for the Cut & Color series. It felt time to venture into deeper historical waters and to stretch myself creatively, and yes… finally wrestle with drawing lace. So. Much. Lace.
Lace is the thing in this era. It was painstakingly handmade, expensive, and time-consuming to produce all of which made it a powerful symbol of wealth and social standing. And fashion, after all, is often about signaling social status. When I say social status, I don’t just mean money. Fashion helps people visually place themselves within (or outside of) certain groups.
My lace drawing owes a huge debt to Charles Ventura and Larry Bassin, both masters of pen and ink whose lace I have examined closely. Do you have any favorite artists whose work you go back to over and over again?
This 17th century paper doll printable reflects a typical silhouette of the 1640s with broad shoulders and gowns that hint at the transition to the 1650s. Bodices fastened with stomachers, usually, matching the dress fabric. Sleeves in this era were everything. Billowing, gathered, often tied with ribbons or adorned with decorative rosettes. The cherry on top of Baroque splendor was lace and ribbon rosettes. I made sure to include at least one gown with these statement sleeves in the doll’s wardrobe.
Explore More About 1640s Fashion
- 1640s Fashion from the FIT Institute’s Fashion Timeline
- My 17th Century Pinterest Board (where I collect all my images for when I draw things like this)
- Ornatus muliebris Anglicanus, or, The severall habits of English women : from the nobilitie to the contry [sic] woman, as they are in these times, 1640 by Wenceslaus Hollar, Bohemus, fecit Londini, ano. 1640 (the source for both these gowns)
While I probably won’t wake up tomorrow feeling like, “I love the 1600s” I do think I’ve gained some appreciation for this time period through the two paper dolls (you can see the other one here) that I’ve drawn for it.
Ribbons and Ruching: A Paid Patrons Exculsive Printable Paper Doll
To view this content, you must be a paying member of my patreon! Join us here and help support Paper Thin Personas. Already a qualifying Patreon member? See below on how to access the content.
Gallant Garb: A Paper Doll Adventurer
Download Black and White PDF | More Paper Dolls from the Cut & Color Couture Series
There was no way I was going to create a fantasy armor coloring page paper doll and not end up with armored corsets. I mean, I am me. Two things I love are corsets and fantasy outfits featuring pants. After all, I have a Pinterest board devoted to fantasy armor and another one solely for “fantasy outfits with pants” and I probably should have one for corsets, but I do not.
One of the things that keeps me so drawn to collecting reference images on Pinterest is that they constantly inspire new interpretations. I remember a lesson from a poetry class in college that I’ve carried with me: My professor said that waiting for inspiration to strike is a surefire way to spend more time waiting than actually creating. Waiting for the perfect spark is less effective than actively engaging in things that will give you ideas. Paper dolls are a visual medium, so I tend towards visuals.
If you want to support my work (and dress some paper dolls while you’re at it), take a look at my Patreon and my newest book from Paper Doll Review, Big Eyed Girlies.
Patreon Exclusive: Fashionable Night for Cut and Color Couture
To view this content, you must be a paying member of my patreon! Join us here and help support Paper Thin Personas. Already a qualifying Patreon member? See below on how to access the content.
In Full Armor: A Knight Paper Doll
Download Black and White PDF | More Paper Dolls from the Cut & Color Couture Series
So, as I mentioned last time I shared one of these knights, you know that moment when a single idea takes hold and before you realize it, you’ve found yourself fully immersed in a creative rabbit hole? That’s exactly what happened here.
I thought I’d just draw a little fantasy armor, and then things spiraled. Before I knew it, I had created a whole series of knight paper craft designs—more than I honestly knew what to do with. Well, that’s not totally true. I knew exactly what to do: finish them up and share them here. This blog exists because I need a place for all the paper dolls I make, and these knight paper craft creations fit right in.
I should probably always include a disclaimer with these posts: I know next to nothing about how actual full plate armor works, and I’m sure I’ve gotten plenty of details wrong. But hey, artistic license, right?
On my head, this paper doll is the sort of “serious warrior” of the group, since she’s the one with full-plate armor, where everyone else has sort of more light weight armor options. So, maybe she’s a paladin, to put things in Dungeons & Dragons terminology.
If you want to support my work, don’t forget I have a new book, Big Eyed Girlies, from Paper Doll Review, and a Patreon. The book features fun paper dolls and Patreon supporters get an exclusive extra paper doll each month.
Patreon Exculsive: Glorious at the Gala Paper Doll Coloring Page
To view this content, you must be a paying member of my patreon! Join us here and help support Paper Thin Personas. Already a qualifying Patreon member? See below on how to access the content.
Archer of the Realm: A Warrior Woman Paper Doll
Download Black and White PDF | More Paper Dolls from the Cut & Color Couture Series
Have I ever mentioned how I tend to get into a “theme” and then realize I’ve drawn way too much of it? Yeah, that’s pretty much what happens to me.
I decide I want to draw armor. The next thing I know, I’ve done like five different versions of a warrior woman paper doll. And I’m just like… welp, that’s getting into series territory, ain’t it?
Part of this was about me learning to draw chainmail on an iPad. Part of it was me just wanting to draw some cool fantasy armor for ladies.
Anyway, this is the first in a little collection of paper doll knights, adventurers, warrior women, and ladies wearing fantasy outfits that include pants… you can call them whatever you like. Fantasy armor and outfits with pants are recurring obsessions of mine. I have an entire Pinterest board devoted to fantasy armor and another one solely for “fantasy outfits with pants.”
Please, don’t judge the clothing of this warrior woman paper doll based on practicality. Because, let’s be honest, could someone survive an actual fight in these outfits? No idea, but they look cool.
I might be defeating my own argument about not caring for practicality when I admit that my obsession with fantasy outfits featuring pants probably started as a child. Back then, I watched Xena and thought, “Someone, anyone, get these women some dang trousers, please.”
I wanted to be Xena really badly, but I also really badly did not want to wear a skirt. So, maybe all my armor drawing is my way of solving this problem for young Rachel.
If you want to support my work (and dress some dolls while you’re at it), don’t forget that I have a new book Big Eyed Girlies from Paper Doll Review. This one’s close to my heart, and I’d love for you to check it out.
Patron Exclusive: Evening Lace with Cut & Color Couture
To view this content, you must be a paying member of my patreon! Join us here and help support Paper Thin Personas. Already a qualifying Patreon member? See below on how to access the content.
Cut & Color Couture: 1630s and 1640s
Download Black and White PDF | More Paper Dolls from the Cut & Color Couture Series
Today’s printable 17th century paper doll coloring page is showing off styles from the 1630s and 1640s, a celebration of Baroque fashion. She’s the first of two I drew. I confess that this is not my favorite period of historical fashion, but that’s part of why I drew it. I’d drawn a few other historical paper dolls for the Cut & Color Series: 1940s and 1920s. I thought I would continue the trend.
I both wanted to stretch myself and work on something that I wasn’t super comfortable with. Also I needed to practice drawing lace. There’s so much lace in Baroque fashion.
Women typically began dressing with a shift or chemise as the base layer, over which they wore stays to shape the torso. These stays created a pronounced, rounded cleavage, accentuated by the often very low necklines popular at the time. The effect was dramatic. As they say in Monty Python, “huge… tracts of land.”
The overall silhouette for this 1640s paper doll includes broad shoulders and a higher waist, though this would begin to descend in the following decades. Bodices were typically fastened with stomachers, crafted from the same fabric as the gown, making them less visually distinct. While the long, pointed bodice would become more common in the 1650s, the historical gowns featured on this doll are a bit less extreme in their styling. Maybe one day, I’ll take on the 1650s as another paper doll project. For now, I’m sticking with my printable 17th century paper doll coloring page and calling it good.
Full, voluminous sleeves, sometimes cinched at the elbow with ribbons or decorative rosettes, are also a big part of the look. I made sure to include them on this historical costume coloring page for one of the paper doll’s gowns. This style of sleeve can be also seen in this 1630s portrait, which was one of my reference images.
Lace collars and cuffs were also super popular. There was often lace trim around the low, square necklines too. Since lace was extremely expensive, wearing it was definitely a way to say, “Look how rich I am!” One reason I chose to create this Baroque fashion paper doll printable was to practice drawing lace. There’s so much of it in this era, like in this portrait.
Hairstyles in the 1630s and 1640s were very distinctive. Hair was usually pulled back with structured curls framing the face. It’s a super distinctive look. Occasionally, women wore soft, wispy bangs at the front. One of the challenges of drawing this Stuart-era dress-up paper doll was getting those hair details. Curls and I have a complicated relationship.
This is the first of two of these I drew. I’ll get into why that happened when I post my next one.
Explore More About 1630s–1640s Fashion
- 1630s Fashion from the FIT Institute’s Fashion Timeline
- 1640s Fashion from the FIT Institute’s Fashion Timeline
- My 17th Century Pinterest Board (where I collect all my images for my personal reference.)
- Ornatus muliebris Anglicanus, or, The severall habits of English women : from the nobilitie to the contry [sic] woman, as they are in these times, 1640 by Wenceslaus Hollar, Bohemus, fecit Londini, ano. 1640
I haven’t done any other 17th century paper dolls, so I can’t add any to this list. It’s not a super popular period for paper doll creations. Brenda Mattox did a Cinderella paper doll in this era and Tom Tierney has a coloring book from the period as well.
If you know of any others, please let me know and I’ll add them.
Fashionable Florals: A Patreon Exclusive
To view this content, you must be a paying member of my patreon! Join us here and help support Paper Thin Personas. Already a qualifying Patreon member? See below on how to access the content.