As you know, I cannot let a summer pass without doing a patriotic doll! I was looking through my folder of ideas, when my wee little sister Julie piped up.

“It’s the 100 year anniversary of women getting the vote in America!”

Voting! What could be more patriotic than that?

Thus begins the description for Hazel Twigg No. 130, Georgette the Suffragette. She’s this summer’s patriotic doll and you can see her adoption page HERE.

Georgette is a composition R&B (Arranbee) measuring 18″.

The minute I decided on a Suffragette, I knew what I wanted her to look like. I was going to use the dress that Rose wears when she comes onto the Titanic, except in white. But the Titanic sank in 1912, and the 19th amendment giving women the right to vote happened in 1920. No matter! There was precedent.

The vintage images I found had more of an A-line skirt, which was good, because I knew that I wanted her to have a petticoat, so I modified things to suit my needs.

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Right on the heels of that, I knew what I wanted the title of this post to be, hence the need for that petticoat.

“Soldiers in Petticoats!” I crowed to Julie. “Do you know what that’s from?”

“Um, no,” she replied.

No matter. I did! There are some musicals emblazoned in my mind and I can quote every lyric from every song. “Mary Poppins” is one of them. We had the record, the piano music book, everything. SISTER SUFFRAGETTE. So why the petticoat? It’s in the very first line! “We’re clearly soldiers in petti-coats! Dauntless crusaders for women’s votes!”

Luckily, our Suffragette would only need one outfit. However! I really, really wanted to get elaborate with her underclothes and finally make that corset I’ve been wanting to make. Here was my chance!

But when you get right down to doing it, the details become persnickety. I found an illustration that was PERFECT.

I was given permission by the lovely artist, Claire Hummel, to use her art. Not only is it visual, it gives lots of details right down to layers and what goes where. I was intrigued by the garter clip stocking holder thingies, and decided to add them to my doll. They’re white on white, but you can see them if you look closely.

I love how her corset turned out. The outer layer is from a sample of 100% silk upholstery fabric. I used zip ties for boning.

Finally, there’s the sash. I, um, embroidered it myself. It’s based on the original sash from back in the day pictured on the left.

Our little Pippi Longstocking was adopted by Beth N. of Nipomo, California. I believe this is her second! I could be wrong. It’s happened before. THANK YOU, Beth!

And with that, I leave you! I’m grateful to those ladies of long ago. I’m grateful for you! Know why? ‘Cause you’re my favorite.