I have been working on two Maggies Bessie dolls. Most of you know about this antique and much desired cloth doll. It's wonderful to be able to get a pattern and make her yourself. I have been waitng months to get this pattern and finally I have it in my little piggies lol.

I have been lucky enough to hear about Bradley Justice, who has done extensive research on this doll and finally he has drafted the most authentic pattern I have seen up to date. It is exactly like the Maggie Bessie with all her pieces parts.

I have some pics to show you so far. Here they are with all their pieces parts. This doll is made very different from any other rag doll. The arms and legs are in two parts. The head and shoulders are attached in a unique way also. Here you can see that the fingers are molded. They are made in Kona peach tone cotten.

Here, one coat of gesso has been applied to the lower arms and lower legs and the head and shoulders. They are on a drying board in the sun. You can see that the toes are now molded also.


Here, they have been sanded down smooth (actully rubbed down with a very fine sanding cloth, just enough to take the grain down. ) A second coat of gesso has been applied.

I am showing the sanding cloth and the nice large brush and liquitex gesso. One must have the correct tools to work with lol.

I have put them in the sun again while I mix the flesh colors. I will give them two coats of the flesh and wait 24 hours for the acrylic to cure and then I will proceed with the painting of the face and hair. Hopefully I will get started with the dress and underwear while I wait lol. I will keep you posted of the progress.

If you make your own dolls and would like to purchase this pattern, you can order it here.

mailto:shawstein@aol.com