I received the following question by email, and thought it would be interesting to write about here for others to read about.
This is interesting to read, and a great question, but I'm not sure I have definitive answers. Most of the dolls I've seen have cloth hands, with stitching to indicate fingers, and an applied thumb. Some of them could have had paste applied to the hands, perhaps. Here are pictures of hands which have been posted here before, for you to look at and think about this question. What do you think?Susan Hedrick, in her article in "Soft Dolls and Animals," clearly says, "Molded hands..." and "all but the upper arms and upper legs appear to have been made in the pressed method..." Can this be true?
Perhaps the hands were sewn, applied with starch or paste and then placed inside a drying mold to further define them?
ReplyDeleteIt appears that all these pictured hands are sewn fabric with stitched finger channels and applied thumbs then painted with fairly thick paint - you can make out the stitches in some of them. You would have more knowledge on this subject than most, I think Dixie, having examined actual examples at first hand (excuse pun!). I can only rely on photos. But I think they are fairly clear, don't you?
ReplyDeleteI think Izannah Walker did lovely hands on her dolls.