Crinoline Lady Craft

There seems to be a revival of interest in the Crinoline Lady. I found a Crinoline Lady teacup here, which is rare, and it brought back some memories of the Crinoline doll kits we used to be able to get. I remembered a punch out paper doll that fastened in the back, but couldn't find a pattern for it so I spent a few evenings cutting and pasting, til I arrived at this, and I would like to share it. A little girl comes over to my house once a week and we play. She had never been shown how to make paper dolls and was quite enchanted with this concept and I could see it was really absorbing her, so I decided to publish this for everyone else.

Here they are sitting on the table cloth. You could perhaps write a name on each one.

These are made with typing paper and colored with my deluxe crayon set, but sketch paper might work better, as it would be sturdier without being too stiff. Crayons work better on art paper, as well. Chalks would work very well as colors, if you have the artists chalks that people use with rubber stamps.

If you use it for a napkin ring, you will have to tape it in the back and bend the doll bodice forward more.

I designed these so that they could be sent in a regular sized card envelope, as you see here. However, if you use the pattern as a template, it will turn out a bit larger, due to your lines being drawn around my lines, so you'll have to trim off your outer lines before inserting it into the envelop. Put it in the envelope flat and write instructions for assembly. Be sure to clip the tabs before sending it to someone.

They are cone-shaped and stackable.

This is the cardstock lady with a stand in back. To make it sturdier, make the stand double cardstock. You could use these as placecards or insert them in envelopes for invitations.

Here is the template for these paper dolls. You can copy it off as many times as you like, and you can also paste it on cardstock and use it as a template. Right click and save it to your pictures and then print it out. Its free now, but later if it goes in a book, you'll have to pay for it, so have some fun with it if you want to.

The doll with a stand, works best on colored cardstock. You can embellish it with stickers or special glitter pens and glitter glue. The circular crinoline doll does not work well with cardstock but you could try it. I found paper easier to work with. Be sure to cut the mark in the back to hook it together. One cut is on the left of the tab and one is on the right. Clip them and insert them together. If you use colored paper, I've provided the dolls bodice to glue over it. Copy it several times to make pictures to color. Polka Dot Rose has some vintage cards which show the little girls dresses that inspired my Crinoline Lady Paper Doll. I hope this shop owner will keep the pictures there even if she sells the cards, because they are so pretty and show a bygone era that was so sweet and innocent for girls.

p.s. Try glitter on these paper dolls for some bling. I used a glitterized crayon for one of them and it creates a beautiful sheen. The Crazy Haberdasher has a sample of Crinoline Lady pictures, embroidery, and motifs, from the past, here. See the Shabby Chic technique used on the stand up Lady Crinoline doll here

Lillibeth gave us this tea cup. It was such a surprise. She knows I've always admired the English cottages, and she spotted this Royal Albert in an antique store. I was only mad because she spent way too much money on it. I am still in the past, trying to get things for 99 cents.

This is a different shot of the tea cup to show how the floral motif on the inside matches the saucer. My criteria for tea cups is: the more there is on the cup, the more I get for my money. Something on the inside of the cup makes it more entertaining as one takes tea.