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Doll
Doll wearing Welsh costume, carrying baby doll.
Both doll and baby have fully articulated limbs with joints at shoulders, elbows, hips and knees, carved from pine with pegged joints. The upper torso, neck and head of both doll and baby are painted in a cream ground layer; black hair and facial features are depicted in red, blue and black. The lower sections of the arms and legs are painted with a white pigment. Doll wears black woollen nursing shawl over right shoulder to carry baby, red tabby woven woollen shawl, tabby woven cellulosic apron (blue check on white ground), cotton petticoat: brown with yellow stripes (also tabby, but 'over 2/under 2'); white linen tabby underskirt; open skirt section(?) (made of same material as petticoat) fastened with broad brown cotton tabby strips across the chest; 'bodice' made up of 2 separate sleeves that are stitched in a random fashion across front and back and around shoulders - stitches are anchored in brown-grey fabric strip which is wound tightly around torso. Baby wears long white tabby woven cellulosic skirt, shoulder scarf of same material and bonnet of white cellulosic fabric (loose tabby weave).
Additional description of garments:
Black woollen nursing shawl: felted, woven fabric with unfinished edges; wrapped around the right shoulder, but underneath the left sleeve (wooden arm is missing); right end tucked under left end; baby lying underneath right end but on top of left end; the left end of the scarf is pinned in place at the front (through to the right end underneath) and stitch-secured under the left sleeve.
Red tabby woven woollen shawl with raised nap: folded into a triangle, with unfinished edges; end of red scarf is stitched to the white waistband of the apron using one stitch; its ends are tucked in underneath the apron.
Apron: cellulosic tabby-weave; blue stripes are made of 4 yarns, while white areas are 8 yarns wide; apron is gathered into white cellulosic waistband (tabby, unfinished edges) which is tied in the back using a double-knot; one end is long, the other short.
Petticoat: tabby woven cotton; vertical yellow stripes are made up of 10 yarns; the upper edge is folded into random pleats which are stitch-secured to the underskirt below.
Underskirt: plain white linen tabby, with machine-stitched vertical seam (doll was dressed with seam pointing inside-out), selvage along lower hem and raw edge at waist; again, the waist is pleated and held in place with random stitches.
Open skirt section (?): same material as petticoat but used at 90° angle / with horizontal stripes; small stitched turnback at hem; secured with two wide brown tabby woven strips of fabric (unfinished edges) which cross upwards over the chest, up towards the shoulder (right lying on top of left); these strips are secured with random stitches.
'Bodice': essentially consists of two separate sleeves (same fabric as petticoat and open skirt section with yellow stripes running down the length of the arm); sleeves are stitched on in a random fashion to the brown strips of the open skirt section and the brown-grey fabric (see below).
Brown-grey fabric: this fabric is wrapped and stitched tightly around the torso in a random fashion and was not removed for treatment; it is made up of brown yarns in one weave direction and white yarns in the other direction; its edges are unfinished and fraying.
Baby:
Skirt: extends a long way beyond the baby’s feet; white cellulosic tabby; wrapped around arms and secured with stitches under arms.
Shoulder scarf: same fabric as skirt; consists of rectangular piece of fabric with unfinished edges; upper edge folded inwards; secured with two stitches underneath left arm.
Bonnet: white cellulosic tabby fabric, but looser weave and more discolored (darker) than skirt and scarf; fabric folded in half (creased edge surrounding face) and unfinished edges around lower edge; lower edge and lower back are gathered.
Costume: apron, bedgown, skirt, petticoat, 2 shawls and neckerchief. Body: painted wood. The doll has fully articulated limbs, with joints at shoulders, elbows, hips and knees, carved from pine with pegged joints. Baby: wood with lower legs painted white with red shoes. Hat: silk plush Cap: none
General observations: The black nursing shawl encloses a doll and covers a plain red shawl.