An Edwardian Summer - Issue 8

An Introduction to Lemon Bay Doll Co

Samantha's Children's Aid and Charity Tea Set

Hello and welcome to week three of “Edwardian Summer,” graciously hosted by Heather Rosales of Bbeauty Dolls in collaboration with Ava Smith (A Stitch in Time’s Line), and myself, Michelle Weber of Lemon Bay Doll. We are so delighted to have you join us as we share Edwardian history, costume and what we hope will be an inspirational collection of  doll clothes designed to celebrate this fashion era. 

For those of you who do not know me yet, I am the busy needle behind Lemon Bay Doll.  I post on Instagram and Facebook and have been selling my patterns and one-of-a-kind/limited edition ensembles in my Etsy shop since 2013.  When we first started up, we also sold beautiful, handcrafted wood toys my husband designed for the dolls. I am a self-taught seamstress, having gained a skill set that was born out 

of love for my daughters and their cousin, my talented niece, Ava (who treated us all to her charming and expertly crafted Edwardian confections during the first week of Edwardian Summer!) The girls collected the American Girl historical dolls as children and spent countless hours in imaginative play with their beloved dolls. My logo includes a silhouette from a photograph of my oldest daughter one Christmas after receiving a new dress for her Felicity—the doll that started it all for my family.

My passion for sewing heirloom historical garments for the dolls is intimately tied to my affection for my daughters and niece. It is also a rather interesting culmination of my academic interests and pursuits. As a young woman, I earned degrees in fine art (sculpture) and art history.  After graduating, I worked at the National Museum of Women in the Arts as a research assistant in the NMWA Library and Research Center. If you have followed me on Facebook or Instagram, you might have noticed these interests recurring in my work. I often feature reproductions from famous works of art and enjoy introducing notable historical women, and women’s history into my ensembles.  

I have two collections and four ensembles I’ll be sharing with you this week so buckle up for a lot of Edwardian content coming your way!  Along with these Edwardian inspired doll garments, I’ll be sharing some Edwardian history, a tutorial for creating your own lace collar, and a process post sharing how I constructed an elaborate, historically inspired functioning parasol in upcoming newsletters.

Lemon Bay's Children's Aid and Charity Tea Collection

I’m starting this week off with “Samantha’s Children’s Aid Charity Tea Collection,” a very special wardrobe collection featuring a silk dress made using my “Pollyanna” pattern and a pair of matching pink Bbeauty Edwardian boots in Dusty Pink.  Be sure to read my upcoming social media post to learn the historical context behind this collection’s title! The nine piece collection includes coordinating child’s undergarments and accessories such as an “over-the-top” Edwardian hat inspired by an extant child’s hat in the Hopkins Collection (The School of Historical Dress). 

One of my favorite resources for historical sewing are the many beautiful books published by the School of Historical Dress. In Headwear: Hats, Bonnets and Caps from the Hopkins Collection, c1700-1955, I came across this stunning child’s hat in blue silk taffeta, c1903-1910. As a designer of historical doll clothes, I appreciate the way The School of Historical Dress’s publications give great close-ups of interiors and in depth descriptions of garment construction.  This entry gave me everything I needed to reproduce a similar Edwardian inspired hat for this collection. 

The other signature piece in this collection is an Edwardian-inspired lace collar. One of my followers recently gifted me her collection of antique lace which included a beautiful Edwardian lace collar for a child of about 4-6 years of age.  This became the inspiration for my reproduction. If you are interested in learning how you can make your own lace collar using the Lemon Bay Doll Pollyanna pattern, stay tuned this week for a full tutorial in the newsletter.  

Reserve a Lemon Bay Doll Outfit

Each newsletter this week will be diving into the details of each of these beautiful sets and pieces as well as special tutorials on making some of the accessories.  As Bbeauty newsletter subscribers, I am pleased to give you first access to view my Edwardian Summer ensembles as well as the opportunity to reserve them before I announce their availability to the public on my social media pages. Please contact me via Instagram or Facebook if you are interested in reserving any of these one-of-a-kind pieces.  And I invite you to follow along on my social media this week as I share more photos, history and details on these pieces throughout the week. Unreserved items will be open-listed on Etsy, Sunday, August 10th at 7:00pm Eastern. 

 Michelle Weber, Lemon Bay Doll

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lemonbaydoll/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lemonbaydoll/

Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/lemonbaydollco/

Thank you, Heather, for the opportunity to share my work with your readers.  I have been so encouraged by your commitment to women-helping-women projects like 

Edwardian Summer and fostering an atmosphere of comradery over competition. It is my belief that competition is never as nourishing, fruitful, or inspiring as collaborative work. Having the opportunity to share this project with you and Ava has proven this yet again!