Pedlar or Peddler Doll

I have always wanted a Pedlar or Peddler doll so that I could make tiny little things to put on her tray.  In 1985 I bought two musical dolls from a "damaged/broken items" trolley in our local department store and figured that they would be perfect for pedlar dolls. One had brown hair and played "I Dream of Jeannie with the Light Brown Hair" and the other one was blond and played "Hello Dolly".   In November 1986, I had turned Jeannie into a pedlar doll, took her to a craft fair and sold her for $65 which was a lot of money back then.  I know exactly when the craft fair was because it coincided with the same weekend that my first marriage broke up.

Two days ago and twenty-seven years later, I decided that I would have a go with Dolly and turn her into a pedlar doll for myself.  This is her new look.

She still turns around and her music box still plays "Hello Dolly" but she was a absolute wreck.  Here is how she looked BEFORE the make-over........

Here is the doll before I stripped her, removed those HUGE over-sized hands and cut off some of her knotted hair.  That thing to the side was originally a parasol.  I really loved her pretty little 1980s face though and can hardly wait to fill her tray with goodies.

Before I started dressing her, I checked out all the different types of Pedlar or Peddler dolls on Google.  One thing they all had in common was a red cloak.

I found an off-cut of red flannelette in the sewing room which a friend who used to work in the local  charity shop gave me.  She gave me all of the small or misshapen scraps of material that came into the shop that were unsaleable and would have been thrown away and the red flannelette was among it.   Sadly, the charity became 'corporate'. If she wanted to save the scraps from being thrown out, she would have to pay for them. If she removed the scraps from the skip in the yard, she would be charged with stealing.........needless to say, she and a lot of other good people left and stop volunteering.  Shame.

The doll's petticoat which covers the cone which makes up her bottom half and which turns on the base which contains the musical box and also her apron were recycled from a linen hankie and her lovely black and grey striped dress used to be a ladies blouse which I bought from the Salvos Charity Shop.  Her black hat was cut from a black maid's dress which I removed from a dollshouse doll in order to dress her as the Lady of the Manor (I don't throw anything away as I never know when I might need it).

NOW the FUN part starts - filling the tray with tiny treasures!!!  Whooo-hooooo!!!