Betty Boop

Recently, a customer asked if I would make a Betty Boop ornament for his girlfriend.  I said yes and obtained the original vintage Betty Boop cloth doll pattern from over a century ago.  I had to reduce the pattern (original is about 18" and he wanted it about 8-9").

The original pattern called for felt but I used doe suede in a pale colour (shiny side up).  I decided that I wanted her iconic curls so I used paper clay to make the curls and then painted the hair.  I did not paint her body, only her facial features and hair.

The customer had seen a tiny ornament of Betty Boop in a red, high-heeled shoe an wanted that look.  I had a white acrylic white shoe in my stash and I used sand paper to rough it up and then painted it bright red on the outside and a yellow/gold on the inside.

The result worked well:

 Betty Boop is holding sheet music from an old song "Blue Heaven" as the intended recipient is a vocal teacher and piano player.  The dress is made from cherry red jersey and her stole and fur on her Santa hat is "minky" fabric that is very soft and nice and thin-perfect for the scale of the doll.

I gave her bracelets and gold earrings, of course!

Hope you find a good home Betty: