Monday, April 21, 2008

Little Red Riding Hood

I have at last finished the first of my storybook dolls. Little Red Riding Hood, in her signature outerwear of course. I put a lot more detail into the face then I usually do on these small dolls and I'm so pleased with how she turned out! She's only 5" tall from the tip of her hood to the soles of her little mary janes.


You can see more pictures here.

The Story of Little Red Riding Hood has undergone some amazing transformations over the years. In the older versions the heroine saves herself with her intelligence and quick thinking, but in the later versions, including Perrault's, she is completely witless and of course has to be rescued by a man. For a fascinating article on this process and some analysis of the story read Terri Windling's marvelous article over at the Endicott Studio.

While I was never that fond of the story as a kid, having access to only the latter version, I have always had a soft spot in my heart for Little Red Riding Hood dolls. When I was about 5, I had a handed down Ginny doll that had a red riding hood outfit, and this doll was one of my all time favorites. We called her Luleela, which I think came from my baby sister's pronunciation of the story, and I played that doll to death, losing all her clothes over the years and most of her hair as well. Today she is put away, waiting for the time when I can restore her to some of her faded glory.

More storybook folk will be arriving soon! Up next...Alice, of course!

7 comments:

  1. Oh Red is adorable! I can't wait to see Alice!

    Alas poor Luleela - we loved her so very much! At least she still is intact, which is more than I can say for Mary Anne, whose arms are long gone, from twisting them up to make them spin. What was the name of the doll who is only a head now? I can't remember, but she sure had the head of hair - maybe she could donate some to Luleela?

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  2. Yet another example of doll fabulousness. Miss Red came out great!

    I was never a fan of the story either, I always felt bad for the wolf at the end. Go figure. I did have this doll though that was Little Red Riding Hood, but if you turned her upside down and flipped up her dress (shocking!), the wolf in granny's clothes would be there. I was fascinated. Evidently it didn't take much in those days.

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  3. Oh my, she's so adorable. I can't wait to see Alice!

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  4. Your dolls are amazing...it it your own pattern or did you learn this style from someone else? I love it!!! I want to try one!!!!!!

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  5. Thank-you! It's a combination of basic waldorf dollhouse doll with a few of my own touches. I'm going to post some "in process" photos next week that will show a little better how I make them.

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  6. thanks for sharing her, can't wait to see the process!

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  7. oh my she is wonderful! and gone so fast! I never read those versions until I was older either so I'm more fond of her now than ever :)

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