Customer Reviews

Lenci Clothes: Flurry of Felt, Fashion and Fantasy

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This is a wonderful book that provides the patterns and instructions for several authentic Lenci doll outfits, including hats, shoes and undergarments. What a wonderful way to recreate a Lenci outfit for that vintage doll that often times is found without clothes, or with clothing in poor shape. Although the patterns seem simple, they are better suited for the experienced seamstress. Sewing these small doll clothes from wool felt (the traditional Lenci style), can be difficult. This book also offers details on Lenci doll history, care and cleaning.

I was impressed by the unusual examples of clothing for the child dolls pictured. If you plan on using these patterns, make every effort to find and use pure wool felt. Most craft store felt is only good making mock ups of these. The sizes of the dolls pictured ranged from small to about 16 1/2 inches. The underwear is also covered, including what hallmarks make them genuine Lenci lingerie. Shoes are given as well. There are several color plates but most illustrations are black and white photos, a bit dark here and there.

That the subject of repair and cleaning was covered is a plus. One repair was to a hollow bodied boy doll using a knitting needle--judiciously of course!

Note that no boudoir ladies or exotic characters were included and for me, had some of these been included, I would have been willing to pay much more for this out of print book. I paid $42.00, close to my upper limit, not $150 or anything like that. Still, it is easy to use and has plenty of useful information in it and will be a welcomed addition to your library.