Tiny Tatters dolls came into existence on beautiful, remote Shaw Island. They are hardy little island girls, ready for the weather in cozy knits. Even their tattered denim hair can withstand stout gales and rough wear.
Every effort is made to ensure quality and durability in their construction. Handcrafted from denim, their little "tattered" seams are double stitched for extra strength, and even triple stitched in high tension areas. Reinforced, jointed arms and legs make for ease of movement. Their little bottoms are stuffed with beads for extra weight and cuddliness.
The “blue” dolls are made from recycled denim and all the dolls have little clipped tattered seams. Tiny Tatters dolls have hand embroidered faces, giving each one her own unexpected personality and expression. The freckles come from playing on the beach all day.
Island girls can be well dressed on occasion, and most of the dolls sport hand smocked or hand embroidered dresses, or hand knit sweaters and socks. You might be surprised to discover what a little girl can accomplish in a dress!
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Lovable, tough, sweet, and prepared for adventure; these little dolls are sure to delight!
ABOUT
My Holly Hobby, Lorna
Casey
Mom taught me to cross stitch and embroider when I was little. She would let me make things while she was working on her projects. I cut out little pieces of fabric, fitting them on my dolls. I cut holes for arms and sewed buttons on the back to close them. I was eleven years old when I sewed my first dress; and so began a love of fabric and lace and sharp scissors and buttons and thread-a love for all things sewing!
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​Mom always wished that she had learned to knit, so when I was nine or ten years old, she arranged for me to get knitting lessons from a sweet old crippled lady in a wheel chair. I would ride my bike to her house, and she taught me how to knit a sock. Another kind lady, who babysat me, had her daughters buy some yarn and a yellow plastic crochet hook for me (I still have it). I spent countless happy hours crocheting ugly pink and burgundy granny square pillows with that hook. My mom proudly displayed them around the house and still does!
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There were others who contributed to my sewing education; a school teacher, an aunt, and the mother of a foster baby that my mom cared for. Her house looked like it had never witnessed a cleaning and smelled worse, but she knew her business when it came to reading a pattern and making sure that an amateur seamstress learned to do things properly!
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One day a few years ago I was wishing that I could make dolls. I wanted a doll that was cute and sweet and a little bit vintage, as well as practical and sturdy enough to be a companion for an adventurous little girl. I was thinking about sewing the seams on the outside and wondering about hair when suddenly, there it was! The idea of using tattered denim popped into my head, and I set about developing my own Tiny Tatters doll. I spent hours drawing eyes and faces and embroidering them. I experimented with different weights of denim, discovering that thick, difficult-to-work-with denim, makes the best hair. ​
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Many dolls later - some of which ended up in the garbage and others "rescued" by my mom - I finally had a doll that I liked. I have made many small changes along the way and will probably continue to do so - finding ways to make them stronger, or fatten their little pink cheeks. Recently, my amazingly skilled sister-in-law (Sweet Lamb Dolls) introduced me to real wool stuffing (sigh…so deliciously sweet smelling and warm and soft).
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I hope that my dolls will make people happy when they see them; and remind them of the days when they played church on the stairs with their many stuffed animals and dolls, when they made trains out of up-side-down kitchen chairs, and had picnics on the lawn and tea parties; and I hope that my dolls will find their way into those chapels and trains and picnics!
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Heidi
Tiny Tatters Dolls
I have always loved dolls and sewing. I think I must have inherited my love for dolls from my mom; and sewing- well, who knows where that came from. Most likely it came from my grandmothers, both of whom were quilt makers. This love of sewing must have dropped into my soul at a very young age, because I have early memories of standing beside my mom, watching her sew and wishing that I could try it.
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Sewing was not my mom's first love, making her creations for me all the more meaningful. She sewed dresses, slips, aprons, bonnets, and nightgowns for me and for my sisters - and for our dolls. One Christmas she even surprised me with a beautiful handmade Holly Hobby, which I promptly christened "Lorna". Lorna came with stacks of little clothes - dresses with matching bonnets, a little flannel nightie, bloomers, a slip, a little white apron, and little black felt shoes; a miniature wardrobe that satisfied my childish sense of what a well dressed doll should look like. How many hours it must have taken her to sew all of those for me! When my favorite, dearly loved "Casey" fell apart, mom worked hard to make her a new cloth body and stitched it on to her hard plastic limbs.
My Studio - thanks to my generous husband!
