pipe
Not all the dolls made by these children were of fruits, flowers and vegetables. In fact it was a poor scrap that they could not make into a satisfactory plaything. And not only the little Wests enjoyed them but Mamma was just as much interested in the making as were the children themselves.
One evening a little party of friends was gathered together at Hollyhock Place and for amusement Mamma gave each a clay pipe, a lead pencil, a square of white and a square of colored tissue paper and requested each guest to dress the pipe for a doll.
To some this, at first, seemed impossible. One or two gentlemen asked to be excused, but when they saw the others meeting with such success they, too, became interested and went to work. Nearly all used needles and thread, but a few were most successful with mucilage to hold their materials together.
It was funny to see the different expressions on those pipe faces. No two of them looked the least bit alike.
The minister’s wife did not use her colored paper at all, but from the white she made a long baby dress with a big bow in the back and a white cap with another big bow was made to cover the head. This baby had the tiniest little eyes, nose and mouth you could imagine.
Another lady made a clown of her pipe, using orange paper for his clown suit and pasting white circles all over it. This was a neater clown than one ever seeks in a circus, for he wore the freshest of white ruffles at his neck, wrists and ankles. The bump at the bottom of the pipe made the funniest of chin whiskers for this queer creature who could not keep from laughing at himself—and no wonder.
clown with body and face from a pipeA CLAY PIPE CLOWN
A CLAY PIPE CLOWN
lady in bonnet, shawl and dress face is back of pipeA CLAY PIPE OLD LADY
A CLAY PIPE OLD LADY
One of the ladies made her pipe into an old lady doll with folded kerchief and great tall cap. In this one the bump at the bottom of the pipe served as a nose—a large, ill shaped one to be sure, but a very good nose for all that.
A very dignified gentleman who was present said he always liked to see a lady wear a sun-bonnet, so he drew a face inside of his pipe and made lines outside for “slats” that used to be put in old fashioned sun-bonnets. A woman who would wear a sun-bonnet would, of course, wear an apron, so a large white apron was put on this doll. Her face was a pretty one, but her hands were large and clumsy, showing that she had done hard work in her day.
These last two dolls wore several full petticoats which enabled them to stand up like real people.
There were a number of other good ones, but why tell you about them, for I am sure you can make some just as good as the best of these.
Lady with face inside pipe bowlA CLAY PIPE MAIDEN
A CLAY PIPE MAIDEN