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[jabberwockpie.livejournal.com]

I've recently gotten into doll-making - woodcarving - and I do love dolls (and historical costuming - I'm a fantastic seamstress, which is rude to toot one's own horn, but it's also true.)

So I've been planning out a dollhouse scale (more or less - I'm doing Bertie at about 6 1/4" and Jeeves at 6 1/2" - rounding up from Laurie and Fry's 6'2" and 6'5" respectively - though they may very well end up being little off because wood carving is tricky.) roombox set for Bertie's flat (which may later double as Lord Peter Wimsey's flat with different furnishings).

I saw the series first so in my head, Hugh Laurie IS Bertie (I suppose he should have lighter hair, but Dorothy Sayers' Lord Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane are also on my to-do list and Peter is very fair, so I want them to look different enough) - though with enough leeway that I don't have to freak out about getting the faces right because, well, in appearance they're loosely based on the actors, but they aren't the actors themselves - they're characters from a book.

They're going to be jointed at the neck (I don't think it's technically called a ball joint, but something to that effect so they can tilt their heads as well as swivel them), shoulders (so the arms can swing out, too, aside from just back and forth), hips (ditto - or I may try a more complex joint - I haven't decided. I need to practice and see what can be done), knees, and elbows. (Not sure if I can make their knees and elbows swivel instead of just going up and down, but I'm going to experiment.)

I'm having a really hard time figuring out how to furnish Bertie's flat aside from the Requisite Piano. (*sings* 47 Ginger-Headed Sailors!") I'd just like something a bit more interesting than some of the things shown on the series, where I feel it's a bit bare. Lord Peter from Sayers has an expensive antique Aubusson carpet and lots of very very old manuscripts in his library, but Bertie's tastes are a little more . . . do we have to bring up the white mess jacket again? But maybe Jeeves has exerted his influence/taste and Bertie can afford, well, basically anything, honestly. (I honestly might just go with what looks nice. There's no point in a dollhouse project if the furnishings are utterly boring.) But I'd like advice.

For the record, I'm an excellent seamstress, and I shall be making EVERY SINGLE GODAWFUL ITEM OF CLOTHING that Jeeves has made Bertie get rid of. (I'm making a list.) It just Must Be Done. (The purple socks MAY end up a bit larger than scale so that they show up. The dolls may have trouble trouble standing if I don't carve with the shoes on - unless I can work that out - I have a great deal of practice to go yet.) But you can bally well bet that the Horrifying Plus-Sixes and the white Mess Jacket and the Alpine Hat and the scarlet cummberbund and so forth are happening!

I've been re-reading the books and watching the series taking notes, but I'm at something of a loss.

Bertie needs a room, we know there's a guest room, Jeeves needs a room (*cough* depending on your views, this may or may not be only for appearance's sake), there's clearly a kitchen and dining table and a living room type area. Bathroom, because Bertie's rubber ducky is a must-have. I'm not sure what else there should be! It's a very nice, expensive flat, but it IS still a flat. I'm not sure how much room he has.

Yes, I need a silver cow creamer! (I have no idea how to GET a teensy silver cow creamer. I'd be willing to make it a bit larger if it's the only way to get one.)

And yes, of course Bertie needs his tea and various other teensy food and plates and things, and there must be books (including an Improving Book or so for Jeeves.) I find I have a lot more ideas for accessories than for furniture!

So, suggestions? Ideas? They're (roughly) 1:12 or 1" scale, if that helps.

Any furniture that you think is a must-have or is appropriate? My specialty is FASHION history, not furniture and interior design! I would normally think Bertie might have some antique furniture, but maybe I'm wrong.

Any ideas on who else I should make?

- Gussie Finkle-Nottle (with newt tank) is a must.

- I'm tempted to do Madeline Bassett because women's clothing is fun and because she's just so . . . so . . . oh look at the wee bunnies and the stars are God's daisy chain and . . . well, yes.

- I want to try Aunt Dahlia. For some reason I have a very clear image of what she looks like - with tiny copies of Milady's Boudoir. And carving an *ahem* generously figured lady doll would be fun. (Conversely the idea of carving Aunt Agatha scares me. What if she tries to kill me in my sleep?)

Any and all ideas are welcome!

Comments

[hazeltea.livejournal.com]

This sounds amazing, and I hope you keep us updated with pictures!

There is this layout of the flat online, and although it matches the set, it leaves out Jeeves' lair. Historically, it was probably located through a door from the kitchen and would have been a small room with a small bath attached.

http://forums.filmnoirbuff.com/viewtopic.php?pid=104919

[jabberwockpie.livejournal.com]

Oh thank you! You're a good egg, hazeltea! You're the specific dream rabbit!

And the screenshots help, though I may go for some furniture that's a little more fun. (I mean, you can make things up to a point, but after that you're limited to what you can find and make. And they're based on books, so IMAGINATION, OKAY?)

I was all excited about "Oh this carving lark is fun!" and giggling over the idea of the wee purple socks, and then I realized "Wait, they need somewhere to live. I have no idea what I'm doing. SOMEBODY HELP!"
I mean, I had planned to do the flat, just the reality of the work involved hadn't hit home!

And watching the series for ideas? The piano changes! From when Bertie does 47 Ginger-Headed Sailors it's brown and when he does Puttin' On The Ritz it's white! So I'm just going to wing it. (I'm pretty sure all of the ACTORS except for Jeeves, Bertie, and Tuppy Glossop change at least once anyway.)

I had about figured out at the time of this posting "Well let's see, he'd have a bar, right? For his b. & s.?"

I was despairing of "Wait. What does it even . . . ARGH!

I'll probably shuffle things around just a tad to accommodate my space restrictions (which may lead to a two- or three- story flat. Which is silly, but Bertie has a much larger apartment than I do.)

And thanks for the help with Jeeves' accommodations. Do you think he gets a small fireplace, too, so he's warm and cozy in the colder months? (See, I'm really good at early-to-mid 19th century stuff! This is HARD!)

I'm still not sure where I'll find a car for Bertie, but I feel like he needs one eventually.

Well, it's not like they need everyone all at once. I'm just worried that if I make Bertie first he'll accidentally get engaged to one of my 17" tall Disney Princesses or something. (Not as bad as Florence Craye or something, but still not a desirable turn of affairs if I'm still carving Jeeves to help him out of it.)

[godsdaisiechain.livejournal.com]

I agree that it's a swell idea...

Maybe there's a secret hallway in one of the closets? Inquiring minds want to know.

I'd also check out laeticiav... if you're a member of the com, you can see her (?) posts here and at least one of them has a link to her pinterest boards.

[haikitteh.livejournal.com]

Check out this great flicker set of 1930's interiors: http://www.flickr.com/photos/americanvintagehome/sets/72157606580042229/

Maybe it'll give you some inspiration!

[jabberwockpie.livejournal.com]

Thank you! Those are a bit more colorful. I like aspects of some of them, at least.

I admit that seeing screencaps from the series where I can really LOOK instead of watching the actors, well, it helped me realize "Oh, ick." I mean there are some things I like and white/cream does make smaller spaces look bigger (important on a TV series set, I would think), but Bertie's flat is most certainly larger than the apartment I live in with my mom and my little brother and we manage to make it a bit colorful! And all the white and brown is visually boring.

But I'll look around on miniature sites and get some ideas - get some things a little at a time - and It gives me a sort of mental image of what I need, but I'll figure out color schemes and such that I like better. (Though I think Jeeves' tastes would carefully keep things from being TOO loud. Arranging for the walls to be painted or wallpapered when he and Bertie are in Cannes?) But then he also objects to monogrammed handkerchiefs! (Though my theory here is that it's not an aesthetic thing so much as a handkerchief monogrammed B.W.W dropped in the wrong place could cause a world of trouble.)

Well, anyway, since it's playing pretend (effectively) the show is an INSPIRATION, but I can always claim "Well it wasn't described in the Wodehouse canon!" as an excuse!

[wotwotleigh.livejournal.com]

Ooh, sounds awesome! You should check out laeticiav's pinterest board for just this sort of thing, which I just can't seem to find at the moment . . . anyone have a link?

Also, you might want to check out these vintage Wodehouse illustrations I pulled together (http://indeedsir.livejournal.com/1051705.html) (I think the linked post has links to all the earlier installments). A lot of them have images of Bertie's flat and associated period decor. There are even more of these illustrations (and other illustrated Wodehouse material) here (http://madameulalie.org/PublicationsMenu.html).

[jabberwockpie.livejournal.com]

Thank you! That should help with decor and a bit with fashion, too, though I have a LOT of books on historical fashion - though not as much on menswear (I assume the authors of said books agreed with me that women get to wear more interesting clothes).

[hazeltea.livejournal.com]

The white piano is the flat in New York, that whole place is different! I imagine that there would be a small fireplace, as the London flat is a Georgian building, and wouldn't have central heating. In the living room in the show, they have an electric heater in the fireplace, which wouldn't be too unusual for the 20s-30s, Jeeves may have the same, or he could have a regular (coal based with some wood kindling) fire in there.

[jabberwockpie.livejournal.com]

That's what I get for looking up the parts where Bertie plays music thinking "Hrm, okay. I'll find out what the piano looks like THAT WAY!" without remembering "Oh wait, this story was in New York."

We'll figure out what I can find - slowly. I'm more excited about making the dolls but then I thought "Hrm, you know, they really do need somewhere to live . . . " and I've always wanted a dollhouse and I've dabbled in miniatures, so it seemed logical.

I've had the chicken pox (Seriously. At my age. I'm 25! Well, enough whining since I'm actually feeling a bit better today, but I already had them once when I was 3.) so I haven't had a lot to do BUT plan! And read and make notes and sketches and (when I can get myself out to the computer like today) - I've just been in a very Wodehouse sort of mood - I've read a lot of them, but it's been a while.

I was dismayed - nay - horrified! - to learn that my copies had all disappeared in one of the book boxes that was lost last time we moved! (I went to used bookstores all over and found a few. And then a half.com seller had the UTTER GALL to send me "Living With Jeeves" instead of "The World of Jeeves"!)

So it was kind of funny. I spent almost a week reading through stories and things writing down notes like "horrible white mess jacket - check episodes for reference" and then today my head felt less foggy and I realized ". . . I don't actually know anything about 1920s-1930s decor!"

Thank you for the information!

[godsdaisiechain.livejournal.com]

If you want to carve someone sized generously, how about Honoria Glossop (any of the Glossops, actually) or Seppings?

In the early stories, it seems like the flat in London (and the one in NY) have two areas that are separated by a corridor and that the kitchen and Jeeves's 'lair' are together and somewhat away from the rooms that Bertie lives in. He describes going down the corridor to find Jeeves more than once, or spotting Jeeves in his lair, but from some distance.

Don't know if that helps at all....but looking forward to seeing what you come up with.

[jabberwockpie.livejournal.com]

I am seriously considering it eventually. Some of it's a matter of priority. Honoria was on my "probably" list*, but I have less of a mental image of her than some other characters. Whereas I just re-read The Code of the Woosters and find I have a very clear mental image of Aunt Dahlia (I was so touched at the end of that book!). I actually convinced a friend of mine to READ THE BOOKS by telling her some of the parts that didn't make it into the J&W episodes as I read - having not been feeling up to doing much.

*Unless I get distracted by something shiny in the interim or lop off a finger while carving**. I have a very good friend I'm trying to convince to read or watch Jeeves - because shockingly, she has not - convincing her it's a PIECE OF CAKE after Sayers' PARAGRAPHS OF UNTRANSLATED FRENCH, but at least she'll only expect me to do Lord Peter and Harriet.

** This is unlikely. I have protective stuff, I just cut myself a couple of times the VERY first time I tried because I didn't have it on right. Then I waited until I stopped bleeding and fixed it.

It does help a lot, actually! It's giving me good ideas to muddle around with - and I wouldn't have remembered those parts in the book myself (though I'm working on a pretty thorough list of Clothes Jeeves Does Not Approve Of so I can make a bunch of wee outfits for Bertie!Doll. I think so far my award for Most Horrifying Outfit has to go to the entire ensemble - sweater-vest, plus-sixes, AND socks - from the Drones' Golf Tournament in S1E2. Though the white mess jacket in itself is . . . *shudder*).

Also, I just realized your username, which is wonderful, and I have been considering getting a Mcintosh for when Bertie has Auntly Dog-Sitting Duties - but NOT Bartholomew because it's just not right for him to make J&W leap onto a cupboard and a dresser.

[godsdaisiechain.livejournal.com]

I was really bothered by the layout someone posted on the internet of the TV London flat, because you can see the window in the kitchen in at least one episode, so I has to go all the way to the same outside wall as the dining room. (Also the toilet and sink are in the totally wrong place...)

Aw! McIntosh! Although he is a spoiled little fellow, IMHO.

[jabberwockpie.livejournal.com]

Considering it's a mixture of books (which Wodehouse didn't even seem to have completely clear, and he wrote them over so many decades!) and more than one TV adaptation (even though I've only seen the Fry & Laurie one) and TV sets by necessity generally are in pieces instead of one cohesive whole and there's what's practical for a dollhouse, too - since I have to be able to reach things!

I admit I'd skip the bathroom were it not for Bertie's rubber duck.

I still need to find a cow creamer.

I'm more excited about the accessories, if you can't tell!

And as to Mcintosh, I think we can tell where ALL of Aunt Agatha's love and affection goes. She doesn't have any left over for Bertie, certainly.

[krisreinke.livejournal.com]

Not related to doll-housing - but I would not assume that in 1920's Jeeves got his own ensuite bath. It is possible that his room is separate from the Wooster flat - tucked up in the attics or down in the basement - and that he shares a bathroom with several other male servants from the other flats.

[thistlethorn.livejournal.com]

I adore dolls--can't wait to see yours. I had a grandiose idea in my head of doing felt-and-batten covered wire-armature bodies with molded felt heads, because it's such a 1920's style of doll, but apparently felt molding is a closely-guarded secret (or a lost art), and I'm more of a 2-D artist than a sculptor, so I kind of gave up on the idea out of the sheer overwhelming scope of it. So I wish you great good luck with yours and am cheering you on with great enthusiasm!

[jabberwockpie.livejournal.com]

Could you show me an example? I think I know what you mean? Like a Lenci doll as in "Edith the Lonely Doll"?

A quick Googling brought up "How To Make A Pressed Felt Doll" by Alice and Lee Welpley 1984 though I'm not sure how hard it'd be to find.

I'll see what I can find for you. I had to use every ounce of, dare I say it, almost Jeevesian manipulation that I possess (which is a fair bit - family trait) to get what information on carving the joints and things I DID get were generally incomplete and had to be filled in with my own thinking (good thing I'm good at engineering?). Some of those people just DO NOT want more people making things, it seems.

[krisreinke.livejournal.com]

Felt molding is not at all difficult - although it can require a bit of equipment.
Short form?
Get some wool fibre ( raw is best - but dyed will work - however 'shoddy' (reused wool) will generally not)
Prepare a reverse mold - with the shape wanted on the inside. Make sure it has tiny holes or other drainage.
Boil and beat the wool fibre.
Press it into the mold while still very hot - massaging as much as possible of the water out and rubbing the fibres together.
Repeat to build up thickness - but do not allow the first layer to cool before adding a second ( or they will separate)
Place pressure on the molded felt and let it dry but not warp.
Ease from mold and trim.