I have loved Bleuette for a long time. She is such a fun doll. Never heard of Bleuette, well, Bleuette has been around and loved by little girls and collectors since 1905. That's one hundred and seven years. I love to sew for Bleuette. There are hundreds of patterns on the web all in free domain. Free domain meaning that the copyright has expired.
Original Bleuette dolls have not been commercially made since early 1960. Today Bleuette dolls are made by reproduction artists to satisfy the demand for affordable dolls as an original Bleuette can cost thousands of dollars. Reproduction Bleuettes can cost from a little less than a hundred dollars up to $500.00, depending on artist and quality of the doll. There are many ready made clothes on ebay for Bleuette. Go to ebay and type Bleuette in the search to see all that is available there. Bleuettes are 10 1/2 to 11 1/4 inches tall. There are joints in the knees and elbows. Her head is made of porcelain and her body is either composition or paper mache. There are two bodies for Bleuette and five different faces, which make her very interesting. All of my Bleuettes are reproductions as I can't afford an original. Some have been made by me and some by other doll makers. I have about eight now. I will put a link to bleuettes history and a link to one of the many pattern sites. If you love to sew for your dolls and enjoy a doll, Bleuette is a doll to consider. On the web there are many active Bleuette groups. One group, The Bleuette Sewing Club issues a sewing challenge each month. It is very interesting to see the many ideas from one pattern or idea as they post many pictures of their work. There are many very talented people in this group. Following are some pictures of my Bleuettes.
This is Bleuette wearing her red coat that I made for her.
This Bleuette is wearing a Little House On The Prairie challenge outfit from the Bleuette Sewing Club
This group of bleuettes are wearing outfits made from a challenge several years ago to dress Bleuette in: red, white and blue. I really had fun with this challenge.
Another picture from the Bleuette red, white and blue challenge. I think I got a little carried away by this one.
The pictures of the next bleuettes are dolls that I have made. I love making dolls, but don't do much anymore.
Here is the link to the complete Bleuette history:
http://www.vintagebleuettes.com/bleuetteshistory.htm
This is a long article, but well worth the time to read.
Here is the link to one of the Bleuette pattern sites:
http://www.thebleudoor.com/BleuettePatternLibraryHome.index.htm
The original patterns are listed by the year they were released. There are also many new patterns for Bleuette included in the site.
I hope you enjoy Bleuette and learn to love her as I do.
Original Bleuette dolls have not been commercially made since early 1960. Today Bleuette dolls are made by reproduction artists to satisfy the demand for affordable dolls as an original Bleuette can cost thousands of dollars. Reproduction Bleuettes can cost from a little less than a hundred dollars up to $500.00, depending on artist and quality of the doll. There are many ready made clothes on ebay for Bleuette. Go to ebay and type Bleuette in the search to see all that is available there. Bleuettes are 10 1/2 to 11 1/4 inches tall. There are joints in the knees and elbows. Her head is made of porcelain and her body is either composition or paper mache. There are two bodies for Bleuette and five different faces, which make her very interesting. All of my Bleuettes are reproductions as I can't afford an original. Some have been made by me and some by other doll makers. I have about eight now. I will put a link to bleuettes history and a link to one of the many pattern sites. If you love to sew for your dolls and enjoy a doll, Bleuette is a doll to consider. On the web there are many active Bleuette groups. One group, The Bleuette Sewing Club issues a sewing challenge each month. It is very interesting to see the many ideas from one pattern or idea as they post many pictures of their work. There are many very talented people in this group. Following are some pictures of my Bleuettes.
The pictures of the next bleuettes are dolls that I have made. I love making dolls, but don't do much anymore.
This Bleuette perhaps my most valuable one was made by one of of the more famous Bleuette doll artists. This particular head mold has a more baby face than the others.
Here is the link to the complete Bleuette history:
http://www.vintagebleuettes.com/bleuetteshistory.htm
This is a long article, but well worth the time to read.
Here is the link to one of the Bleuette pattern sites:
http://www.thebleudoor.com/BleuettePatternLibraryHome.index.htm
The original patterns are listed by the year they were released. There are also many new patterns for Bleuette included in the site.
I hope you enjoy Bleuette and learn to love her as I do.
I've been trying not to give in to the temptation. Really enjoyed this. Thank you. :)
ReplyDeleteThey are such fun!
ReplyDeleteI so enjoyed this post.
My mother (now 93) had three originals as a child and now has a repro Bleu and her baby brother Bambino. I have 3 Bobettes, the Robert Raikes wooden version of Bleuette - safer in my hands that a bisque girl, now that I have MS, easier to pose and exactly the same size, so loads of patterns to try.
I´m really glad I have found your blog. I love to rescue antique/vintage dolls from thrift stores and restore them. But there is not much information about doll restoration on the net and there are no classes here in Sweden. I wish there were more blogs like yours ;-)
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