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Thursday, January 24, 2008
Letter to others Daughters, Sewing for Miss MollyThe Junior Project Doll from Kentucky
will go to a lucky “voice” holder this summer. Hopefully it will be ME but it could as easily
be you. Mary Desha is our Historical figure this
year represented in a delightful Victorian doll, Miss Molly. Daughters from Kentucky have stitched their
imagination in how Miss Molly would have dressed from the period 1868-1910. I had never made a doll dress before getting involved with Miss Molly. The first dress I made
for her was a deep purple afternoon tea dress. I loved doing it so I did a few more. The
more I found out about Mary Desha, the more I wanted to sew for Miss Molly. I had the good fortune to see some of her dresses and accessories at the Kentucky State Conference last spring.
I could imagine Miss Molly in her “school marm” phase with the various work dresses, the school desk, and
chalk board, preparing for night time, her own bed, robe and gown, wonderful garden tea dresses, going to the Derby with her
fancy hat and picnic basket, attending a funeral in her black dress and veil. Elegant theater gowns and party dresses.
Her Washington DC period with a “good wool coat”, walking cape and skirt. Her afternoon
tea dress with the other founders of DAR, and her return to Lexington for her second teaching phase. There is much we don’t know about Mary Desha’s day to day life but our love of
history can tell us something about what she had to endure, overcome and the clothes she might have worn to accomplish it.
Mary might have missed her debutant season because of the ravages of the Civil War. But our Miss
Molly has the clothes to attend any social season. Mary might have missed some social events because of
her “single” status. But we can dress Miss Molly to go anywhere. I completely enjoyed my time spend Sewing for Miss Molly and getting
to know Mary Desha. I would love to hear from other Kentucky Daughters about their experience in creating
all the wonderful costumes and accessories. Thank
you all for participating and allowing me to be a part of it. Hellen J. Pipes
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