The History of Edith Flack Ackley Cloth Dolls with Jonathan Green | Virtual Doll Convention Video

This delightful video was originally filmed and produced by Jonathan Green for the June 2019 Virtual Doll Convention. Doll historian Jonathan Green gives us a wonderful presentation all about Edith Flack Ackley dolls. Also, check out his videos on our channel about Raggedy Ann and Andy. He is the best! In Loving Memory of Jonathan Green: www.virtualdollconvention.com...
Learn more about the Virtual Doll Convention at www.virtualdollconvention.com

[@Michelle6998832]

RIP Jonathan Green 😔 🌻 This was a great, nostalgic presentation. ❤ ☮️

[@peppermint107]

(Gary's wife here) Thank you so Much for sharing your wonderful collection and presenting us with so much historical information. I have loved her books and made several dolls when I was in High school. I'm 60 years old now ! You have inspired me to get out my EFA books and sew again.

[@RachelHoffmanDolls]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@crowznest438]

I always thought her dolls had a whole lot of charm. My mother taught us to sew by helping us make these dolls. Never knew anything about the gal who designed them. What fun; thanks for this vid.

[@nenenee5579]

Another video with Jonathan Green that I love..

[@BettsiLedesma]

Thank you so much for this video! Close to twenty years ago, I was part of an Edith Flack Ackley doll group on Yahoo groups with Jonathan. It's always such a pleasure to learn from him! The information presented here is absolutely priceless- a genuine treasure in itself for anyone who loves these precious dolls.

[@miniaturescookingandmore6583]

Wow they are beautiful, I'm sure that she had so much fun making them, just like we all do when we enjoy a hobby of ours.

[@auntiejx3]

Her sister Margaret Flack wrote The Story About Ping…Robert McCloskey wrote Make Way for Ducklings

[@TammyPowley]

Fascinating, thank you for your thorough overview of her work.

[@RachelHoffmanDolls]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@stelladollies]

So thrilled that you posted this video! I'm a fan of the Ackley dolls, and greatly appreciated the information Jonathan shared and also for showing his collection. This is a video I will be revisiting just for the sheer fun of it ... thank you very, very much! Smiles, Stella

[@RachelHoffmanDolls]

You are so welcome! Wonderful to hear, thank you for sharing and for being a part of our doll community!

[@Tam.I.am.]

I remember reading one of her dollmaking books when I was a kid. The school actually had it in the library.

[@bellaboo8952]

Love this video! Love her dolls!!!!

[@morenagomes7607]

Top!👏

[@d.d.d.a.a.a.n.n.n]

Such adorable faces! Thanks for sharing this with us.

[@RachelHoffmanDolls]

Our pleasure!

[@JacqsieRae]

Extremely interesting...Thank you!

[@sharonduvall7286]

Very interesting collection and so much information about these beautiful dolls...thank u I enjoyed it so much!

[@RachelHoffmanDolls]

Glad you enjoyed!

[@micksmom2293]

Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge about EFA and her dolls! I really appreciate your taking the time to make and share this video.

[@RachelHoffmanDolls]

Glad it was helpful!

[@kathygettig9501]

So excited to learn more about EFA dolls!!! Thank you for sharing this!

[@RachelHoffmanDolls]

You are so welcome! Thanks for watching!

[@poesiavisual5714]

@@RachelHoffmanDolls Excuse my ignorance, these dolls are still produced? They are very beautiful. Edith Flack Ackley was a great designer. Greetings from Argentina

[@dallasbarron3276]

I'm finally learning about more doll history instead of just making and finding them......thank you so much for this video!!! Very good resource and interesting :)

[@RachelHoffmanDolls]

That’s great to hear. We are so glad you learned a lot. Thanks for tuning in!

[@LMB925]

Wonderful information, and beautifully presented. Thank you.

[@RachelHoffmanDolls]

Glad it was helpful!

[@elainedarquin5587]

Very educational-thank you very much ♥️♥️

[@RachelHoffmanDolls]

You are very welcome!

[@louisenichols3662]

Thank you for this video. Can you tell me what material is used to stuff the dolls?

[@RachelHoffmanDolls]

You are welcome! I think it is cotton. Thanks for watching!

[@Squiggy8440]

You stated edith used a stretchy japanese fabric but i have a hard time refinding what the name of it was, also, i can’t seem to find her patterns at all, where would it be best to look ?

[@kimoh3]

Sadly, Jonathan is no longer with us, but he was a friend of mine and we have discussed these dolls at length because I also love them and have been making them off and on for over 50 years. Edith used Japanese crepe when she started making the dolls in the 1930s, which unfortunately is no longer being made and doesn't really have a modern eqivalent. Jonathan said he tried a rayon crepe as well. I have been making them for years myself, and have just dealt with the "less plump" outcome. I have been meaning to try some other fabrics, you would just be looking for a woven fabric that has some give to it. You could even try cutting the body on the bias - I need to do some experimenting. I also learned the hard way to make sure the fabric isn't at all sheer, or you will see your seam allowance around the edges of the doll. For the patterns, your best bet is to buy the book "Dolls to Make For Fun and Profit" by Edith Flack Ackley - it has patterns printed right into the book that you can copy and use for a variety of sizes. Plus it has delightful illustrations! There is also someone on Etsy that sells photocopies of what is in the book of just one doll pattern at a time. If you are looking for the larger dolls made from the kits that he showed, the one with the braids was called "For a Little Girl's Christmas" and the one he called "Peggy" with the hat and the pinafore was named, "To Greet A Little Girl". There is a group on FB called "Vintage Cloth Dolls", you can join there if you have more questions or need to know more. Good luck!

[@Squiggy8440]

@@kimoh3 thank you for replying, its much appreciated! i’m sorry he passed, he seemed like a gentle and kind soul. While i waited, i did find a small creator on etsy who has scanned and added slight edits to old patterns for different projects. Including some of edith’s doll patterns. It was such a wonderful surprise, i thought i might cry since alot of old print books are no longer being published and are becoming harder to purchase. Glad there was someone able to salvage some. If you would like, i can send the link to the comments section to share with others. :>

[@kimoh3]

@@Squiggy8440 he was indeed a kind and generous person and has left a huge hole in the doll collecting community - he will be missed so much! I last saw him in August and one of the "rough" dolls on his table there is now in my collection, I was SO thrilled to have a doll that Edith herself made after being a fan for decades! I'm glad you found a pattern, I hope you will enjoy making it! If you do enjoy it, I still recommend you get the book - there are several copies on ebay right now (this book was only available as a hardback) for around $40. Just be sure to verify that you are getting one that isn't just the 1938 pub date - be sure that the 1951 date is present as well so you get the extra patterns. If the seller is confused by that question, then ask them if there are instructions in the back for making straw hats. If that isn't there, then it's not the 1951. I have copies of both, because I'm so obsessed - I think I have 3 copies of that book I love it so much! I'm not the administrator or owner of this KZbin channel, so I don't know if a link to the pattern seller is okay to post or not. I guess if it's not then they will take it down. 🙂 Happy sewing!

[@TheMahadear6]

good resource of good doll books

[@RachelHoffmanDolls]

Glad you enjoyed this video!

[@tietearoddy]

Did she make Jumbo large cloth dolls? I have a cloth doll but it's huge though and I think I have one of her dolls. She really huge and has yarn like hair.

[@RachelHoffmanDolls]

The pattern could be enlarged but I have never seen a huge one.

[@janlipinski9838]

love this,,,,thank you,,,,love EFA dolls

[@roseanehonoratosilvasilva2447]

😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩

[@dianathorpe2280]

Rachel thank you so much for this video. I have had a little mystery doll for over 30 years and I think I may finally know who she is. She looks so much like these dolls and I think she is made from the stretchy fabric as she almost has a chin and her face does have more dimension. She is so pretty and dainty in the face, but she has three tiny lashes on each eye. She is dressed in blue cotton dotted Swiss with butterflies on the dress. Her apron and collar are organdy with cotton lace hand applied. Her little bloomers have very delicate hand made tatting. Her hands and feet are exactly like the ones in this video. Her size is about 12 1/2 inches. She is not marked. Is there anyway I could get her verified as an actual Edity Flack Ackley doll?

[@dianathorpe2280]

She has apricot braids pulled up on the sides of her head with blue ribbons. She feels like a 1940's doll in her appearance.

[@josngavin3729]

👍👍👍👍👍👍👍❤🙏😃

[@RachelHoffmanDolls]

Glad you enjoyed this!