BAT LADY

Hi All,
I hope everyone is doing well. In my state of NM, we will be starting the second phase of re-opening of stores, restaurants, and MOST important -- hair salons and barber shops! Yea!

Here is another Halloween stump doll, which is a glamorous "Lady Bat".

I'm not crazy about that name, so I looked it up in French: "Dame Chauve-Souris". Hmm, -- It looks better than English, but when you read it, it's not clear how to pronounce it. ---Any other ideas???

You might recognize this doll, (or, at least her face). This is the doll I made a few months ago for my art clubs' "Black & White" challenge: (see older post for more of this costume)

Since I'm so busy making Halloween dolls for the store in Calif, I didn't want to spend too much time making a doll JUST for the black & white challenge. So, I decided to make a doll that could serve for both. But, I got a little crazy with the zebra print fur!

Now, I've taken off the coat & hat, and finished the dress underneath (I had finished most of the dress before I made the zebra coat). Now, I had to make the "wing" cape and headdress.

On the dress of matte sequins, (it's SO hard to photograph black on black) I've added an antique beaded applique with fringe. I got the applique on Etsy, and there was no date on it, but I imagine it must be from around the turn-of-the-century (1890 - 1900). Much of the threads was rotting, and beads were popping off like crazy!

I had to cut off the fringe and re-string it back on (some of the original fringe had already broken off, so the whole piece wasn't symmetrical). I re-stitched most of the big beads in place. I spread white glue on the back of the applique to help hold the whole thing together, and stitched it down onto the dress & body.

I made the bat "cape" from several pieces of lace. I first started with a base of chiffon embroidered with tiny sequins. Onto that, I stitched a modern lace with a "crescent" design in sections to follow the shape. On the edge, I stitched some vintage lace trim (again, Etsy) that was in a "wavy" pattern. After all the stitching was done, I went back and embroidered sequins & beads over the lace, following the lace patterns, and made the "veins/fingers" of the bat wing. (This step covered the seaming of the lace.)

The back of the headdress (sorry, no photo) is a draped turban made of the same matte sequin fabric the dress is made of. In the front, to make the crown and "ears", I wired a piece of cardboard and covered it with more sequin fabric and added a piece of jewelry. Then, added a few feathers.

I hope you enjoy! -AB.