Evening star., 1900-10-06
MAKING RAG DOLLS.
An Employment for Which Women
Are Peculiarly Adapted.

An EmplOyment for Which Women
Are Peculiarly Adapted.
From the New York Commercial Advertiser.
There is a certain appropriateness In
woman's entering into the business OF doll
manufacture. Memories OF her childhood
days will tell her how best to please and
attract the small persons for whom her
wares are intended. This Ia more than
ever true when 1t comes to the making Of
so-called rag dolls, which are In reality
not rag dolls at all. but dolls made entirely
from top to toe Of very good quality Of
muslin, and warranted to outwear many
more expensive doll because OF the lasting
qualities Of their material. Several estab-
lishments for the manufacture OF these
dolls are now being managed by women In
different parts of the country. But the
most interesting of these, since 1t was the
first In the field, Is that carried on by two
young women in Brooklyn.
Some six years ago one OF the managers
Of the present establishment conceived the
Idea of making cloth dolls for church
fair. They were altogether a success. and
found numbers Of eager purchasers. There
were then no dolls Of the kind on sale In
the shops, and the experiment which had
proved 80 successful on small scale gave
promise Of larger profits. From so small
beginning the originate tors OF this rag doll
have seen the business grow until the dolls
are now found in all parts Of the country.
Large orders are received from the west
and south, and competing firms have
sprung up which turn out dolls that are
largely patterned after those OF the Brook
lyn make.
Women are employed almost exclusively
also in the various processes of manufac-
ture. There Is very little machine work
used in the Brooklyn shop. The cutting.
however is done by machinery, and 1t Is a
curious sight to see the neatly stacked piles
Of f1attened-out arms. legs and bodies. just
as they have issued from the cutters. The
dressed. Yet that they may make their ap-
pearance In the show room or on the coun-
ter for which they are destined In fresh or
spotless attire, no doll is clothed until she Is
ordered from the factory Consequently
the work rooms display shelf after shelf Of
closely packed articles Of dolls apparel, and
the piles Of small bonnets and dresses
would doubtless fill a childish beholder with
ecstasy. Somewhat grewSome, though Is
the aspect Of the big bin where the dolls
themselves are stacked. In the dim light
the heap of white limbs and slender bodies,
falling over one another In every imagin-
able attitude, forcibly recalls the prophets
vision of the valley of bones. At this time
| Of the year toys OF all kinds are less in de-
mand than at any other, and the bin. now
but half full, will be piled to the top as the
Christmas season approaches.
The most interesting part of the making
Of these cloth dolls is the putting on and
the painting of the face The faces are
painted on the finest Of white muslin. This
work, as also the stitching OF the dresses.
may be taken away from the work rooms.
One woman employed by the Brooklyn
house has become an expert at doing the
faces, and has supported herself for some
time by that means. Before the painted
cloth Is put queer little pads covered
| with pink muslin fastened to the head
to give the well-rounded cheeks and the
slight pinkish tinge to the unpainted parts
of the face Over this the face is pinned
in the cheaper dolls. sewed In the moro
expensive ones. Cotton batting Is used
here exclusively for stuffing the dolls. al
though sawdust or excelsior Is preferred by
some firms as less expensive.
The work required in making the dolls Is
neat and by no means difficult. and a large
number OF girls and women have been en-
abled to find employment In this way We
are told that a slightly different kind Of
cloth doll is made abroad, but it has not
yet reached the degree of excellence to
which the American women have brought
their invention.