Medieval and/or Fantasy Custom Work
For Any Scale Doll
Under Construction
Tired of trying to find factory-made fantasy clothing that suits your specific vision for a doll? Desperate for something more historically-accurate than bust darts and stretchy fabric? Got an unusual doll who still deserves a fantastic-- or fantastical-- wardrobe? Sculpted an unusual doll and find yourself struggling to dress them? Coming to the realization that machine sewing is faster, but hand-sewing always looks nicer in small scales? Need something weird that it seems like nobody makes?
Then you've come to the right place!
Through Castle Maquette, I accept commissions for custom work for Medieval, Fantasy, or Medieval Fantasy clothing and accessories for basically any doll-- I taught myself to sew on dollhouse dolls when I was 13, and I've been sewing for various and sundry dolls since then. Importantly, Castle Maquette is exclusively for commissions, to individual buyer specifications, whatever those may be. All my ready-to-ship items are up on eBay. Someday this will include patterns I've already drafted, but that day is not today, so for now those are effectively reprint commissions.
With thirty-plus years of experience hand-sewing in small scales and draping, drafting, or adapting patterns to better fit dolls ranging from under two inches to seventeen inches tall, pretty much the only clothing item I can't make for dolls is jeans, and that's more because they really require that machine topstitching than because I can't handle the construction.
Through the Castle Maquette site, however, I am currently offering three specifically Medieval, Fantasy, or Medieval Fantasy services:
Custom Capsule Wardrobes, which are entirely negotiable but by default include an undergarment, two garments, an over-garment, and two fabric accessories as a base package. This is the most expensive option, but it gives you a coordinated wardrobe you can use to put several different looks together while leaving room to bring in items from other sources, and I'm perfectly happy to negotiate for more pieces or different arrangements of pieces.
Custom Single Items, in case you feel like you've got or can make most of the perfect ensemble for your doll, but you just need that one thing, whether that's a parti-color silk cotehardie, a midwife's apron, a set of detachable sleeves, a variation on the theme of hennin, or a pair of historically-adequate fourteenth-century thigh-high leather riding boots. As single items can vary wildly in materials and difficulty, they vary wildly in price, so while this isn't always as good a deal as a capsule wardrobe, it's generally cheaper than that, if more expensive than a pattern.
Custom Pattern Drafting, where I use your doll or your doll's measurements to make a pattern for the specific garment you want, that fits in the specific way you want, including a mock-up and written instructions, for your specific doll exactly. This is not cheap, but if you can sew but can't draft patterns-- or would rather pay for someone else's machine sewing time than my hand sewing time-- it's the most affordable option. If you want a pattern for something I've already made in the size I made it, not for a different sized doll the same scale, or in a different scale entirely, contact me asking about Custom Pattern Copies and you can purchase those at a reduced rate, as I don't have to work with measurements or mock-ups.
If you like what I make but you're not sure about this whole hand-sewing thing, you can also commission me for a Stitch Sampler, a $10 (plus USPS First Class/Ground Advantage tracked shipping or the closest international equivalent) chunk of random fabric sewn with random contrasting thread(s) in the basic stitches I'm most likely to use on a project. Test my seams, check out my hems, feel my stitches for yourself!
Custom work requires us to work together; you have to know what you want and how much you're willing to pay for it, and I have to figure out if I can make it for you and how much I'll need to make it happen. I will openly acknowledge every time it comes up that there are things I can't make, things I can only make under very specific conditions, things I can make that aren't worth the time it'd take me to make them, and things I can make that I can't make better than mass-produced factory versions. But if it falls under Medieval, Fantasy, or Medieval Fantasy, and is made of fabric, leather, or even beads, and you want it for your doll badly enough to pay someone to make it for you?
I may be able to help you!
How do you order, since there's no shopping cart at Castle Maquette? Follow the links! The pages there go into more detail (even the stitch-sampler page has images), and once you have an idea of what you want, email me and we can start a conversation. Be sure to read through my Policies before emailing!
I am currently willing to accept partial trades for custom work, for a discount of up to 50% off your total commission price. I am not willing to accept trades for just anything, however, so I maintain a Trade Wishlist that covers a vast array of mostly-doll-related... stuff.