Altered Southern Belle Doll

09 January
Hello! How is your weekend going? I spent a little time in my studio yesterday and I thought I'd show you the altered Southern Belle doll I made :o)

Southern Belle doll


I stopped at one of my favorite thrift shops yesterday and one of the things I found was this little sweetie! It's actually a lid, her base was missing. I thought she was so cute even though her base/dress was missing.

Southern Belle doll

I added the little vintage millinery flower to her hat, some pink glitter around her dress neckline, and the little rhinestone necklace to dress her up a little. And then...

Birdcage doll

I made a simple little birdcage base out of wire to create a new dress for her. A little vintage, pink bird is perfectly happy perched on the swing inside.

birdcage doll

Then I rummaged around in my box of vintage fabric and lace pieces and found some things to create a new pretty white dress for her. The bottom layer of her new dress is from an antique dress that had seen better days, it had lots of holes and tears but the fabric was so pretty so I saved it. If you look through the birdcage at the fabric in the back you can see that it is pleated down the center.


The top layer is an antique lace collar... kind of like what some people call a dickey. The pieces on the sides of her dress are the part of the collar that would go over  your shoulders and snap at the back of the neck, the front of the collar is on the back of her dress which you will see in a moment.


I added an old doily directly under her, covering the top of the birdcage and then added some delicate lace trim around the exposed lid edge. There are also a couple of clear plastic "crystals" on the sides but I know they are very hard to see in these pictures.


This is the back of her dress and the front of that antique lace collar, isn't it pretty? I've been saving this thing for years, I'm so glad I finally found the perfect use for it! You can also see the pleating of the old dress fabric. I added some scalloped trim around the bottom to cover the raw edge.

I'm so happy with how she turned out and I'm glad that whoever donated her to the thrift shop didn't throw her out since her base was most likely broken. She cost me a whole $2.50, all the other stuff I had!



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  1. She's adorable! You've given her a gorgeous new life!

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  2. I love the surprise of the little bird in its cage. The fabric scraps you used are beautiful. Clever, clever!

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  3. How cute is she!?! You did a fantastic job. You are loads more creative than I am!

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