Bertie Wooster Doll
I finally made a Bertie doll to go with my Jeeves doll.
I used Mimi Kirchner's doll template again. I reduced the size of the stencils 50 percent by selecting "Booklet Printing" on my Printer Setup, which again reduced the projected size of the doll from 14" to 7".
Improvising Bertie's clothes this time was a little more complicated. Jeeves is in his work clothes while Bertie, a future English lord, had to look a little more polished. I chose the smoky felt because it resembled the charcoal suit we see Hugh Laurie wearing in series 1.
The body pattern I cut out was white and I originally cut out three slightly larger body patterns in the smoky felt, intending to give the doll two open sides to a jacket as well as a waistcoat and tie (in a modest silver grey). In the end, I thought the waistcoat alone looked better and made him more symmetrical to the Jeeves doll. The detailing of his waistcoat buttons and pocket were done with white and black embroidery thread.
I also chose to give him brown hair (repeating the pattern I used for Jeeves' hair) since in the show and various artwork, Bertie is depicted as having lighter hair than his ingenious valet. Same with the turquoise blue embroidery thread I chose for his eyes.
Bertie is known for having what in the Edwardian days would have been considered an eccentric taste in fashion and accessories (monogrammed handkerchiefs, white fedoras, pink neckties) which Jeeves is constantly having to curttail. So initially I thought the signature for this doll would be to have a gaudy flower in his button hole which throws off the balance of his carefully tailored suit and buttons. In the end, however, I decided to go with a Remembrance Day poppy, since the short stories and novels take place after WWI and what the characters were doing in life prior to and during the war is a popular topic of discussion among Wodehouse fans.
This was a fun project and I'm not quite finished with my dolls yet. In the meantime, here's Bertie and Jeeves chilling out in my Sherlock bag! (Wodehouse once said he was never happier than when he was "curled up with Sherlock Holmes.").
