INDUSTRY
Rosemary Frazier has an eye for color. It shows in the pink, blue, yellow, red and purple doll clothing featured in her shop.

Sewing comes “very natural” to her, she said.

Frazier works part-time in her Country Doll Boutique on Rand Road, nestled deep in the outskirts of this western Maine countryside.

Behind the counter, three different styles of sewing machines sit idle. Large spools of thread in shades of pink, blue, red, green among others, are stored in neat rows. Two pink fleece coats edged in fake pink fur hang from a hook.

Fancy gingham print dresses, purple alligator print leather-style vest and pants, tiny bathing suits with jelly shoes and leopard print fake fur coats fill a round rack. Dolls of all sizes appear to model creations of her imagination, fashion style and handy work.

The 62-year-old woman has sewed for decades, first for her children, then her grandchildren.

How she started

She started making Barbie doll clothes and then moved onto Cabbage Patch dolls. She sells the majority of her goods at craft fairs in the fall or special order.

“When I first started, I thought I was the only one making doll clothes,” she said. “Of course, I lived in the country and never got too much news. I found there were a lot of people out there doing this.”

Her husband, Percy, bought her Samantha, an American Girl doll, who now stands on her counter.

She likes the doll she’s making clothes for in front of her, she said, to take measurements.

“I like to get the measurements right,” she said.

She makes clothes from patterns and most always has on hand clothes to fit most size dolls.

She’s outfitted Shirley Temple, Sweet Sue, Bitty Baby dolls.

She makes her clothes on a serger machine to give them a clean cut and stitching that seldom pulls out. She uses a featherweight sewing machine to make clothes for 11-inch dolls and she has a Memory Craft sewing machine that does embroidery.

Pink, pastels

“I like working with pink; I like working with pastels,” Frazier said. “I’ve had good comments on my colors.”

She uses Velcro on her clothes to make it easier for a child to dress or undress dolls. When she fully retires, she wants to have each sewing machine set up in a different color thread.

Purple is the girls’ hot color of choice, she said. She made 20 vests and pantsuits in a purple alligator print design; only two remain.

Along with fake fur coats in various colors, she makes petite bomber hats. She has a stack of light pink hats with light pink mittens. She also makes hats and blankets for children.

Along one wall of the shop, plastic containers hold homemade clothes as well as blankets. Bolts of cloth are stacked for future wares in another section. Tiny shoes in little bags hang from a rack and plastic draw cabinets hold any from patterns to notions.

Doll clothes range in price between $10 and $20. Each dress comes with either bloomers or a hat, bathing suits with jelly shoes and nightgowns with caps. Once she retires, she plans to explore making older style dolls clothes. If people want to shop at the boutique, they may call her at 778-4639 to make an appointment.

“People have told me I have an eye for color,” Frazier said. “I know what a kid would like to play with or look at. I just love doing this, it’s just natural. I do think I’ve been gifted with the colors I pick out. I think like a child.”

dperry@sunjournal.com

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