When I was nine years old, I received a Tammy doll for Christmas. The dolls were manufactured from 1962-1966. Every doll came dressed in a blue one-piece jumpsuit and a pair of white tennis shoes. In addition, a plastic stand was included to support her in a standing position. My mother and I sewed every outfit pictured on this pattern envelope. To store the clothing, I constructed a shoebox closet using instructions that were included in this pattern. My original closet is long gone, so I recreated it. When I was searching for a shoebox of the proper size, I didn't realize that they came in so many varied dimensions. An extremely helpful sales associate kindly removed the shoes housed in one that was as close in size as I could find and placed them in a generic box used for orphan merchandise. I found some floral contact paper at Walmart that is virtually identical to what is shown on the pattern envelope and what my memory tells me looked like the one that I originally made as child. Because the shoebox wasn't exactly the size requested in the materials list on the back of the envelope, I had to adjust the dimensions of the contact paper covering. Here is a photo of my completed closet.
Hanging in the closet are all of the handmade clothes that either my mother or I made. The hangers are made from chenille stems following directions provided in the pattern. The original closet rod was made with a chenille stem inserted through a drinking straw and bent downward at each side of the closet to hold it in position, however I chose to use a dowel rod for more rigid support. To make the door hinge, brads are used to attach the lid to the box. It isn't perfectly functional, but to stay true to the original directions, I did it as instructed. I like how the closet's top is swooped down a bit. It makes it look old and used. The Tammy dolls are not my originals. I ordered these two with brunette and auburn-colored hair on eBay because I couldn't remember my doll's hair color. Both came in their original box. I still plan to purchase a blonde to complete my set. They are quite pricey, especially ones in their original box, because they were only produced for a limited number of years unlike Barbie dolls which are still being made.






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