"M Y  C H I E F  W A N T  I N  L I F E
I S  S O M E O N E  W H O
S H A L L  M A K E  M E  
D O  W H A T  I  C A N."
Ralph Waldo Emerson

"A  D E S I G N E R  I S  A
P L A N N E R  W I T H  A N
A E S T H E T I C  S E N S E."
Bruno Munari

"G O O D  D E S I G N  I S  A
G R E A T  C O M B I N A T I O N
O F  C O M M O N  S E N S E ,
U N U S U A L  I M A G I N A T I O N
C L A R I T Y  O F  P U R P O S E ,
A E S T H E T I C  I N S I G H T
A N D  A  D E E P  
R E V E R E N C E  F O R  T H E
L O V E  O F  L I F E ."
Millard Sheets

When I was a little girl I spent many pleasure filled hours playing with my paper dolls. I made up elaborate stories and acted them out with my friends. I loved the glamourous clothes that accompanied the movie star dolls. Fox furs and elaborate ball gowns seemed like appropriate attire for them despite the fact that no one in my real world wore comparable clothing.

The very best part of playing with paper dolls was designing clothes to extend the alluring wardrobes of beauties such as Betty Grable and Claudette Colbert. Although I had a collection of Betsy McCall paper dolls they never acquired the extensive wardrobes that the movie stars did. I suspect that I realized that Betsy did not require the same finery.

Although I enjoyed creating costumes in the company of my little friends, I was quite happy to work on my own. I loved every part of the process. I carefully drew clothes that were to me incredibly beautiful. I remembered to include the tabs necessary for dressing the dolls. Although I never felt like I had a sufficient range of crayons, I coloured each outfit with great care. Finally I cut out the clothes and stored them in a hanky box.

Recently my granddaughter, Sullivan revealed a similar interest in design. She arrived for a visit with a stack of papers under her arm. She said she had something important to show me. She proudly displayed a set of designs for dresses for her beloved Brown Bear. "We'll need to make these," she said.

Sullivan had made a series of detailed drawings for her bear. Some had waistlines while others flowed from the shoulders. There were puffed sleeves and capes and hats with feathers.

I told Sullivan that before we could sew her beautiful designs we would need a lesson on pattern drafting. A few days later she and her sister Josie arrived with their bears and Sullivan's fist full of drawings. We went directly to my studio. Josie drew pictures and chatted while Sullivan watched carefully as I measured the bears. Both girls paid careful attention each time I said we were going to do an important step.

When the patterns were complete each girl chose fabric from my stash. Jane Sassaman would be pleased to know that they thought her prints were the most beautiful fabrics in my collection. The girls happily chatted about what adornments might go best with each dress.

Because the girls are not yet independent sewers they had to take turns at the sewing machine so that I could supervise. While one girl sewed the other made hats and bathing suits and pinned them together with large safety pins.

They developed an elaborate fantasy about a surprise birthday party for Brown Bear. Since Brown Bear was in the room they had to talk about their plans in a code so she would be surprised. When it was time for Brown Bear to try on her dress Sullivan told her it was going to be a gift for someone else's bear that was the same size. "Do you think she knows?" Sullivan whispered to me.

Both girls decided that their dresses would look best with fringed hems. They carefully cut the fabric so that it would tickle the stubby legs of their bears. It was a perfect finish to the elegant attire.

As I said goodbye to the girls that afternoon my heart was full. I enjoyed their pleasure in making garments for their bears. I chuckled at their party planning fantasy. I am so happy to nurture their imaginations and to teach them drafting and sewing skills. And I am happy to remember the delight I took in a similar process many years ago.