Search results
Sep 9, 2024 · Stuffing and Stitching Limbs to Torso. Carefully stuff the limbs with a mix of soft wool and weighted glass beads to mimic a baby’s heft. Sew the limbs to the torso using a sturdy triple stitch, ensuring a secure attachment. Adjust the positioning of the limbs to achieve your desired doll pose.
- Overview
- Assembling a Doll From Parts
- Make a Corn Husk Doll
- Make a Fabric Doll
- Make a Clothespin Doll
Homemade toys are cost-effective, fun to create, and may end up being keepsakes. They also make great gifts. Read the steps below to learn a few different ways to make one of the most iconic children's toys, the doll, in the comfort of your own home.
Go to a hobby shop and buy a doll head, body, arms, and legs. Be sure everything is roughly matched size-wise. Some hobby shops may sell kits that take care of such considerations for you. You'll also need paint and thinner, a small paintbrush, and some doll clothes.
Doll heads range from pre-painted vinyl heads with synthetic hair to simple base elements that can be combined as you see fit. Be aware that if you buy a doll head, eyes, and a wig all separately, you'll need to do a bit more work to put the doll together.
Wigs can be made from any type of fabric you like. Specialty yarns like alpaca, mohair, and bouclé make great-looking hair, but Raggedy Ann-style colored yarn is fine, too.
Softer plastic doll parts can usually be pressed into pre-fitted holes on the body to make a doll with moving joints. Alternatively, use an appropriate type of glue (plastic cement or wood glue) to fix the doll's limbs in position, or to make a doll from simpler or harder parts.
To make this rustic American-style doll, you'll need corn husks with the silk still on them. Around a dozen corn husks (one or two ears of corn at most) should be enough to make one doll. You'll also need a large bowl of water, scissors to cut the husks, and pins and twine to bind them into shape.
Corn husk dolls are made with dried husks. Use a food drier, or set the husks out in the sun for a few days until they become dry and are no longer green. Sun drying the husks is the preferred method because it's more traditional (and corn husk dolls are steeped in both American Indian and colonial tradition), but as long as they're well-dried, the result will be more or less the same.
The most important component for making a fabric doll is the pattern. There are many fabric doll patterns available for free online, as well as purchasable patterns at fabric and craft stores. Look at the image of the finished doll and choose one you like. Along with the pattern, purchase whatever cloth and/or fill, such as cotton batting, you might need.
A typical fabric doll will require a rectangular piece of natural-colored cloth (plus more for clothes), batting, colored thread, a sewing needle, and pins to hold pieces in place while you work. Read the pattern directions for specifics.
Following the pattern you bought, cut out each piece of fabric with a pair of fabric scissors and set it aside, taking care not to fold or crumple any piece. Remember to allow a bit of extra fabric, generally about 1/8 of an inch, around each piece to account for seams.
Most doll patterns should provide clothing in a contrasting color, either in the form of a differently-colored body or a simple outfit; don't forget to cut those parts out, too.
To make this simple wooden doll, you'll need large craft clothespins (the kind with a rounded knob on the grip end), which can usually be found at craft stores. You'll also need acrylic paints, a fine-tipped felt marker, and some materials for making an outfit, such as felt, ribbons, or scrap cloth.
The knob at the grip of the pin will serve as the head, and the split at the bottom will become the feet. Use acrylic paint to paint on whatever features you want, including shoes, which can be easily approximated by painting one color about ¼ of an inch up both “feet,” letting it dry, and then painting black or brown over that color up to about halfway. The black or brown becomes the shoe color; the first color is the sock color.
You can paint the clothespin with skin-colored paint if you want, but it's not strictly necessary. If you do, be sure to let it dry first before adding other details.
Paint the face so that it makes sense with the way the feet are split. Your doll will look very odd otherwise.
- 204.8K
- Assemble The Doll’s Body. There are lots of ways to make the body of a rag doll. An easy way to start is with a pattern that has the legs already attached to the doll’s body so you don’t have to fiddle with inserting them later.
- Create The Doll’s Face. Traditionally, cloth doll faces are made by embroidering onto the finished doll. Doll face embroidery is something you will have to practice to master, but don’t be afraid!
- Add Hair To The Doll. Next you will need to add hair to your doll. The easiest and most common way to do this is with yarn! There are TONS of ways to add yarn hair to a doll, and I have outlined 9 of the most common techniques here, so that you can pick the one that appeals the most to you!
- Sew Clothing For The Doll. This is one of the best parts of doll making! Sewing the doll’s clothes is fun and challenging. You have so many possibilities of how to style your doll.
Learn to sew an easy, soft rag doll pattern, simple enough for even kids to sew with help. You'll need to grab the pattern first, of course: https://www.etsy...
- 28 min
- 112.6K
- Pin Cut Sew
- Selecting a Doll Clothes Pattern. If you’re first learning how to make doll clothes, I highly recommend using patterns before you try pattern making. I’ve written two posts on the blog to help you find hundreds of free doll clothes patterns.
- Gathering Sewing Supplies for Doll Clothes. I’ve written a post about essential sewing supplies for beginners with pictures and descriptions. However, here’s a run-down of sewing supplies you may need, depending on the type of doll clothes you want to make.
- Choosing Fabric for Making Doll Clothes. Sometimes fabrics inspire the outfit, and other times patterns dictate the fabric choice. Make sure you choose a fabric that will flatter your doll, not overwhelm him or her.
- Adjusting Patterns to Fit Your Doll. Just like every person has a different size, so does every doll. It’s essential to check the dimensions of the finished doll garment and compare them to the size of your doll.
Video: sock doll sewing Crafting Sock Dolls. Socks make the perfect basis for a cuddly, no-sew doll. To create one: Insert a small ball of stuffing in toe of sock for the head. Secure with a rubber band or ties. Stuff rest of sock for body and tie off. Add hair and facial features. Use glove fingers, felt, trim and glue to make arms, clothing etc.
People also ask
How to make a doll?
How do you sew a doll?
How do you make a doll with fabric?
Are doll clothes easy to sew?
How do you sew a rag doll?
Can you make doll hair out of fabric?
Stitch the legs’ inner edges. For the head, fold the 10-inch jersey square in half lengthwise and then pin the sides to close the fold. Start stitching at the fold by sewing a curved shape across the short end. Continue stitching down the open side of the fabric and cut the excess fabric. Keep a 1/8-inch seam allowance.
