Hobbies And Interests
Things You'll Need
Instructions
Wad a 2-inch-wide strip of wool stuffing into a ball and wrap it with more strips of stuffing until you have an 8-inch diameter ball.
Tie a piece of string around the end of a 12-inch length of 1 1/2-inch tubular gauze. Tie it 1/2 inch from the end to close it like a small bag. Turn the gauze bag right side out. Tubular gauze is available from doll-making supply stores.
Lay a 4-inch-wide by 10-inch-long rectangle of 1/4-inch-thick wool stuffing on a table and place the wool ball in the center of it. Gather the wool up around the ball, and stuff the covered ball into the gauze, bag ball first. The ball will be the head and the loose wool will be the top of the chest. Tie another piece of string tightly around the tube to make the neck.
Tie a string around the head halfway between the top and the neck. Tie it tight enough to make a dent in the head. This is the line where the eyes will be.
Tie another piece of string around the head vertically from the top to the neck. This string creates the chin. Sew both strings to the gauze tube at the point where they cross. This point would be roughly where the doll's ears would be, although there will not be ears on this doll.
Pull the eye line string on the back of the head down to the neck so that the back of the head will be round.
Pinch up a bit of the stuffing in the center of the face just below the eye-line to make a nose. Thread a doll-making needle with strong sewing thread and sew tightly around the base of the nose to hold it in place. A doll-making needle is a very long needle. They are available from doll-making supply stores. Make the size nose that suits your doll's face.
Shape the cheeks by sewing from the nose at the point where a nostril would be down to the chin thread at a point between the middle of the neck and the point where the ear would be. Pull the thread tight enough to make a dent. Do the same on the other side of the face.
Cut a 6-inch square of fine-knit cotton fabric. Wrap it around the head so the direction the fabric that stretches the most is going around the head. The fabric should be stretched enough that the shape of the head is apparent. Pin the fabric together at the back and top of the head, so the pins follow the shape of the head. Be careful not to catch the gauze tube in the pins.
Pull the fabric off the head and sew a seam that follows the line of the pins, removing the pins as you sew. Try the fabric back on the doll and make any adjustments needed. Trim the fabric to 1/8 inch beyond the seam, turn the fabric face cover right side out and place it back on the head.
Thread a doll-making needle with three strands of embroidery thread and embroider the eyes and mouth on the doll. Go from the back of the head to the front to make the stitching.