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How to Make Cabbage Type Dolls From Pantyhose

You can make your own version of the Cabbage Patch dolls. All you need are some old pantyhose, some fiberfill and a few basic sewing supplies. Making dolls from old pantyhose is a good way to recycle discarded nylons. You can even use fabric scraps from sewing and craft projects to make clothes for the completed dolls. No doll is exactly like another. If you make more than one doll, you can vary their features to make them look young or old and wrinkly.

Things You'll Need

Pantyhose
Polyester fiberfill
Rubber band
Buttons
Needle
Thread
Permanent markers
Yarn

Instructions

- 1
  Snip off the legs of a pair of pantyhose. Use any color pantyhose. The color you choose determines the skin color of the doll.
- 2
  Fill one leg of the pantyhose with polyester fiberfill. Stuff it so that the diameter of the resulting tube is about 5 inches. Tie a knot in the open end to close it.
- 3
  Pinch off the toe end of the pantyhose leg into a round ball to form the doll's head. Loop a rubber band multiple times around the doll's neck to keep the head separate.
- 4
  Sew buttons on the head for eyes. Draw eyebrows and lips with permanent markers.
- 5
  Make the doll's nose. Sew a circle in a running stitch below and between the eyes and leave one end of the thread loose. Poke the needle into the fiberfill and pry it up into the middle of the circle as you pull the loose end of the thread. The circle of thread will close around part of the fiberfill and create a nose. Knot the thread to keep the shape.
- 6
  Pass a needle and thread from the top of the head and out through the doll's cheek. Stick the needle back into the cheek next to the exit point and pass it back through the top of the head. When you pull the thread, a dimple forms. Knot off the thread.
- 7
  Sew several strands of yarn in different places on the doll's head for hair.
- 8
  Cut the other leg of the pantyhose in half lengthwise. Sew each half closed into a smaller tube. Cut off 1/3 of each tube. Now you have two short tubes and two longer tubes. The two short tubes are arms and the two longer tubes are legs.
- 9
  Sew one end of each tube closed in a curve. Turn the tube inside out so the seam on the curve is inside the tube. Stuff the tubes with fiberfill. Tie off the open ends.
- 10
  Sew several parallel lines of stitching about an inch long perpendicular to the curved end of the shorter tubes to make the doll's fingers. Sew several shorter parallel lines into the curved end of the longer tubes to form toes.
- 11
  Tuck the knotted ends of the tubes inside the tube and sew the arms and legs onto the doll's body. Your doll is finished.

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