How to Make German Clothespin Dolls

Paint the clothespin to match the color of skin you would like for your doll. Use an acrylic water-based paint, as it takes only a few minutes to dry.

Select a pipe cleaner the same color as your skin color. Bend the pipe cleaner in half and twist the ends together. Bend the pipe cleaner in half and circle the doll neck area. Twist the two arms together at the back of the neck and bring the arms to the front of the doll.

Select a yarn color for the shirt of your doll. Apply a drop of glue on the back neck area. Place the end of your yarn in the glue and wrap the yarn around the doll. Draw a line of glue from the neck to the waist of the doll on the front and back and then evenly wind your yarn around the doll (making sure your arms poke out where you want them), all the way to the doll waist. Snip the yarn and add another drop of glue to the end of the yarn, pressing it into the waist.

Decide on a yarn for your pant or skirt color. For pants start wrapping at the ankle area of the bottom of the clothespin and wrap each leg separately. Add glue lines to keep your yarn in place. Make a unified wrap from the top of the legs to the waist. For a skirt, start wrapping at the ankle area but wrap around both legs at once and finish at the waist.

Select yarn for hair. You can glue yarn directly to the head. Start at the center of the hair area and glue one yarn piece down. Glue the next piece to both the doll head and the other yarn and work your way around the first yarn piece in a circle. Continue working your way out until you have the hair you want. Allow the glue to dry and then trim it or style it.

Draw simple features onto your doll using fine marker pens. Bend your doll arms and bend the ends over a few times to look like hands. You can also cover the doll feet in shoes merely by wrapping them in a different color of yarn.