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How to Make a Mole Doll

The mole has become the unsuspecting mascot of chemists worldwide since the 19th-century Italian chemist Amedeo Avogadro stipulated that the molecular weight ('Mole') of any substance is the same as the number of its molecules. While Avogadro didn't think about moles as the cute furry animals that burrow in the ground, chemists, and especially chemistry teachers, have latched on to the idea as a way of making chemistry more accessible to students. Mole Day is celebrated all over the United States on October 23 with children making mole dolls, chemists eating guacamole and toasting Avogadro's contributions.

Things You'll Need

Felt, light brown
Felt, dark brown
Needle
Brown cotton thread
Scissors
2 brown beads
Stuffing

Instructions

- 1
  Cut the light brown felt into a tear drop shape, around eight inches long and four inches wide at the base. Make two small half-circle protrusions three inches back from the point of the tear drop and about one inch long for the paws. This will be the underbelly of your mole.
- 2
  Fold the dark brown felt in two so that a double pattern will be made when you cut out the shape.
- 3
  Cut the dark brown felt in the shape of a mole silhouette. It should have an eight-inch length, four-inch high rounded back, and a circular head, two inches high, that has a 1/2-inch protrusion on it for the nose. For the top side of the paws, cut three inches back from the head and make a half-circle protrusion that is one inch long. There should be two identical pieces of dark brown felt.
- 4
  Sew the two pieces of dark brown felt together at the top seam, from nose to tip to backside, with the felt the wrong side out.
- 5
  Position the brown felt piece on top of the light brown piece, lining up the edges. Sew the edges together, leaving the back open for stuffing. Make sure the wrong side of both pieces of felt is out at this point.
- 6
  Turn the mole inside out so that the sewing seams are now on the inside. Sew on the two brown beads, about two inches apart, on the head for the mole's eyes.
- 7
  Stuff the body, putting stuffing into the nose first, then the head, into the paws and finally into the rest of the body. Sew the hole in the back up once the stuffing is how you want it.
- 8
  Take a new length of brown cotton thread and tie it tightly around the nose, about 1/4-inch back from the tip. Make sure the nose is looking very round. Move the stuffing about with your fingers until it does. Go around the nose with the cotton thread a number of times, until there is a 1/4-inch band around the nose of the mole. Tie off the cotton thread and tuck the remaining thread back under the band of cotton. You may also cut the cotton very close to the tie off.

Stuffed Animals