Crafty Friday 2/11 - Yarn Doll

If there is anything around here that we have too much of, it's probably yarn. (That can't be a bad thing though, right?) Even the girls have their own bags and boxes of yarn to do with as they please.

Lately the youngest has been making cute little creations with her yarn and spent one day making yarn dolls to play with. Hers were really cute, but didn't last the day after all that playing.

So being the good mommy I am, I went online (what did we do before internet??) and found these directions for an improved yarn doll that should last for awhile.

Materials Needed:

Yarn (any two colors) Scissors Books or Cardboard pieces with the following measurements from top to bottom: Large = 16 1/2 inches Medium = 9 inches Small = 7 inches Doll Makers Needle Black & Red Embroidery Floss

Make the Body:

• Using the color you have chosen for the doll’s body, cut a piece of yarn approx. 6 inches long to be the tie and lay it across the top edge of the large book. Wrap yarn around the book as shown in the photo at #1. Continue winding yarn around the book 200 times.
• Slip the wound yarn off the book and tie the 6 inch piece of yarn tightly around the wound yarn.
• Cut the opposite end of the wound yarn where it bends, so that you have what is shown in the photo at #2.
• Make a yarn ball that is approx. 1 inch in diameter. See the photo at #3.

Make the Arms:

• Using the Medium book, wind the yarn around it as you did for the body, but only 50 times. (You will NOT need to place a tie along the top of the book)
• Slip the yarn off the book and cut along the bottom bend of the wound yarn.
• Tie together one end of the yarn, as shown in the photo at #4, about 1/2 inch from the edge.
• Braid the entire length of the yarn and tie together again, at about 1/2 inch from the edge. (Trim if necessary)

Assemble the Body:

• Take the yarn ball and place it inside the yarn body, under the gathered, tied center.
• Smooth out the yarn evenly around the ball and gather it together under the ball. Tie the yarn together tightly to form the head. See the photo at #6.
• Divide the yarn below the head into two parts, front and back.
• Center the braided arm piece between the two parts as shown in the photo at #7.
• Tie the yarn together tightly under the arms to form the upper body.
• Divide the remaining yarn into two parts, left and right.
• Braid each side, gathering and tying the ends about 3/4 inch from the ends. See photo at #8. (Trim if necessary)

Create the Hair:

• To make the hair, use the Small book and place a 4 inch piece of yarn across the top edge of the book as you did for the body.
• Wind the yarn around 50 times.
• Slip the wound yarn off the book and tie the yarn together tightly with the 4 inch piece of yarn.
• Cut the opposite end of the wound yarn along the bend so that you will have cluster of long strands, tied in the middle. See photo at #9.

• Place the hair over the head with the gathered tie centered at the top.
• Use a doll maker’s needle and the hair color yarn to carefully, sew the hair in place at the top.
• Bring the needle and yarn down to one of the sides of the neck. (This should be done by sending the needle through the inside of the doll's head.)
• Loosely stitch over a small segment of the yarn hair along the neck, then another segment, then another, and so on until you reach the other side of the neck and the hair is secured evenly across the back of the neck as shown in the photo at #10.
• Tie off the end of your stitching yarn under the hair where it is concealed.
• Stitch a simple face using embroidery floss or you could even glue ready-made doll eyes and mouth on.

Done!

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