How to Create a Rag Doll - eHow Style

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By veryirie
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eHow style rag doll!

The real beauty of a rag doll lies entirely in the face and though this rag doll is not a true beauty, she does have character. You can learn to create a rag doll - eHow style with these simple instructions.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

medium weight muslin
old quilt batting
fiberfill
sewing machine, needles and thread
embroidery thread
sewing scissors
yarn for hair
assorted felt colors
scrap vinyl or chosen fabric for clothing
pink latex craft paint and small brush
black permanent marker
clear nail polish
clear glitter (optional)
self adhesive Velcro rounds to attach eyes
tracing paper (colors)

Step 1

Cut pattern pieces twice.

To create a rag doll - eHow style, search on the internet for the style rag doll you wish to make. The free pattern below in resources is for a 12" doll, but you can resize as needed. Add ears, etc. and adapt the design to your liking, or leave basic pattern as is.

Lay pattern pieces on top of doubled muslin fabric and trace. Make sure to cut each piece out twice on doubled fabric as this will ensure a sturdy doll.
Step 2

Sew arms and legs.

With right sides together, sew pair of arms and pair of legs on sewing machine. Stitch close to edge in a 1/4" narrow seam. Turn arms and legs right side out and stuff with fiberfill.
Step 3

Cut body from batting.

To create a rag doll - eHow style with a face durable for embroidery, pin the front and back main body pattern pieces on a piece of scrap quilt batting. Rough cut around edges.
Step 4

Sew batting to body.

Sew main body pieces to the quilt batting 1/4" from the edge. Trim well.

If adding ears to create an eHow style rag doll, cut ear shapes out of muslin. Sew in a 1/4" seam. Turn right side out and stuff lightly. Hand sculpt the ear with matching thread and tie off.

Position ears to head and baste in place, making sure the ears are positioned facing inwards.
Step 5

To attach the arms of your rag doll, place each stuffed arm into position on the front body piece of doll. Pin in place making sure the hand portion of each arm is lying on top of the main body and facing inward. Baste stitch arms in place.

With right sides together, pin front and back of the main body. Sew together in a 1/4" seam, ensuring the arms (and ears) remain INSIDE the pinned pieces as you sew.
Step 6

Attached legs.

Clip curves of neck section before turning the body right side out. Arms should be securely fastened within the seam. Stuff body with fiberfill.

Attach legs at bottom of body, turning up body edges and encasing the top 1" of legs inside the body. Using an overcast stitch, attach legs to body by hand.
Step 7

Close up - hair.

To create a full head of hair for the rag doll - eHow style, cut lengths of twisted yarn. Knot each end of yarn. With embroidery needle and thread, fold each section of yarn in half making a loop.

Begin at base of the neck and attach a loop of yarn, securing with the thread to head of doll. Continue attaching various lengths of yarn to desired fullness.

To get the look of the rag doll's hair in the picture, begin cutting lengths of yarn shorter as you get closer to the top of head, making bangs that stick up. Intermix pieces of black and hot pink felt with the loops of yarn to give the rag doll the eHow style.
Step 8

Designer rag doll clothes.

To make the eHow logo on the rag doll's clothing, download logo to a print program on your computer. Adjust size, print and trace logo on paper.

Transfer design onto clothing by tracing logo with colored transfer paper placed under the logo and on top of the fabric. Fill in logo with latex craft paint. Let paint dry.

Trace borders of letters with a black permanent marker. Protect finish of logo by applying clear nail polish to the letters. If glitter is desired, sprinkle while nail polish is still wet.
Step 9

Rag doll face - close up.

To create a rag doll - eHow style, the facial expression is entirely up to the creator. To reproduce the face shown, position the male side of self-adhesive round Velcro where the eyes will be.

Out of black felt, cut two eyebrows, two circles for the eyes and a straight narrow rectangle for the mouth. Pop the felt eyes to the Velcro, they will automatically adhere. With black thread, tack the eyebrows and mouth into place.
Step 10

Rag doll - eHow style!

Remember the proper accessories to create the eHow style rag doll are critical. Note the doll's customized eHow jewelry which will make all the other rag dolls jealous. Indeed, this rag doll is eHow stylin! :)