How to Make a Raggedy Doll

Pancake dolls are among the most common design for rag dolls.

The very mention of rag dolls may make you think of primitive dolls made of scrap cloth that were cherished by pioneer girls, or it may make you think of your mother's own Raggedy Ann doll. This type of doll is actually quite simple to make if you make pancake dolls. These dolls use a simple pattern cut from two scraps of fabric and sewn together at the sides.

Things You'll Need

• Peach-colored cotton cloth
• Chalk
• Scissors
• Straight pins
• Thread
• Sewing machine
• Small-gauge needle
• Dowel rod
• Fiber fill
• Yarn
• Large-gauge sewing needle

Instructions

1. Lay out your cloth so it is folded in the middle. Use chalk to draw the doll's head and torso. The head should be a circle that overlaps the torso, which should be square. The head should be the same width as the torso. If you don't want to draw it freehand, use a plastic container lid as a guide for the head and a tissue box for the body. The very top of the head will touch the fold.

2. Draw the arms and legs so they touch the fold along one long side. The arms and legs should both be the same shape as tube socks. The arms should be as long as the doll's body from neck to torso. The legs should be twice as long as the arms.

3. Cut all the pieces from the cloth. Each piece should be a mirror image of itself along the folded seam. Pin each pattern piece along the sides so the right sides are together.

4. Sew each of the arm and leg pieces along the sides with the sewing machine, leaving enough of an opening to turn and stuff the pieces. Turn each piece right-side out.

5. Pin the doll's body so the right sides are inward. Pin the arms and legs to the edges of the body so they are tucked inside of the body; the joints will be sewn to the body when the edges of the torso are sewn together. Sew along the edges of the doll's head and body, leaving an opening along one side to turn the doll right side out.

6. Turn the doll, bringing the arms and legs to the outside of the body as you do so. Place a dowel rod inside the body of the doll to help keep the head upright and stuff the head and neck. Early pancake dolls used a stick as the doll's skeleton.

7. Stuff the doll's torso, arms and legs with fiber fill. Turn the open seams inward and close with a small needle using a whipstitch.

8. Sew 24-sections of yarn into the head using a needle with an eye large enough for the yarn. Make large stitches that leave long loops of yarn behind to make the locks of hair. Use as many 24-sections of yarn you need to cover the doll's head.

References

• How to Make a Basic Rag Doll
• Free Sewing Pattern to Make a Rag Doll
• Sewing on Yarn Doll Wigs

Resources

• Free Doll Pattern for Simple Rag Dolls