How to Make Handmade Raggedy Ann Dolls
Since the time when the dolls were first patented in 1915 to the present, Raggedy Ann has been a beloved toy to many children. Artist and author Johnny Gruelle created the cloth doll dressed in calico with red yarn hair and button eyes. Many legends shadow the history of how he created Raggedy Ann, but hobbyists continue to enjoy making different versions of the doll as both toys for children and as home accents, especially for country and primitive style decorating.
Things You'll Need
- Muslin fabric (washed and pressed)
- Cotton print fabric (washed and pressed)
- Raggedy Ann doll pattern
- Dressmaker marking pencil
- Sewing machine
- Thread
- Stuffing
- Needle
- Acrylic craft paint
- Brush
- Paint palette
- 2 black buttons
- Embroidery floss
- Embroidery needle
- Yarn
- Large needle (opening large enough for yarn)
Instructions
-
Doll Body
-
1
Pin the body pattern pieces to both layers of the fabric and cut them according to pattern instructions.
-
2
Sew the body together with a 1/4 inch seam beginning at the bottom and moving around back to the bottom. Leave a small hole at the bottom for stuffing. To keep your seams from coming undone during stuffing, back stitch your seams at the edge of the hole.
-
-
3
Sew the arms and legs leaving the tops open for stuffing. When stitching around curves, slow the sewing speed down and adjust to smaller stitches. This will help the stitches fit around the curves.
-
4
Clip into the seam allowance around the curves on either type of pattern to prevent puckering. Be careful not to cut the seam.
-
5
Stuff the body, arms and legs using small amounts of stuffing until the parts are firm but not hard. Using too large of stuffing pieces will make the doll look and feel lumpy. Do not stuff the top third portion of the arms and legs. Use a pencil to push the stuffing into corners and curves.
-
6
Hand stitch the body closed. Fold 1 inch of the limbs ends over and sew them onto the body. Always secure the thread with a tight knot the pull the needle through and out of the body to hide the tail.
Doll Features
-
7
Paint the feet up to the ankle with black paint for shoes. Paint strips with red paint up the legs for stockings. Let the paint dry completely before proceeding.
-
8
Embroider the nose, mouth, and eye lashes or eye brows with two strands of embroidery floss. Begin and finish each piece of floss along the hair line where the knots will be hidden later.
-
9
Sew on the button eyes with two strands of embroidery floss. Knot the thread at the beginning and end along the hair line.
-
10
Cut and sew the doll's clothing as directed by the pattern. Dress the doll before adding the hair.
Doll Hair
-
11
Cut three long lengths of yarn. Thread the large needle with one piece of yarn. Push the needle through the head's top center, just along the seam. Repeat with the remaining two pieces at the sides of the heads, evenly spaced. These secure the hair to the head.
-
12
Measure a length of yarn long enough to go from one side of the doll head to the other with extra hanging down to your preference for the hair length. Cut several pieces of the yarn at this length.
-
13
Lay the yarn over the seam and knot it securely with the yarn you had sewn through the head earlier.
-
14
Wrap yarn around one hand about 10 to 15 times and clip off the end. Run the center piece of sewn yarn on the head through the loops and knot them in place. Clip the loops in half to create bangs. Trim the hair as desired.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
Facial features can be painted on instead of stitched.
For more detail, paint white circles for the eyes and sew the buttons into the center of the circles.
Many style ideas for the hair include short to long or braided pigtails, or short cut hair across the top.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit sewing image by Yury Shirokov from Fotolia.com
