Doll Making Sitemap

1. Poppets and Babes - As long as there have been little girls in the world, there have been dolls. We know this is so because scientists have found many dolls in strange and forgotten places. By studying these dolls, historians and scientists have learned a great deal about people who lived thousands of years ago.

Some of these dolls are very odd-looking. One doll, made from a flat piece of wood, belonged to a little girl who lived in Thebes, Egypt, four thousand years ago. We call it a "Paddle Doll" because it looks like a short, small paddle.

2. Cotton Baby - Have you a tiny soft baby doll just the right size to fit into a doll-house-size baby carriage, one that is even soft and small enough to be held in the arms of the mother doll? You can't buy a doll like this, but you can make one in about fifteen minutes.

The picture below shows one. It is a Cotton Baby, looking for all the world like a sweet little four-month-old infant. I call her a Cotton Baby because that is what she is made of: soft, white absorbent cotton.

3. Paper Dolls - Did you know that long ago there used to be very elaborate paper dolls which were manufactured exclusively for grown-ups?

Those paper dolls were made in France and were quite expensive. Both men and women played with countless numbers of them. They were printed on sheets, sometimes colored and sometimes only in black and white so that the purchaser could color them himself.

4. Doll House - The most attractive little dolls can be made for your doll house. Crepe paper, absorbent cotton, and pipe-stem cleaners are the things you'll need besides scissors, paste, thread, and needle.

The charming thing about these dolls is that they can be bent into all sorts of natural poses without any difficulty whatsoever.

5. Rag Doll - The rag doll belongs to a family noted for its great hardiness, sweet disposition, and comfortable personality. While not as beautiful as the bisque and china branches of the family, the rag doll clan possesses both charm and an amazingly durable constitution.

The term "rag doll" is used to describe any doll that is entirely made of cloth of some kind. One naturally thinks of a rag as being an old, worn, or discarded piece of material, but this does not apply to all rag dolls.

6. Modeled Dolls - Sometimes ago a special kind of doll came to this country from Italy. These dolls were so beautiful that grownups bought them just to look at. They could sit on dressing tables and beds in the most lifelike way. Some of these dolls live in dolls* houses and delight hundreds of little girls who are lucky enough to own them.

7. Character Dolls - One of the most interesting kinds of dolls to make is the kind having its own personal skeleton. Made with a copper-wire frame, the body has to be shaped around the wire skeleton, then covered with a "skin" of some sort. This is the type of doll that fine doll-makers make for private collectors and museum displays. It is not especially difficult to make. It just takes time and patience.

8. Hard Heads - The problem of creating a doll that was inexpensive to make, beautiful and appealing to look at, and assured of a fairly long life without breaking was solved in various ways during the last century. Wood dolls, of course, were particularly sturdy, but unless their creator was particularly gifted in carving faces the final result was plain, to say the least.

9. Doll-Dressmaking - Costume design and dressmaking for dolls is one of the most exciting and fascinating of crafts. Great skill and ingenuity in using and combining materials grow as you practice the craft. Your eye and hand become so trained that the tiniest gown turns out to be an artistic creation of considerable merit. Satisfying as that may be, it is not the primary reason for putting your best workmanship into doll-dressmaking and designing.

10. Dolls Accessories - Nothing heightens the effectiveness of a doll's costume as much as one or two perfectly proportioned, beautifully designed and made accessories. They add a touch of authenticity, of realness, that immediately intensifies the beauty and appeal of the doll. Making doll accessories is really an adventure. So many odd kinds of materials can be put to use.

11. Tools & Tricks - Anything you do, whether it is doll-making or dish-washing, is done more rapidly, thoroughly, and easily when the work is organized and the proper tools are used. An expert in any field is simply a person who has learned to use the correct tools in the smoothest and most proficient way.

As a matter of fact, there are no special tools needed for doll-making. Practically everything one needs is right in the house now; scissors, needles, thread, thimble, pastes and cements, crayons or paint. All of these being rather common objects, you've used them time and time again.

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