Lyalka-motanka is one of the varieties of Slavic amulets. Unlike Russian and Belarusian counterparts, threads in the form of a cross are wound around her face. Among the Gentiles, it denoted fire and was a solar symbol.
For the manufacture of such a doll does not require a lot of material, and anyone can make it.
Principles of manufacturing a talisman
The process of creating this doll is called wrapping. It really looks like wrapping a baby in diapers, clothes. The traditional lyalka-motanka is done without the use of needles, scissors. The fabric and threads are torn by hands.
In antiquity, the canvas for making dolls was painted with elderberry, beet, and nightshade juice. When they made this amulet, the craftswoman thought about who they would then hand it to. Often the dolls were left in their family and passed them by inheritance.
Now motanka are beautiful souvenirs, in Ukraine they are often tied to the hoods of wedding cars as a symbol of happiness for newlyweds.
Start tinkering
He will tell you how to make a felted motka, a master class.
First, prepare everything you need:
- pieces of fabric;
- threads of the desired colors;
- scissors;
- ribbons, various accessories for decoration.
Take a section of a plain white canvas of a rectangular shape, inside you need to put either a block of rolled cotton wool, or a fabric rolled up in the form of a roller. In the latter case, you need to fold the flap several times along to get a volume strip 3-5 cm wide. Now twist it tightly on one side in the form of a roll. Lay the blank inside a white rectangular canvas.
Align its edges. Wrap the thread with a thread so that the cotton or a piece of cloth rolled up by the roller turns into the head of the amulet and its neck is clearly marked.
We make a face
It will tell you how to make a felted motka, a diagram. Notice how the threads are wound. They should be located crosswise. This feature of the Ukrainian amulet distinguishes it from similar ones made by other peoples. Facial features are not made here, they are replaced by threads.
Arrange the first vertically, skip under the neck and continue to wind in the same way. Let's say the first thread you have is yellow. From it you will make a strip in the center of the doll's face.
Next, to the right and left of this strip, wind one more blue color. At the same time, wrap the threads vertically. For the right lane, pass them through the left side of the neck, for the left - through the right.
Blue stripes can be trimmed with vertical stripes of blue. Now you need to wind the threads in the same color scheme, only horizontally. To hold them firmly, pass them through vertical rows. So you have completed the sacred cross.
Now wrap several rows of white thread around the neck of the doll to hide previously created weaves and more clearly indicate this part of the body.
Soon you will get a felted motka. How to make it, following the old traditions? Tear off the fabric with your hands, perform an odd number of windings.
Making arms and torso
The basis for these parts of the body will be two white pieces of tissue, one should be larger than the other. Take a small rectangular strip of canvas, wind the tube out of it with your movement away from you. In the same way, draw a larger piece of fabric. Very soon, it will become the basis of the body of the amulet.
Place it vertically, and place the small tube at the top, perpendicular to the large workpiece. Take a ball of white yarn. Bind the tubes with it to form a cross. The yarn is wound not only at the junction of these two parts, but also over the entire large tube, which is the basis of the doll’s body.
Thread a little white thread on the wrist of the right and left hands of the amulet. Put the head blank on the upper body, rewind the junction of these parts on the neck and under the doll’s chest with a thread, here the thread is twisted crosswise and horizontally.
clothing
Now you can give scope to imagination. A lyalka motanka will turn out very beautiful if you dress it in a colored suit.
In order to make its upper part, take a fabric cloth with patterns. Cut or tear off the rectangle with your hands. In this case, the horizontal sides of the figure should be slightly larger than the vertical ones. Mark the middle of the rectangle, cut out a small circle for the head. Next, make a continuous cut from him to you. He is needed so that the vest is freely put on the doll.
Dress the amulet with a new thing by placing a cutout on the back. The long parts of the rectangle will become the sleeves of a motanka. To make them clearer, tie ribbons around your wrist.
From the same fabric that the shirt is made of, open the lower skirt. It will be narrower and longer than the top. First sew the top of the skirt on the doll’s waist, then cut the canvas for the upper skirt, it should be bright. After the motanka doll is dressed up in two skirts - a long lower and a shorter upper one, cut the apron out of light fabric and attach it in place with a satin ribbon.
A scarf must be worn on the neck of the amulet. Here you can show your imagination: first, tie a light scarf, then a bright shawl. From beads or beads make an ornament on the neck, hang it on a talisman. The work is completed. This is how the felted motanka is done, the master class helped to cope with this task.
Variety of amulets
In the old days, they mainly made women motanks, now they also make male amulets. The principle of manufacturing the base is identical, the only difference is in the clothes. In a suit, sarafan or dress there can be a fastener, the types of which are different.
To make a young man’s doll, use a thread to attach another piece of fabric folded into a tube to the bottom of the body to make legs. Put on them cut-out trousers, on a body - a shirt, tie a belt. Decorate your head with a cap or high hat.
Baba girl
In the old days, many amulets could accumulate in one family. One of them helped in fertility, the other was filled with healing herbs, the third contained a philosophical meaning, helped to see the lives of women. Doll-woman called such a lyalka-motanka. Types of this amulet is easy to make. To make such a philosophical coast, it is necessary to open a long skirt for the doll. When you put it on the shore, you need to wrap the hem up and tie it here to the waist with a ribbon.
This doll is a symbol of a girl. When the young woman gets married, she turns into a "woman." To show this, untie the tape at the waist - and the skirt will become long. Even before this, the apron must be tied to the waist of the amulet, so that when you lower the doll's skirt, it becomes visible. These girls were made by girls who wanted to get married as soon as possible.
Charm for mothers
If a woman wanted to have children or to protect from the troubles of those who were already born, she made a doll-Veduchka. The peculiarity of this coastline is that when such a dumpling motanka was made, her hands were long. After all, it is at the same time the hands of mother and daughter. A girl stands in front of a woman. The daughter’s body is also created from a web rolled up into a tube and fixed with a thread. Then the head is wound, hair is made from threads, a braid is braided. It remains to put on appropriate clothes on mom and daughter - and you can finish the master class (MK).
Lyalka-motanka is made not only of fabric, but also of yarn. To do this, threads of the same length are cut, folded in half, tied up at the top of the neck to mark the head. In the same way, but after separating the strands, rewind them with thread to indicate legs and arms. It remains to dress your creation, and you can admire it.