Unlike plastic dolls, textile beauties are usually not designed for games. Their goal is to decorate the house and bring good luck to their owner, who turned the house into a cozy and beautiful place. These dolls have gained popularity around the world.
In the article, we will offer a master class on making textile dolls-rags with their own hands from a pattern to a finished product.
What are some textile dolls?
There are many different types of textile dolls, each with its own special functions, which can radically differ. But they are all sewn from fabric in accordance with established patterns. There are dolls such as tilde, snowball, pumpkin head, Waldorf doll, Russian folk doll, amulet, hug, Korean doll triapiens and others. Having studied the differences between them, you can independently create for yourself an author's individual and unique masterpiece and decorate your home with it.
What do you need to have to work?
Workshops on making dolls are not uncommon on the sites of craftswomen. It’s easy to find many thematic videos and step-by-step photos from various sources. Having considered all the material proposed by the masters, you will understand that there is no difficulty in sewing a rag textile doll. They are made very simple. What do you need to have in order to start work on making an Asian doll, which Russian needlewomen call a "rag Barbie" or a rag doll?
- The cloth.
- Sintepon or microfiber.
- Sewing kit (needles, threads, scissors and other sewing accessories and tools).
- Acrylic paints and thin brushes.
- Threads for embroidery.
Where to begin?
The work on creating a doll begins with an idea that arose in my head that I want to bring to life, that is, an image that needs to be created in reality. To make a doll, a pattern is needed, and the correct one, reflecting the character of the doll. Please note that the rag doll has an elegant physique.
You need to sketch a sketch on which it will be clear how she holds her hands, sits or stands. Assumptions that as soon as you create a wire frame, the doll will be able to accept the pose that you want is wrong. Textile rag dolls have no frames at all. It is thanks to the correct pattern that the arm raised up or bent at the elbow holds the position.
Cutting and sewing doll body
All workshops on creating textile dolls begin with sample preparation. You can draw and print it, find it in special print media or on the Internet. The photo shows a full-size ragpiness doll pattern .
Harvesting done. Now you need to cut out the patterns for work. You should pay attention to the number of necessary details of each pattern. So there are 4 handles and legs, two parts for the head, one piece for the body of each part.
We make a pattern of the head, pens and legs. The material is folded in half and on it we outline the details along the patterns. It turns out two parts of the face, pens and legs. So that the material does not slip, in the middle of the pattern it is chipped with pins or needles. Further, without trimming, we all sew on the sewing machine with a small stitch, on the unit. The field of this part can be cut.
In places where arms and legs with the body will be sewn together, it is necessary to carefully make small incisions in order, firstly, to turn the product on the front side, and secondly, to fill the synthetic winterizer through this hole. The head of the doll is not stitched around the neck.
We make a pattern in front of the doll from the fabric. These are three parts: the top of the front, the petal of the chest and the bottom of the front. Details are cut from fabric with a margin of 1-1.5 cm at the seams. It is desirable to sweep them, and then stitch them. Similarly, a pattern is made on the patterns of the back of the doll. It consists of two parts.
The back and front are sewing on a sewing machine, except for places where the legs will be sewn. The edges of the fabric can be cut with zigzag scissors so that the inverted parts do not tuberize along the seam (see photo above). The product is turned on the front side with a wooden stick or a needle with a blunt end. This is necessary so as not to tear the fabric.
Filler and assembly of parts
The second step of the Tryapiens doll workshop is filling each part with a prepared filler. It can be microfiber or synthetic winterizer (in rare cases, cotton wool). It is pushed into every detail in small portions. You can use a knitting needle, hook or Japanese wooden stick. All parts must be tight. The filled doll parts are carefully sewn manually into place.
Doll face
An interesting, third part of the master class on creating dolls-rags (photos are presented in the article) is face painting. Usually, true Korean rags have only a hint of eyes - these are covered eyelids and eyelashes, or just two strokes that express the mood of the doll. Drawn from different angles, they convey a range of emotions. The nose and lips of the doll do not denote. But do not forget that you make your own doll, so if you own a brush, make a doll a face, if you have no experience with paints, it is better not to experiment on your brainchild, so as not to spoil it. If you know how to embroider, it is better to embroider your eyes, nose and lips. At this stage, you can say, you put your soul into it, providing facial expressions.
Hair and hairstyles
The hairstyle of the Asian woman is necessarily impeccable, and even her loose hair lies hair to hair. But most often, the hair of a Korean doll-ragpans is curled into curls or tidied up in a complex multi-tiered hairstyle, decorated with bows, flowers, beads or a headdress.
Hair for a doll can be made of thread, artificial hair or loose satin ribbons. That is, any fibers are suitable. For each species, its own technique for creating hair on the head of a textile doll can be selected. But any process must be done carefully.
For one of the popular techniques you need: a simple pencil, strands of artificial hair and a crochet hook 0.9-1.0. The length of the hair, that is, the threads, is selected to the required length. On the head of the doll from the crown we draw circles, through a centimeter. Circles should only be on the part of the head that will be covered with hair.
The process of "hair extensions" is as follows. Fold the thread in half, hooking the head fabric on the circle line, grab the strand and stretch it 2-3 cm. Pull the threads into the loop and tighten the loop. Having retreated 0.5 cm along the circle line, repeat the operation with the next strand. And so repeat until all the hair on the head of the rag doll is sewn. After that, you can begin to perform hairstyles.
Outfits for dolls
Korean dolls are dressed luxuriously. They always have underwear and shoes. Sometimes needlewomen wear them in outer clothing and demi-season shoes. There are practically no dolls in the national Asian clothes. Robes usually belong to the European periods of baroque, empire or classicism. The material of the dresses is silk, brocade and chiffon. Embellishments, lace, braid and beads serve as decorations.
Since these dolls are works of art, quite a lot of time is spent on their clothes. It can be said that most of the time is not spent on patterning a rag doll and creating a calf, but on sewing her clothes and accessories: an umbrella, handbag, shoes, etc.
How to sew shoes?
It seems to many needlewomen that making shoes for textile dolls is an impossible task. In fact, it turns out to be quite simple. You can even sew shoes without special patterns.
For example, you need to sew shoes on a doll. It is necessary to take a little stretching material, fold it in half and draw a marker around the doll’s foot carefully. Secure with tailor pins two layers of fabric and stitch the shoes. We start the line from the heel (we fix the stitch) and sew until the rise (we fix the stitch). If the fabric is thick for the sewing machine, you can sew it manually with a seam “back needle” with a small stitch. Now you can cut the shoe along the contour, preferably with zigzag scissors. We twist the product and put on the doll’s leg.
Accessories for rag dolls
The image of the doll is created, but without accessories it will still not be finished. Therefore, umbrellas, handbags, all kinds of baskets, bouquets, books will further emphasize its individuality, especially since it is a doll for the interior.
To make a hat for a doll, you need to take a piece of thick paper, you can have a paper, and cut a circle of 8-10 cm. We make a smaller circle of 2 cm in it. We leave a small circle - this will be the bottom of the hat. Cut a strip 2 cm long and bend it like the letter Z. Cut the edges through 1 cm. Lubricate with PVA glue and glue the upper edge of this strip to the cut circle (2 cm in diameter), glue the lower edge to the hat margins. Next, we arrange it at our discretion. It can be lace, chiffon, satin ribbons. Beads can also be used as decoration.
To make an umbrella for a doll, you need an umbrella for a cocktail, lace or guipure and a gun with silicone glue. Using a pistol, the prepared material and decorations are attached to the base of the umbrella, as shown in the photo below. If it’s an umbrella made of a denser material, the color of the doll’s skirt, which is on the left in the photo, you need to make the umbrella fit for the cocktail umbrella. Lace is sewn to the bottom, which connects the fabric base and the cocktail umbrella.
From the original accessories for the textile doll, you can offer to make a small bag made of faux leather. To do this, double the material and outline the shape of the bag. Sewing can be done on the front side and cut with a zigzag scissors. The bag will look original. The handle can be made from a cord that is easy to crochet. The doll with a bunch of flowers will look original. You can make them yourself, or buy ready-made dolls delicate in color.
So a lot of work has been done from the sketch of the doll to obtaining a beautiful interior doll. If you wanted to make this doll as a gift, it turned out very original and stylish. Today, manual work is more valuable than ever. Especially if such a gift was made with your own hands, and you breathed into it a piece of your soul.
Good luck and bold interesting ideas!