It is hard to imagine the life of modern girls without dolls. On the shelves of shops you can find "babies" who not only know how to crawl and cry, even grow if they are fed on time. And from the variety of Barbie dolls, which have held the palm of popularity for more than a year, their eyes widen. It was hard to dream of such an assortment before. Nevertheless, our grandmothers, great-grandmothers, and girls who lived thousands of years ago played with dolls.
How did the dolls appear
Dolls were born a very long time ago. Of course, they were not at all like modern ones and were created not so much for the game as for various rituals. They were made from any material at hand: clay, animal bones, wood chocks, straw, stones, even coal. Rag dolls appeared later. Some of them were intended for children's amusements, and others for serious adult rituals.
The Slavs, being pagans, animated nature and natural phenomena, believed that all good things have their good spirit, and every bad one has evil. With the help of dolls, they tried to discourage or deceive evil spirits. With the introduction of Christianity, these beliefs did not disappear, but gradually began to be replaced by new ideas. Now the culture of our ancestors is undergoing a revival. Who knows, maybe the really simple folk rag doll, made with their own hands , will protect us from troubles.
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The manufacturing principle of most dolls was the same. The fabric was wound into a roll or a column (hence the "motanka" and "columns"). Next, the finished column was turned into a likeness of a female figure. The face was not allocated, so that there were no extra eyes in the house. Such rag dolls were made very quickly. The process took from 10 minutes to half an hour, depending on the efforts of the craftswoman and the number of small details that she added to her creation. So, some dolls had chests, buttocks, braids woven from threads. Their clothes were decorated with lace, embroidery, beads. The ass and breasts were made from a separate piece of fabric, which was also twisted and tied to the doll's body with threads. After that, a skirt and a shirt were put on over these twists. The young lady turned out to be lush, burly, just one that could bring prosperity and prosperity to the house. In some regions of Russia, doll breasts were made differently. They took two identical square pieces. Cotton wool was placed in their centers and tied. It turned out a ball. These balls were tied to the doll's body in an appropriate place.
Charm for a baby
For newborns there were rag-dolls. Their role was to divert any evil from the baby. It was forbidden to praise the child. A chrysalis was praised instead. They said how beautiful she was and how clever. People believed that so evil spirits would “not notice” the baby, and all their mucks would go to the diaper. Akin to them were dolls with frustrations. They were made by 12 pieces - according to the number of troubles that could happen to a person. Each was given a name, for example, Shaking, Bonebreaker, Deaf. They made them catchy, so that evil, entering the house, immediately drew attention to them and stuck to them, without touching the owners. They hung these dolls by the stove or near the front door.
How to make a rag doll
Take the following:
1. A square or close to that piece of white cloth, preferably not very soft. It must be worn and taken from the clothes of a healthy person.
2. A square piece of any color of fabric. This is a diaper.
3. A triangular piece of fabric, preferably light shades. This is a handkerchief. You can also take a square piece and fold it like a scarf.
4. Thread or braid. They should be red, as this is the color of happiness, good luck and protection.
We turn the white fabric into a roll. This is the body of the chrysalis. We thread it in two places, highlighting the head and the umbilical cord. We tie a handkerchief to the doll, as grandmothers usually do. We start the ends of the diaper over the back. Wrap it in a diaper, like a baby. The lower edge of the diaper is also wound behind the back. We fix all this with threads, dragging the pupa crosswise. It is believed that there should be an even number of nodes, and odd crosses.
Grain Dolls
The traditional rag doll in charge of the crop was called a grain kernel. If it was filled with buckwheat, it was a krupenichka, if with wheat or peas, it turned out to be a rich man. Usually they did both at once and placed next to them. Children were allowed to play with them. In spring, cereals and grains were poured into the seed, asking the fertility spirit for a rich harvest. And he did!
The role of the grain body is performed by the bag where the grain is poured. It must be sewn with one's own hand from a piece of white new fabric. Do this in two ways. Some sew something like a pipe. A round bottom of the same fabric is sewn to one end of it, and the second end is pulled together with braid. Others at the bottom just sew the fabric together. The bag is filled with grain, knotted. The body of the doll is ready. You cannot use the needle further. The bag can be pulled by a thread, indicating the waist, but you can not do this. The main thing is to dress the doll. Krupenichka needs a scarf, lower and upper skirts, apron, belt and coat. The rich man is dressed in a shirt, trousers (like a dark skirt), a jupan and a hat. Some craftswomen make grains hands, twisting a white square piece of cloth into a roll and tying it to the doll's body. To highlight the palms, the ends of the "hands" are also pulled together with threads. Dress the grains necessarily in bright beautiful shreds.
Beregini
These dolls protected the house from all evil and contributed to prosperity. They were put in a
red corner. In their hands was a bag of grain. Folk rag doll-beregin is made on the same principle as all twists.
We turn off the body-column. It should be borne in mind that the doll must be stable. For the head, we take a large square piece of white fabric, fold it like a scarf, marking the fold line. Expand. By bending, we cover them with one edge of the column. Then the two ends of the scarf will be the hands of the doll and at the same time her shirt. The ends of the hands, to highlight the palms, are pulled by threads, and we straighten the place of the face so that it is smooth. You can put cotton in the head, and put on a shawl shirt from above. Then the head will be more rounded. To keep the cotton wool in shape, under the chin, the doll's body must be pulled together with threads. Often the coasts are made breasts associated with affluence. Bright shreds are selected for their skirt and apron. Some craftswomen complement their outfit with beads, lace and embroidery. A warrior is put on the head of the coasts. This is such a frontal dressing. On top of it is a scarf. The bag is made of a small shred and attached to the hand.
Herbal Cup
How to make a rag doll so that it guards the house, fits beautifully into the interior and spreads a pleasant aroma? Very simple. The herbal doll is performed like this. You need to take a square piece of light fabric, which will be the head and hands in a shirt. Fold it like a scarf, outlining a fold line. Expand. Put cotton in the center and tie with thread. This is the head. The other two ends are hands. In them, highlight the brushes with threads. Pull the remaining edge of the square with a thread, highlighting the waist. The chest is made in the same way as with dolls-berezhin. The skirt of herbalists is a large square of colored fabric. On it you need to place aromatic dry herbs, tie a bag and attach to a ready-made body. Place the ligament with an apron.
Norwegian beauties
Tony Finger is a true Norwegian. She lives in a harsh climate, but her character is kind and a little mischievous. These features are endowed with her dolls. They are called Tildas. Unlike Russians, Tilda's rag dolls can be bears, hares, angels, hens — anything, not just young ladies. If even a child can make our column, then for the production of Tilda, craftsmanship and skills in sewing are required. These dolls, as a rule, consist of separate parts (body with head, arms, legs) that are sewn together. Some of them have seams on the sides of the body. But most have seams in the middle of the face (muzzle), so work requires maximum accuracy. After the naked Tilda is ready, she is dressed. Dressing her up is not easy. All elements of clothes and shoes are cut out, neatly sewn, decorated with beads, feathers, whatever, to give the doll charm and originality.
Master class: rag doll Tilda
For work you need:
1. Body tissue. Coarse calico, cotton, flannel will do. Some like knitwear. The color of the fabric is flesh or white, which can be dyed with tea.
2. Accessories for sewing (scissors, needles, threads, pencil) It is good if there is a sewing machine.
3. Filler. You can take any ready-made, or you can just finely chop the old tights.
4. Cloth for clothes. Any, depending on the imagination.
5. Jewelry.
6. Paper.
To make such rag dolls, we draw patterns on paper. All parts of the body are separate. Cut out. The body tissue is folded in half with the “face” inward, cleaved so as not to move, we transfer the pattern to it. Do not cut out! First, we sew the fabric along the lines, leaving the lower body, arms and legs free at the points of attachment to the body. Now we cut it out, gently turn it “out” and fill it with filler. An additional seam can be made at the knees and feet so that Tilda can bend her legs. Nabili? Now we sew everything together. We embroider the eyes and mouth of the doll. Her hair can be made of thread, or you can dissolve a satin ribbon. All. Tilda is ready. It remains to dress her.
Waldorf cuties
The rag dolls invented in Waldorf for the purpose of raising babies are distinguished by the correct proportions of the bodies. According to the manufacturing principle, they are similar to Tild, only there is no seam on their faces. Their base is made so that the nose stands out. Some craftswomen make their cuties a chin and nasolabial folds. The eyes and mouth are embroidered with thread, the cheeks are browned. Both children and adults like these rag
dolls. Patterns for them are drawn on paper. They include 2 arms and a trunk along with legs. The head is made separately. To do this, take a square piece of fabric in white or flesh-colored. A filler is placed in the middle, gently pulled together to make a ball, and stitched. Subsequently, a body filled with filler is sewn to the head, then hands. A lot of time is given to the hairstyle of the doll, on which its personality depends. Waldorf hair is made from threads, gently, stitch by stitch sewing them to the head. Hair can be made long, braided, combed. With no less scrupulousness than the doll itself, her outfits are created.
Wardrobe dolls
Everyone in the house will have lost socks or tights with “arrows” that you can’t put on and throw away a pity. It turns out that they can be given a wonderful second life. How to sew a rag doll from stockings or tights?
The first way. From thick cardboard, we cut out the arms, legs, head, body of the future doll. You can glue thin foam rubber to them and cover them with stockings, or you can do without foam rubber. We carefully sew all parts. We refine the face with button eyes, embroider the mouth. We attach hair to the head or put on a cap. Dress up the chrysalis. You can attach a magnet to her back and use it as a souvenir.
The second way. We find a strong and at the same time well bending wire. From it we create the frame of the future doll. We do all body parts separately, and then sew. We stick foam rubber on the frame, put on the stocking, carefully sew it. The faces of these dolls are extraordinary, because you can create them a variety of noses, lips, cheeks, eyelids. The result is beauties, and old women, and gnomes.