CDHM The Miniature Way
June 2011, Issue 17
Tutorial: Worry Dolls
Page 27
Tutorial: Worry Dolls
Glue the legs to the torso with a hot glue gun. Space them as far apart as you want, but traditional worry dolls are small and compact, and most have their legs close together.
Choose a shirt color and wrap each arm. Then glue the arms to the outside of the legs, right at the midpoint of the body. The pointed ends of the arms become the shoulders and will be covered with more floss next.
Cut small pieces of embroidery thread to glue to the top of the head for hair. Make longer hair for girls and shorter hair for boys.
June 2011, Issue 17
Tutorial: Worry Dolls
Page 27
Step 1
Cut five lengths of toothpick to form the torso, arms and legs of your worry doll. You can choose the size you want, but the torso should be about 1½"(3.81cm) long, with the arms slightly longer than the torso, and the legs slightly longer than the arms.
Glue the legs to the torso with a hot glue gun. Space them as far apart as you want, but traditional worry dolls are small and compact, and most have their legs close together.
Step 2
Cut a length of embroidery floss about 18" long. begin wrapping the string around it starting at the "waist." Add glue on the back as needed, and continue down until the skirt reaches the length you want. If you want pants, just wrap the waist and each leg separately. Let the glue set and trim the ends on the back.
Step 3
Place a dab of glue on the back of the doll, where the waist would be. Place a piece of embroidery thread into the glue, and with that as the starting point. wind the embroidery thread tightly around the waist and the legs. For a girl doll, wind it around both legs together to create a skirt. For a boy, do the legs separately to make pants. When you reach the end, cut the thread and glue it in place.
Step 4
Attach the arms to the torso. Tradionally the arms are down by the side of the body. Use the same technique to wind thread around the torso, and each of the arms separately to create a shirt in any color you wish. Glue in place when you are done. Make sure the thread is snug, and there are no gaps showing on the toothpick.
Choose a shirt color and wrap each arm. Then glue the arms to the outside of the legs, right at the midpoint of the body. The pointed ends of the arms become the shoulders and will be covered with more floss next.
Step 5
Fill the hole in a plastic bead with glue and slip it over the exposed end of the torso. Allow the glue to dry, and then use glue to start flesh-colored embroidery at the top, so you can wind it down from the head to the neck. Glue in place at the bottom to hold.
Cut small pieces of embroidery thread to glue to the top of the head for hair. Make longer hair for girls and shorter hair for boys.
FINISHING TOUCHES
¤ Sand the exposed edges of the toothpicks so they are flat. Make a few worry
dolls and present them in a small pouch for safekeeping and your finished!
¤ Make accessories for your dolls. Bows, belts, headbands, or buttons.
¤ Add small felt pieces or use a felt tip pen to add a face.