Big Sissy Rag Doll

Materials:

1 yard un-bleached muslin
1/4-yard print for skirt
fabric scraps for bodice and hair bows
old hankie for bloomers
crochet cotton thread: barn red, black and antique white
acrylic paint: white and barn red
hand spun wool doll hair
old button for dress
basic sewing supplies (machine, doll needles, scissors)
stuffing
paintbrushes
foam brushes
instant coffee
blush and applicator
hemostat

1. Create a doll template pattern and trace each piece onto a double layer of muslin, remembering to trace the arms and legs twice (figure A).

2. The traced line will be the sewing line.

3. Cut out around the pieces about 1/4 inch away from the trace/sew line (figure B).

4. Turn and stuff all of the pieces (figure C) with stuffing material using a hemostat. A hemostat is a medical tool that resembles scissors but they grab instead of cut.

5. Paint the legs with a watered down white acrylic paint and a foam brush.

6. After the white paint has dried, paint barn red stripes on the legs (figure D).

7. Sew the bottom of the doll body closed with off-white crochet cotton.

8. Draw a face on the doll with a pencil, and then stitch it by hand using a doll needle and crochet cotton. Sew barn red thread for the nose and black thread for the eyes and smile (figure E).

9. Sew the arms to the body using a whipstitch and off-white crochet cotton.

10. Mix 1/4-cup instant coffee with about 1-1/2 cups water. Paint this coffee stain mixture onto the entire doll (figure F). Put her on a cookie sheet in the oven at about 200 degrees for about 20 minutes to set.

11. Attach the legs with a whipstitch and crochet cotton (figure G). You can’t do this earlier because the doll would be too big for the oven.

12. For the bloomers, use a vintage hankie and sew up a side seam and an inseam. Turn it right side out and set it aside.

14. Coffee-stain the clothes. Use same coffee stain mixture that was used on the doll base. Dip the clothes in the stain mixture, wring them out and cook them the same way as step 10.

15. Using crochet cotton, run a gathering stitch by hand around the neck of the dress and the waist of the bloomers. Dress the doll.

16. Cut the hand spun wool doll hair to length and tie it to the top of the head using barn red crochet cotton (figures I and J ).

17. Add bows to the hair and blush to the cheeks (figure K) for a finishing touch.

E-mail: LittleMissyPrim@aol.com

Website: www.littlemissyprimitives.com