Making Handmade Dolls

How To Make A Handmade Doll

Creating handmade dolls is a delightful and rewarding craft that allows you to bring your unique dolls to life. Whether you’re making a doll as a keepsake, a gift, or a decoration, the process involves a few core steps starting from planning the form of your desired doll, gathering materials, creating the body, adding details, and styling. To begin, decide on the style and size of your doll, you might go for simple design details as a starting. Then gather materials like cotton, metallic wires, and glue to create the body.

Also, other small materials such as buttons, laces, and ribbons for styling the doll. The process begins with creating a pattern for the doll’s body, then moving on to create features such as the face and hair. The final touch is accessories, where you can let your creativity flow. Each handmade doll becomes a unique, cherished creation reflecting your style and care.

Building The Doll’s Body

Galvanized metallic wire. To create the framework for the handmade doll, I start with metallic galvanized wire, selecting the thickness based on the figure’s intended height. Using galvanized wire is important to prevent staining the cotton with rust when applying glue. If using non-galvanized wire, it’s essential to protect the cut ends with masking tape. While shaping the figure, I carefully consider the doll’s proportions. For example, I sculpt the face to reflect the doll’s character and age, and I adjust the wire length accordingly. Typically, a figure representing a 6-year-old would require a wire length of roughly six times the head size, plus an additional foot of wire for height.

Measuring the doll’s body with metallic galvanized wire.

Galvanized metallic wire.

Building The Doll’s Face

Creating the figure’s face is the most challenging part. I wanted a handy recipe to achieve a vintage look for the doll’s faces, but finding suitable moulds online has proven difficult. Most of the silicone moulds available are quite basic and lack that vintage charm. To work around this, I visited various shops, especially consignment and antique stores to find vintage ceramic figurines or plastic dolls. Using these, I made clay moulds, dried them, and then experimented with altering features like the nose and lips until the clay hardened. This was a difficult process, and eventually, I shifted to sculpting the faces entirely on my own, which takes experience and is challenging without a foundation in academic drawing or sculpture.

Clay “La Doll” is used to make the doll’s face.

Next, I start wrapping the wireframe with dry cotton wool, securing it tightly with thread. The tighter the wrapping, the easier it will be to dress the doll later, and the body will become sturdier to hold its shape firmly. As you wrap, remember to shape the doll’s form by marking the waist, bends of the legs and elbows, shoulder width, and neck, adding more volume around the chest and hips.

Sample of tightened wrapped wool cotton onto the metal wire with threads.

Applied Glue For Crafting The Handmade Doll

Once the wrapping is tight, you can prepare the paste to make the clothes. This paste consists of either potato or cornstarch, and cornstarch provides a whiter appearance. To make the cornstarch recipe, mix a spoonful of cornstarch into cold water until it resembles milk, then heat it, stirring constantly, until it boils. I prefer working with hot starch as it keeps the cotton wool more flexible when applying this organic glue. When spreading the paste on cotton wool, remember it shrinks slightly as it dries, so shape the dress gradually.

Shape of cornstarch glue.

Cotton Used In Crafting The Doll

Medical cotton wool is available in various types, with roll form being ideal due to its single, wide, continuous sheet. Unlike standard cotton wool, manufacturers process medical-grade cotton to ensure a high level of purity and consistency, making it whiter and free of impurities or small grains often found in organic or unprocessed cotton wool. It peels off smoothly and evenly, allowing you to select and control the desired thickness, whether you need a thin layer for delicate tasks or a thicker cushion for more absorbent uses for your handmade doll. I prefer medical cotton wool in a zigzag roll. It has a smooth texture, is fluffy without creases, and easily separates to create thinner layers.

Wide zigzag medical cotton wool sheet.

Linen cotton wool is only available in Russia and Belarus. This type features long fibres and comes in shades ranging from light brown to creamy white. It has a rich texture and takes dye beautifully, giving a vintage appearance. I also want to mention vintage cotton wool, which can sometimes be found online. Although I haven’t tried it, it seems intriguing, and if it works for my projects, it could create unique toys with a nostalgic feel, especially since old packaging is quite captivating.

Linen cotton wool roll.

Natural cotton is also artistically appealing, showcasing a lovely light cream colour. While it may not have a smooth finish and takes a bit longer to adhere with glue, it can effectively mimic fur when left untreated. Cotton pads are another great option. Their smooth, thin, and slightly compressed structure makes them easy to dye and perfect for creating lace, flowers, and ruffles.

Organic cotton raw.

Methods Of Colouring The Handmade Dolls

There are three methods for colouring the figures. Dress the figure in white cotton wool, let it dry, and then apply various paints like watercolour, gouache, acrylic, or oil. It’s worth noting that acrylic paint, being as thick as oil paint, will harden the cotton wool, removing its soft, “crunchy” texture.

Method 1

The first method is using oil paint which I prefer because it works well and it’s easy to achieve smooth tonal transitions. It’s important to wait until the cotton wool is fully dry before painting. Oil paint also protects the cotton wool, preserving your Christmas tree toy for generations, as it resists cracking and discolouration over time. On the other hand, acrylic paint has a more solid, matte finish. I don’t use acrylic because I dislike its flat, uniform colour, which lacks the subtle colour transitions I prefer. It gives the doll a heavier feel, and when dried, the cotton wool doesn’t crunch because acrylic forms a hard, plastic-like layer.

Method 2

The second method involves colouring the starch glue to colour cotton wool, whether natural dyes or fabric paint. This approach gives a translucent effect, maintains the lightness of the cotton wool, and leaves a satisfying crunch when touched. You can mix the colour into the cornstarch during preparation. This unpredictable method can produce beautiful gradients and soft colour transitions, though the final colour often varies upon drying.

Method 3

The third method uses pre-dyed cotton wool. The downside here is that you have to colour the cotton wool beforehand and wait for it to dry. I use this technique along with the starch-coloring method, as I discovered it myself.

Natural dyes produce wonderful colours and shades. Boiling dandelion roots yield a lemon-green hue, while boiled acorns can produce colours ranging from light beige to grey. Each experiment is unique, as the colours are difficult to replicate due to varying proportions. I use instant coffee to add a vintage effect, creating stains that give your handmade doll a well-worn, antique heirloom feel.

Adding Vintage Effect on The Dolls

You can use glitter to decorate cotton wool in various ways. You can mix it into the glue or sprinkle it directly onto the cotton wool before shaping it. Glitter comes in two types: synthetic and natural. Natural glitter, known as natural shell mica, lacks synthetic shine and is applied as a thin layer, producing a subtle shimmer when it catches the light. I prefer using natural glitter for its vintage aesthetic, as it resembles the look of antique dolls that were often adorned with natural mica or finely crushed glass. While synthetic glitter is available in good quality, it tends to stick more firmly to the cotton wool and gives a less refined appearance.

Silver natural glitter

Type Of Brushes Used in Crafting Dolls

For crafting, natural hair brushes are considered the best choice. They can be easily distinguished from synthetic brushes by touch, as they are extremely soft and do not prick. These brushes are typically made from pony, squirrel, or goat hair. Squirrel brushes, in particular, are the softest and most flexible, making them perfect for detailing the doll’s face. However, when it comes to true creativity, any brush, even a synthetic and wide one, can be used to create a masterpiece. While choosing the right material can make the process smoother, this is just a suggestion. The most important thing is the passion to create. If you don’t have the ideal materials on hand, simply using any available brush and starting to work will suffice. Experience will naturally lead to improvement and perfection in creating your desired handmade doll.

Crafting Doll’s Base Tips And Process

When creating standing dolls, ensuring their stability is essential. Making perfectly even and stable legs from cotton wool can be challenging. For a Christmas tree ornament, it’s sufficient to secure the wiring as a hook holder, so stability isn’t necessary. However, a stable base is required for standing dolls.

My first attempt involved using thick cardboard covered with cotton wool, but the cardboard was deformed after drying. I then tried thin plywood, but it also warped when covered with cotton wool. Now, I use the paper-mâché technique, which is lightweight, dries without needing a cotton wool coating, and is made from natural materials. There are various ways to create a paper-mâché mixture, and experienced crafters often have their own mixing secrets. However, ready-made paper-mâché clay is available and offers quick-drying, lightweight, snow-white, and elastic qualities.

Handcrafted doll’s base by using paper-mâché.

Paper clay is used to make the figure base.

Homemade paper clay recipe.

It’s easy to find different brands of this mixture, either ready-made or in dry form, in online stores. Alternatively, you can make a simple mixture yourself using wallpaper glue, toilet paper, and a mixer. Crumble the paper, soak it in plenty of water, blend it, let it settle, add glue, and the mass is ready to use.

Do You Have Any Enquiries?

If you’re just starting out with crafting cotton dolls and need assistance, feel free to contact me via email with any questions. I would be more than happy to share tips and recommendations for making dolls. Additionally, you can check out videos of my doll-making process on my YouTube channel or Instagram profile.

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Wishing you the best of luck on your journey in the world of handmade cotton dolls!