Chapter 2. Cotton Baby and Ping-Pong Patsy

Have you a tiny soft baby doll just the right size to fit into a doll-house-size baby carriage, one that is even soft and small enough to be held in the arms of the mother doll? You can't buy a doll like this, but you can make one in about fifteen minutes.

The picture below shows one. It is a Cotton Baby, looking for all the world like a sweet little four-month-old infant. I call her a Cotton Baby because that is what she is made of: soft, white absorbent cotton.

Absorbent cotton, sometimes called surgical cotton, is perfect for making this kind and many other kinds of dolls. You can buy it in a drugstore or dime store. The two-ounce package will supply the makings for several kinds of babies.

How to Make the Cotton Baby

Unroll part of the cotton from its blue paper wrappers Cut off a piece 21/2 in. long. Separate this piece into three layers. Use two layers for the Cotton Baby and keep the third layer for another doll.

Roll up one layer rather loosely. Tie a piece of white string around the roll about 1/2 in. from one end. Tie this quite tight to make the neck. The short knob becomes the head; the longer piece is the body. It should look like the sketch % 1 shown at the left.

Head

Use the second layer of cotton to cover the head. If it seems too thick, make it thinner by pulling off a thin layer. Cover the head with this thin layer and tie it on by wrapping thin string around the neck, as shown. Tie the string twice to keep it from coming undone.

Turn the smoothest part of the head toward you. This part will be Cotton Baby's face. Lay her on the table, face up. Be sure table is clean.

COTTON BABY. 1. "Roll up cotton and tie. 2. Cover top with thin layer of cotton to make head. Tear pieces up from bottom to make arms. 3. Bend pieces under and tie in place with thread. Hair and features are made with water-color pencils.

Arms

Starting at the bottom on the right side, gently tear a strip of cotton out and away from the body part. Do not tear it off completely but leave it attached to the body at the neck. This piece, which should be not quite 1 in. wide and about 1/8 in. thick, will make the right arm and hand.

Double the arm-piece under until the end of it touches the body. Wind string around the arm-piece, as shown, and anchor it by tying it at the neck. Do not wind the string here as tightly as you did to make the neck. It should be just tight enough to give a nicely rounded little arm with a fat little hand at the end of it. The left arm is made in the same way.

Fluff out the bottom of the doll by gently separating the cotton. It will look like a pretty little white dress. The ends of the head covering can be made to disappear by lightly stroking them down until they blend with the body.

Face

The easiest way of giving the Cotton Baby eyes, mouth, and hair is to put them on with Venus water-color pencils. (These pencils come in boxes of various sizes holding quite an assortment of colors. It's a good idea to get a supply of colors because they'll play quite an important part in future doll-making sessions. They can be sharpened to very fine points and used in place of paints simply by dipping the pencil points in water before drawing with them.) Azure blue is nice for the eyes, scarlet for the mouth, sepia for brown hair and eyes, and golden ochre for blond hair.

Have very sharp points on the pencils you use. Dip the tip of the pencil in water, then touch it to the cotton. Do not try to draw on the cotton because the wet pencil tip will drag the fibers and make a mess. One dot is usually sufficient for the eye on a doll this tiny. If, however, it seems too small, make another dot right beside it so that it touches the first dot. The second eye must be made exactly the same size and on a straight line with the first eye. This is surprisingly difficult to get right. In fact, it is the hardest thing there is to do in making this or any other doll.

The mouth, made with the scarlet pencil, is actually a little line. Touch the side of the wet pencil tip to the face.

Use the side of the golden ochre pencil for the hair. Wet the tip each time before adding another little line of yellow to the head. These will turn out very unevenly but that makes the hair look more natural. You can get the effect of a tiny curl or two on the baby's forehead by making a series of little dots in curly lines. Remember, when working on absorbent cotton, to just touch the surface with the pencil. Never try to draw a line. That can be done on other materials, such as cloth or papier-mache or clay, but not on absorbent cotton.

That's all there is to making the Cotton Baby. She is very pretty just as she is and will look very sweet and attractive in the doll-mother's arms or lying in her crib. Why not leave her there and make a second Cotton Baby for the carriage? This one will need a little cap and jacket or shawl to keep her warm while riding. These little garments are easy to make. The patterns are right here for you to follow.

Cap

A very pretty cap can be made from a small bit of lace-paper doily. Cut a piece from the edge of the doily the same size and shape as the cap pattern. Be sure to cut the two slashes shown in the pattern. They are needed to make the cap fit snugly to the head. Put a small drop of Duco cement on the part marked A. Lap edge marked B over and press onto the cement dot at A. Hold this seam together with your fingers for a moment or two to give the cement a chance to start sticking. The square flap that now sticks out is to be cemented down to cover this back seam. Put three dots of cement along the inside bottom edge and bend the flap down. Press it smoothly onto the back of the cap. Hold it in place for a moment.

Since this Cotton Baby is going to stay in her carriage, you might as well stick her cap on for keeps. Put a few drops of cement along the inside of the bottom of the cap. Put the cap on and press it to the head. Hold it in place a moment so the cement will grip.

Caps of woven material that is fine and soft can be made by this same method. Handkerchief linen, lawn, or batiste turns out prettily. Cut it with a very sharp scissors. The edges do not need hemming.

Another pretty cap can be made from a piece of cotton lace edging. The lace should be one inch wide and long enough to fit over the doll's head from jaw to jaw. Carefully cut off the top edge of the lace (not the fancy edge, for that makes the front of the cap). Cutting the bound edge makes fitting to the head easier. Put a thin line of cement along the three cut edges of the lace, smoothing it with the flat side of a toothpick. Lay the lace on the doll's head with the fancy edge framing the face. Press the cemented edges to the head with the fingers. If the lace does not quite meet at the back, cover the gap by pasting on a small oval cut from another piece of lace.

Shawl

What kind of wrap shall she wear? Baby princesses wear delicate shawls until they are six months old. Cotton Baby's shawl can be made from a piece of thin silk or cotton in a soft, pale color. It should be 21/2 in. wide and 41/4 in. long. Fold it in half the long way and cut it as shown above. Open it and put it on the doll. See how nicely it fits her tiny neck without bunching up. Cross the ends over her chest and draw them to the back under her arms. Pin the ends together with a tiny safety pin. The triangular back of the shawl will cover the pin.

Carriage Blanket

A little carriage blanket, cut from matching material, would be pretty. Make it 3 in. long and 21/4 in. wide. Pull out three or four threads from all four sides to make a fringed edge.

Jacket

Perhaps you would like a wee jacket for the baby doll. This is somewhat harder to make, but if you follow the pattern for it carefully and accurately, the jacket will turn out very well. A very thin material of yellow, blue, or pink would be charming. Maybe the Doll House is drafty, so this jacket could be worn by the first Cotton Baby. It would dress her up nicely for visitors to admire.

Trace the jacket pattern on very thin paper. Cut it out. The material for the jacket should be 31/2 in. long and 3 in. wide. Fold it in half so that it is 13/4 in. long and 3 in. wide. Pin the paper pattern to it so the shoulder line of the pattern is even with the fold line of the material. Cut out the jacket, then cut it up the center front from bottom to neckline. Make tiny slashes with the scissors just where the sleeves meet the body. The slashes make it much easier to paste the seams together.

Rub a narrow line of cement along the edge of one side of the sleeve. Lap the other edge over the cemented line and press it down with the fingers. Join the second seam in the same way. Let the sleeves dry before putting the side seams together. Make the side seams by lapping the front side over the back. Keep the seams as narrow as possible. Press them together with the fingers and allow the cement to dry thoroughly before putting the jacket on the doll. If the sleeves are a little bit too long, either turn them back into tiny cuffs or cut the bottoms off to the desired length.

How to Make Ping-Pong Patsy

A somewhat larger doll is quickly made with a ping-pong ball and a lady's handkerchief.

Place the ball in the center of the handkerchief, which is then pulled down tightly around it. Wrap thin white string around the folds, both to keep the

PING-PONG PATSY is made with a handkerchief, ping-pong ball, and a roll of cotton. She can have two faces, a sleeping one and a wide-awake one. She's easy to make.

"Baby" faces must always be drawn or painted on the lower half of the doll's face to make them babyish.

ball in position and to give the doll a neck. Keep all the folds and gathers to the side and back so that there will be about half an inch of smooth space for the face. Knot the string.

Face

You can make this doll without spoiling the handkerchief by giving Ping-Pong Patsy removable eyes and mouth. Tiny circles cut from dark blue paper and a small half-circle cut from red paper will make acceptable features. Paste them on with library paste. You can peel them off very easily. To make permanent features, use coloring pencils for the eyes and mouth. This color will not wash out.

The position of the features is most important on such a round-headed doll. Hold a string around the middle of the head the same way the equator goes around the earth. This is the guideline for placing the eyes. With a sharp-pointed lead pencil, draw a very light line about 1/8 in. long just under and touching the string. The second eye-line is 3/8 in. away from the first one. Draw the eyes and mouth as shown.

Patsy is really a double-faced doll! Draw the "sleeping" face on one side of the head, the wide-awake one on the opposite side. Draw the hair as shown in picture above. You can change her appearance by turning her cap around.

Body

Ping-Pong Patsy really needs some kind of stuffing. Absorbent cotton will fill her body out nicely. Unroll cotton and cut off a piece about 6 in. long.

Roll this up and put it inside the folds of the handkerchief, pushing it up close to the neck. The cotton is held in place with two tiny safety pins. They are pinned through from the right side in back. They will not show if they are set up and down instead of crosswise because the folds of the handkerchief will conceal them.

Cap

The pattern for Patsy's cap is very much like the one you used for Cotton Baby. This one takes a piece of material 31/2 in. long and 21/2 in. wide. Trace the pattern shown in the above picture and use it to cut out the shape needed. Put a line of small cement dots along the very edge of the side marked A. Turn this edge back over the cement dots in a narrow fold and press it down with the fingers. This pasted-down hem frames the face. Cement A to B, then cement C down over them.

Hair

It would be fun to put real-looking hair on Patsy. You can do this with fine knitting wool. Choose a nice shade of brown, or a gold color. A 5 in. piece will be enough. Cut this piece into 1/4in. lengths.

Now squeeze a thin line of cement right across the top of the head. Spread the cement with a toothpick so that it comes forward slightly to make the hairline at the forehead. Place the small pieces of wool, up and down, all across the cemented area. Pull the pieces at the center of the forehead down slightly so that they're a bit longer than the others.

While the cement is still wet, gently pull one or two of the side pieces back just enough to give an irregular line. You know how a real baby's hair

Circular cape is simple to make. Told circle twice and cut off point to make neckline. Cut up front for opening.

grows with a little point or two in the center and a few wispy ends at the sides of the forehead? That is the effect that you want to get on Patsy. It is not necessary to put hair on the rest of the head because it won't show. Cement the cap on.

Cape

If Patsy wears a circular cape, she won't need arms. Cut the cape from a piece of colored material, using a saucer to guide you in drawing its outline. Fold the circle of material in half once, and once again. Cut off 1/4 in. of the point. This makes the neckline. Open the circle and cut it from the bottom up to the neckline to make the front opening. Put the cape on Patsy and hold it together with a tiny safety pin. You could cut a little circular collar from a lace-paper doily to dress up the cape. Cement this in place with a dot or two of Duco.

Jacket

You can make either a jacket or a dress for Patsy from the same pattern. For a dress, make the jacket pattern longer. You will need material 5 in. wide and 7 1/2 in. long for the jacket; 5 in. wide and 13 in. long for the dress. Trace the jacket pattern and then cut it out.

Fold the material in half across the short measurement. Pin the pattern to the material, having the shoulder line meet the fold line of the fabric. Cut it out, then make the center slash from bottom to neckline.

Sew the seams together with running stitches. The way to make them is shown in the small sketch along the side of the pattern drawing above. Turn back a narrow fold along the edges of the jacket or dress opening and hold it in place with very small running stitches. Hem the bottom in the same way.

Dress

If you've made the pattern dress length, put it on Patsy backwards and hold it together at the neckline with a small safety pin. Tie a piece of colored knitting wool around her waist for a belt.

The sleeves of jacket or dress are loosely stuffed with absorbent cotton pushed up inside them to make arms. Let a small piece of cotton extend below the bottom of each sleeve to give the effect of hands.

Now that you know the trick of making these simple dolls, all sorts of ways of changing them will pop into your head. See how many different ones you can make.

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