Chapter 5. The Rag Doll

The rag doll belongs to a family noted for its great hardiness, sweet disposition, and comfortable personality. While not as beautiful as the bisque and china branches of the family, the rag doll clan possesses both charm and an amazingly durable constitution.

The term "rag doll" is used to describe any doll that is entirely made of cloth of some kind. One naturally thinks of a rag as being an old, worn, or discarded piece of material, but this does not apply to all rag dolls. Metropolitan museums have collections of rag dolls made (heads, bodies, and limbs) of the finest silks and satins and dressed in gorgeous velvets and brocades. Made by artist doll-makers, these rag dolls proudly proclaim the fact that their branch of the family has aristocrats as well as common folk. Perhaps your museum has one of these beauties.

But it is the common everyday rag doll, the lovable, huggable, soft darling for everyday use that is most appealing to us all. She's easy to make and easy to dress. In her own individual way, she is also quite pretty.

How to Make a Rag Doll

The drawing of Prudence, a finished rag doll, shows just how attractive this kind of doll can be. In the below pictures you will find the pattern for making this doll. The pattern is in two parts to give you a doll which will be 8 in. tall.

In tracing the pattern, draw the top part first. Then place the tracing paper on the second part so that the bottom of the shaded area of the body will just touch the top of the shaded area of the legs, and finish the tracing.

Cut out the pattern and indicate the dotted lines that appear on the original pattern drawings.

Material

The best material from which to make a rag doll is a strong, firmly woven cotton that is not too heavy. Muslin, percale, longcloth, or sateen work out very satisfactorily. A half yard will be enough to make several dolls. Absorbent cotton, cotton batting, or wool batting make excellent stuffing

materials. Soft rags or old silk or nylon stockings are sometimes used for stuffing, but the final effect is apt to be bumpy and uneven. 78.

Needle, thread, thimble, and scissors are the tools with which the doll is put together. It is possible to sew the doll body on a sewing machine, but you will be much better satisfied with the results from hand sewing, because you can go around curves and in and out of sharp angles much more smoothly. Use tiny back stitches and sew directly along the penciled line.

Very pale pink or cream-colored material are best for the doll body. If white is the only thing you have to work with, you can tint it to look more like skin. Beige or peach tinting dye will produce nice tones. Follow the instructions on the packages. I like to use tea for tinting. Four or five cups of strong tea will give a light sun-tanned tone that is most attractive. Wet the material in clear water first, then wring it out as dry as possible. Pour the hot tea into a bowl and submerge the wet material in it. Stir the fabric around with a spoon and hoist it up and down in the tea to make sure that every bit of it is soaked with the tea. It takes only a few minutes to get the desired color. Rinse the material thoroughly in cold water. Iron the material while it is slightly damp.

Cutting and Stitching

Pin the paper pattern to two thicknesses of material in order to get a front and back at the same time. Trace around the edges of the pattern with a sharp-pointed soft pencil. Unpin the pattern. Baste the two pieces of material together with short running stitches, 1/4 in. inside of the outline. Then do the final stitching directly on the penciled line. Leave a 2-in. opening on one side of the doll in order to turn it inside out and to put in the stuffing. Rip out the basting stitches.

When the stitching is completed, cut out the doll. Don't cut too close to the stitching, but keep about 1/8 in. away from it. Before turning the doll inside out, make a tiny slash at each side of the neck, under the arms, and between the legs. These slashes make it easier to get a good flat seam on the right side.

It is much more difficult than it sounds to turn a doll inside out. Do the legs first, then the arms and head. These are then pulled through the side opening. The fabric may become wrinkled, but don't worry about that. The stuffing will smooth out the wrinkles.

Face

The doll's face should be put on next, because it is much easier to do this before the doll is stuffed than afterward. There are several ways in which

	A variety of faces to be drawn, painted, or embroidered on the rag doll. Copy, or design your own. Embroidered eyebrows are done with Outline Stitch, which is done by making short, diagonal stitches close together as shown in top needle sketch. Satin Stitch for mouth and eyes are straight stitches set side by side. See lower needle.

this can be done: with crayon, with embroidery stitches, with textile paints, or with tiny beads.

Embroidered features last the longest. They are not hard to do and are very pretty. Crayon and paint are fairly permanent. Bead features, though extremely gay and attractive looking, will break off unless the doll is handled carefully. In making any face that requires sewing (embroidery or bead work), be sure that the needle does not go through and sew the back of the head to the front. In order to avoid this, hold the first two fingers of your left hand inside the head to keep the front and back separated while you are working.

Different kinds of faces are shown below. Trace and transfer them to the cloth face, using a sharp-pointed hard pencil. The features are colored in the style you choose. When embroidering, use outline stitch for the thin line; satin stitch for the eyes and lips. The way to make these stitches is illustrated with the face drawings. Short single stitches are used for making eyelashes.

Stuffing

In stuffing the doll, begin with the legs and arms. Tear off small pieces of cotton or wool and push them down into the legs. Use the eraser end of a pencil to poke the pieces down. Keep the stuffing as smooth and firm as possible. When the leg is stuffed to the top (the dotted line shown on the pattern), sew across from seam to seam. The same kind of seams is needed at the tops of the arms. These seams make it possible to move the arms and legs back and forth.

Stuff the head three-quarters full. Push a lollipop stick or wooden meat skewer halfway into the head stuffing and halfway into the chest. This makes the "neck" and will keep the head from wobbling back and forth as it would if it had no support. Fit the rest of the stuffing firmly around the stick, filling out the neck and shoulders. Stuff the body, keeping it smooth and quite firm. When you have finished stuffing, draw the side opening together and sew with small, closely set stitches.

In the drawing, you will see a dotted diamond across the front of each foot. This indicates where a tuck must be taken to make the foot bend forward in a natural position. Take a tiny stitch on the top line, another stitch on the bottom line and pull the thread tight to draw the lines together. Do this right across each foot, then knot the thread securely.

Wigs

Hair for the doll can be made of several different materials. A wig made of wool or cotton jersey, or the leg part of cotton socks, is very nice looking.

The pattern seen above can be worked out for bangs, no bangs, pigtails, long or short bob. If you choose to have bangs, cut the narrow strip marked A, make fine vertical slashes along the bottom, then sew the piece across the top of the head as shown in Figure 1.

Cut large wig pattern and place center arrow at center top of forehead. Stitch across front of head, along dotted line, as shown in Figure 2. Lap the fabric back, like Figure 3, and sew down flat.

Cut the hair to the desired length and make fine vertical slashings all around. The ends of the jersey wig may be curled by dampening them and rolling them up on straight pins. Secure the rolls with extra pins and allow the fabric to dry before removing them. Trim the bangs.

If you want pigtails, cut wig 2 in. longer than pattern. Make six evenly spaced slashes from the bottom of the wig up to the neck. This gives three pieces on each side which can be braided. Tie the ends of the braids with little pieces of colored wool to look like hair ribbons.

Rug yarn or heavy knitting wool can also be used for effective-looking hair. Each strand must be sewn on individually. The bottom layer of strands, each 6 in. long, is put on first. The top layer of 8-in. strands is sewn from forehead to back of head. Use enough strands to entirely cover cloth head. Trim to length desired. Leave it long if you are going to braid it.

Underwear

Panties and a pretty slip are the first pieces of clothing to make. The patterns for these are shown below. Use any soft white cotton such as lawn, nainsook, or batiste.

The panties are cut in one piece, from folded material. Lay "fold" edge of pattern along the fold of material and cut out. Hem the legs first, then sew up the side seams and finish off the top with a narrow hem. This may be done on a sewing machine, but it looks much prettier done by hand. Elastic sewing thread is whipped to the top hem with fairly loose overcast stitches. When the elastic thread is all the way around the top, pull it a bit to gather in the top of the panties. Tie the ends of the elastic in a square knot and trim off the ends.

To make the slip, fold the material in half and lay the side of the pattern marked "fold" along the fold of the material. Then cut out the first piece. A second piece is cut the same way. Sew up the side seams of the slip. Make a narrow hem at top of slip and a 1/4-in. hem along the bottom. Whip elastic thread to the top of the slip, just as you did for the panties.

Both the slip and panties will look much more dainty if you trim the bottoms with narrow cotton lace. Lay the lace flat on the them (see picture below), and sew it on with overcast stitches. Now turn the lace down and flatten the sewing with your fingers.

Shoes

The pattern for the doll's shoes, in above picture, should be transferred to cardboard, cut out, and used to trace around the edges. Shoes are not difficult to make, but they do require nice tiny even stitches. Each shoe has two pieces: an upper, marked A, and a sole, marked B. Cut two of each. Lay the upper on the sole, matching the Vs. Join them along the outside edges with closely set overcasting stitches. Lap C over D and sew down flat. Felt, wool jersey, and thin kid from an old pair of gloves are all excellent materials for doll's footwear. They must be sewn with matching colored thread.

Try the shoes on the doll. If they are a bit longer than the feet, stuff out the toes of the shoes with tiny bits of cotton. Cut two very narrow strips of the shoe material to make straps. These should be about 1 in. long. Sew them on, having the ends meet at the back top edge of the shoe. The straps must be snug around the ankle. If 1 in. is too long, cut the excess off so they'll fit perfectly.

Dress

Right now, just in her underwear and slippers, isn't she one of the most attractive little dolls you've ever had? You can tell at this point just what kind of a name to give her. Shall it be Aramantha Susan Peabody or Prudence Cabot or Sue Ellen Pritchard? Let's call her Prudence for the time being.

The dress Prudence is wearing in her portrait in last picture of chapter 4 is easily made. As you can see on the pattern below; the bodice and sleeves are cut in one piece. The skirt is a straight piece that is shirred around the top and sewn to the bodice. My Prudence wears a gown of lavender and white striped lawn, trimmed with lavender velvet ribbon. Any soft fine cotton fabric will do very nicely. It could be plain colored, or plaid, or checked, or printed with a tiny floral design. Ribbon, narrow rickrack braid, bias tape, or lace could be used for trimming. It's such fun to figure out just how you're going to make and trim the dress.

Trace the bodice pattern and transfer it to heavy paper. Write the doll's name and the date on the pattern. This is a basic pattern which can be used for any number of different dresses and fancy costumes, so don't let it get lost.

Fold the material in half. Place the pattern on it so that its top edge meets the fold line of the fabric. Cut it out. Make the narrowest hem you can around the neckline and the bottom of the sleeves. Now gather the sleeves between the points marked A and B on the diagram. Before knotting the gathering thread, test the shirring at the neck to see if you've allowed enough room to put the bodice on over the doll's head. Test the sleeve .bottoms to see that they're wide enough to allow the hand and arm to go through them. When these adjustments have been made, knot the thread. Sew the sides together, on the wrong side. Turn the bodice inside out.

The skirt measures 16 in. around the bottom and is 43/4 in. long, including the turnup for the hem. Gather the top and draw in enough to match the measurement around the bottom of the bodice. Be sure to leave 1/4 in. at each side to seam the skirt together. It is a very good idea to secure the shirring by running a line of machine stitching along it. If you cannot use a machine, sew a row of small back - stitches to hold the gathers in place. Seam the side of the skirt. Iron the skirt and press the seam open so it will lie flat. A doll's electric iron is just right for this.

Join the bodice to the skirt like this; turn the skirt inside out and the bodice upside down. Slip the bodice inside the skirt until the two edges meet. Sew the two parts together, having the side seam of the skirt meet one side seam of bodice. Use small running stitches, and go around the waistline twice. Knot the thread securely.

	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.

Turn up 1/2 in. along bottom of skirt and hem with tiny stitches. Iron hem before putting dress on doll.

The waistline of the dress is not quite as snug as you may think it should be. This was planned on purpose, because it is easier to put the dress on the doll when the waist is a bit loose. The belt or sash that she'll wear can be put on tight enough to give her the wee waist that looks so very pretty.

Necklace

A necklace of small beads will complete her costume. Choose a color bead that contrasts nicely with the color of the dress. The necklace can be removable if you make it the following way: thread one bead and slide it down to within 2 in. of the end of the thread; tie the thread in a double knot around this bead, then thread as many more beads as is necessary to make the necklace the length you want. Then knot the thread around the last bead and break it off 2 in. away from the bead. The thread ends can be tied in a small bow at the back of the neck.

Costume Changes

Charming Prudence can have many more dresses if you use the basic bodice pattern with different kinds of skirts.

Suppose you have a pretty piece of pink chambray you want to use for a dress with a circular skirt. Cut and finish the bodice as before. Then lay a bread and butter plate on a single thickness of the fabric. Trace around it and then cut out the circle. Fold the circle in half and in half again. Cut off the point 1/2 in. away from the top fold. Curve the cutting line slightly so that a perfect circle is taken out of the center. This is the waistline. Fit it to the bottom of the bodice. If it is too small, trim it just the slightest bit. If too large, gather it slightly to fit. The shirring looks best when placed at the back.

Sew the circle to the bodice. Make a narrow hem around the bottom of the skirt. Three bands of narrow white rick-rack around the bottom of the skirt, and one band around the neckline and sleeve bottoms, will give the dress a fresh, spick-and-span look that is most attractive. A white kid belt would be pretty, or a piece of the white rickrack tied around the waist would finish it nicely.

A Fairy Princess Gown

A party gown or Fairy Princess costume can be made from white or pale yellow organdie. Use the same bodice pattern. Cut a circular skirt from a double thickness of organdie, using a dinner plate as a guide in drawing a perfect circle. Cut out the waistline just as you did in the pink chambray. Silver ribbon or silver tinsel make beautiful trimmings for these gowns. String enough small pearls to make a circle the size of a quarter. Tie the ends together and place on the doll's head for a little crown. A tiny bracelet of pearls can be tied on each wrist. For fancy costumes such as these, silver painted or white kid slippers look best.

An Everyday Dress

A pleated skirt with the same bodice makes a very attractive daytime dress. Checked gingham (use only the very smallest size check) or a small pattern plaid gingham looks very well when pleated. Make the bodice as usual.

For the skirt, cut a straight piece of material about 4 in. long and 13 in. wide. Make a small box pleat in the center. Make 1/4 in. pleats, side by side, on either side of the center, so that the top of the skirt measures the same width as the bottom of the bodice. Then pin the pleats in place. In this instance, the skirt will be seamed at the center back. Cut off any excess material. Stitch along the top of the skirt to hold the pleats in place. Put the bodice on and hold the skirt up to it to determine the correct length. Hem the skirt but do not seam it together. While still unseamed, iron the pleats in place; then sew up the seam. Join the skirt to the bodice as usual.

Bias binding tape (it comes already folded for use) can be sewn around the neckline and bottom of sleeves. A narrow black kid belt will look well.

Baby Rag Doll

Prudence can be changed into a real baby doll very easily. By covering her head with a mass of short curls and giving her a real baby dress you can make her into a sweet little baby.

Six-strand embroidery floss (used with a long-eyed needle) is worked into French knots. Draw the floss all the way through the fabric. Then, holding the needle close to where the floss came out, wind the floss several times around the needle. Insert the needle into the fabric quite close to where the floss came out. Let the needle tip come out again a short distance away and draw the thread through. These knots should be a good deal looser than those used in fine embroidery. Set the knots close together so they'll entirely cover the head.

The baby doll's dress shows only the top. Make it long enough so that it will cover her feet. Use soft, fine white material. Shirr the sleeves and neckline as shown by the dotted lines on the pattern and trim the edges with narrow lace. You know how to cut and put on a tiny diaper.

A Doll's Closet

By this time you've thought of several more ways of working out dress designs of your own. They don't take long to make, and they're such fun to make and use.

A good way to keep the dresses fresh is to provide the doll with her own trunk or wardrobe chest. Use a shoebox covered with wallpaper or cretonne for a trunk. To use the box as a wardrobe, stand it up on its end. Put a pencil or a thin wooden stick inside the box to act as a rod upon which to hang the dress hangers. Measure the width of the box and cut the pencil or stick to fit. Thumb tacks, pushed through from the outside, will hold the rod in place.

The dime and variety stores have pretty little colored plastic hangers for small-sized doll dresses. If each dress is kept on its own hanger, it will stay fresh much longer.

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