Clothespin dolls have been around since the early 1900s, and historians classify them as folk art. Dollmaker and author Nancy Bell Anderson uses wooden clothespins to make a farmer doll and discusses different types of clothing for clothespin dolls. Nancy's book, Things Kids Can Make, is no longer in print, but your local library may have a copy. Materials:
Wooden clothespins
Aleene's Thick Designer Tacky GlueB.
Red and black felt markers
Fabrics such as denim, gingham, etc. for dressing dolls
Pipe cleaners
Drill (optional)
Saw (optional)
Needle and thread
Toothpick
Miniature straw hat
Note: - Wooden clothespins come in slightly different shapes, with ends that are flared, straight or flat. Nancy used a traditional clothespin with flat ends for the farmer.
- Saw off the ends of a clothespin to make short legs for child clothespin dolls.
- Cut a pipe cleaner for the doll's arms. Glue the pipe cleaner around the clothespin just below the round top in the arm position using Aleene's Thick Designer Tacky Glue. Or drill a hole through the clothespin, and thread the pipe cleaner through for the arms.
- Draw a face on the doll, making two black dots for eyes with a black felt marker on the rounded top of the clothespin and a mouth with a red felt marker. Or use a small brush and acrylic paint. If desired, draw shoes on the bottom two prongs of the clothespin with a black marker.
- Make a shirt for the farmer by cutting gingham fabric, following the pattern pictured here (figure A).
- Hand-stitch the sleeves and side seams of the shirt, using a running stitch and needle and thread, right sides together. Turn the shirt right side out (figure B).
- You could also simply cut a hole in the center of a rectangular piece of fabric, slip the hole over the doll's head and glue it in place (figure C). Or paint clothing on the doll with markers or acrylic paint.
- Cut pants for the farmer from denim fabric according to the pattern shown here (figure D).
- Put the shirt on the farmer. Apply a generous amount of Aleene's Thick Designer Tacky Glue between the prongs of the clothespin, and glue the pants on, wrapping the fabric around the back and through the center slit. Glue small strips of fabric to the top of the overalls for straps, pull them around to the back, and crisscross them. Glue them down in the back (figure E).
- Add hair to the farmer by gluing on a cotton ball (for an older farmer) or bits of brown yarn (for a younger farmer). Comb the yarn first to separate the strands. Apply Aleene's Thick Designer Tacky Glue to the wooden clothespin rather than the yarn (figure F).
- Place a purchased straw hat on top.
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