Miniature home-made dolls, such as this clothespin doll have tremendous appeal for your children.

The materials needed to make a clothespin doll are:
a wooden clothespin
a handful of polyester fiber filling or absorbent cotton
three 1/4 -by-4-inch strips of nylon
a 1/2-inch-wide strip of lacy nylon
a pipe cleaner, 4 inches long
a 3-by-8-inch piece of calico
a 3-by-8-inch piece of crinoline or nylon net
string

Pad the rounded top of the clothespin with 1/8-inch-thick polyester fiber or cotton. Cover the padded head with a nylon strip (cut from a slip or light-color hose), and tie the strip around the neck with string. Next, pad the chest area with polyester 1/4-inch thick. Cover this padding with another nylon strip, and tie the strip around the waist. For the arms, wrap a pipe cleaner with a third nylon strip, and sew it horizontally to the center of the doll’s back.

Crisscross the chest area with a strip of lacy nylon, to form the blouse. Sew the blouse pieces securely at the waist.

The full skirt is stiffened with an underskirt of crinoline. Gather both the calico and the crinoline at the waist (the 8-inch sides), and sew tightly to the doll. Trim the crinoline and hem the skirt so that they just cover the bottom of the clothespin. The fabric holds the doll upright.

Glue yarn to the head to make an attractive hairpiece, and use a felt-tip pen to color the lips and eyes.