The rag doll belongs to a family noted for its great hardiness, sweet disposition, and comfortable per-sonality. 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 dollmakers, 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 ap-
pealing 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. Below 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.
Click on the pattern to enlarge and print it.

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, wool batting or polyester fill 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.

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.