Topic

Making dolls, carts, furniture...

In the communities we always find people, whether from families accompanied by the Pastoral or not, who know how to make the most varied toys with different materials: cloth dolls, corn cobs, straw, or tin carts, wooden, furniture for the “ little house” and many others. It is very enriching that these people are invited to participate in the workshops and can make toys for the children. We are going to put here a suggestion of some toys and we are sure that in each community there will be many others, each one more beautiful and interesting than the other.

  • Dolls and dolls

Basic material to make any type of doll: needles, threads, scissors, pins, wool, string or strips of cloth for the hair; filling; tape or bias; red and black pen to draw the face. For stuffing, it is cheaper than acrylon or cotton wool, stuffing the dolls with shredded and mixed cloth and plastic bags. Rice straw or anything else that serves this purpose and does not present a danger to children can also be used.

By giving the opportunity to make dolls and dolls of different races such as white, indigenous and black, we can value the varied formation of our population. In communities we always find people who know how to make different types of dolls. Let's put only a few models here.

  • Cloth doll (1)

Material: light, brown or black cotton fabric to make the face, arms and legs; printed fabric to make the dress that forms the body.

How to make:

1. Cut the plain fabric, from the 1.A pattern, twice, the face. Using patterns 1.B and 1.C, cut four times each to form arms and legs. Use template 1.D, twice, to cut the dress/body in the printed fabric (the templates are in Annex 3);

2. Sew and fill parts B of the arms and C of the legs;

3. Body: to start assembling the doll, place a part D cut from the patterned fabric on the table. Position the legs as shown in the photo to the side and secure with pins;

4. do the same way to secure the arms;

5. place the other part D of the printed fabric, wrong side out, over the arms and legs and sew. They should be sewn facing inwards, as shown in the photo. Leave the neck opening to place the filling;

6. turn the dress over and fill. Sew the opening;

7. head: in one of the parts A draw or embroider the face. Sew the two parts and stuff;

8. attach the head to the body and put on hair.

 

  • Doll or rag doll (2)

Material: light, brown or black cotton fabric to make the body; printed fabric for the dress.

How to make:

1. cut the body, twice, from template 2.A. Cut the face twice using template 2.B and use template 2.C to cut the dress (the templates are in Annex 3);

2. body: Fold the fabric in half and sew each part A, leaving one of the short sides unstitched. Place the stuffing and sew the opening; 

3. join the two pieces of the body: tie with a string, leaving a distance of 6 cm from one of the ends to form the arms of the doll. For the legs, tie the other end about 7 cm from the bottom to the top;

4. head: make the eyes, mouth and nose embroidered or drawn on one of the parts B. Sew the two parts, leaving an opening of about 5 cm, place the stuffing and sew. With the wool or pieces of fabric cut into strips, make the doll's hair and attach it to the head by sewing;

5. to join the head to the doll's body, lower the upper part, where the arms will be, and sew all around the head to secure it;

6. Dress: With fabric folded in half, sew together to close. After folding the sewn fabric once more, cut one of the ends diagonally. In this place will be the arms;

7. pucker the sewing thread around the neckline of the dress. Tuck the dress onto the doll and sew around the neck.


Note This doll's mold is in small size. It can be enlarged to a larger size. By making a boy's clothes and hair, dolls can be made.

This doll can also be made using three sock feet: two feet to form the body and one for the head, which is formed by half of the foot part of a sock. The doll is assembled as explained above.

 

  • Rag doll (3)

Material: light, brown or black cotton cloth (for body), patterned or striped cloth (for clothes). tape or bias for the handles.

How to make:

1. cut the parts of the puppet: head 3.A, body 3.B, and legs 3.C in the smooth cloth, being twice the parts of the body and head and four times the parts of the legs. The shorts 3.D and the chest 3.E of the dungarees are cut from the striped cloth, being twice the part of the shorts and once the chest of the bib (the patterns can be found in Annex 3);

2. sew the body, head and legs, stuff and join these three parts. Put a bias in the place where the head joins the body and the torso joins the legs;

3. make eyes, nose and mouth on the face. Make the hair and pin it on the head;

4. sew the shorts and nail the bib's chest to it;

5. put the clothes on the doll and make the handles with the bias or ribbon.

  • Doll or sock doll (4)

Material: a large sock.

How to make:

1. cut the sock into five parts as shown in the photo. The legs (upper part of the sock shaft is longer).

2. head and body. Stuff the foot part of the sock to make the doll's head and body. Make a few stitches at the height of the neck to form the head. Then sew underneath to close the body;

3. sew each part of the arms and legs and stuff. Give a few stitches at the ends of each part to form hands and feet;

4. sew arms and legs to the doll's body and make the face as you like: embroidered or drawn;

5. make hair and clothes as you wish: doll or doll.

  • Panels

Material: plastic pots or bottles that are cut to make pots. Small cans, no edges that can cut. Wire for handle.

How to do it: cut as shown in the photo, on the tin ones, hit the edges well so there is no danger of someone cutting themselves. In the case of a pan with a wire handle, drill holes and place the wire.

  • Iron

Material: pieces of wood, thin pipe or round piece of wood for handle, screws or nails.

How to do it: cut the base of the iron in the wood, cut the handle and nail it to the base.

  • Furniture

From crates or wood

Material: matchboxes for small furniture, milk cartons or larger ones for making larger furniture, glue, brown paper (to imitate wood) or wrapping paper, scraps of cloth. Furniture can also be made with pieces of wood.

How to do it: we will explain and place the furniture designs with matchboxes; those in larger wooden boxes can be adapted from these or created by one's imagination. The boxes, to be stronger, must be filled with well crumpled newspaper, then covered with paper or cloth to decorate and, finally, glued as shown in the figures.

  • Sofa set: the sofa is made with six boxes, the armchair with four and the table with three;
  • Dining room: the table is formed by six boxes, each bench is formed by three parts of the box that contains the matchsticks.
  • Bedroom: the bed is made with ten boxes, six of which form the mattress. The bedside table is made with three boxes.
  • Kitchen: the four-burner stove is made with four boxes. The sink is made with two boxes: the scratching parts form the sides and the match storage parts form the basin and the back, in which a piece of toothpick is placed to be the “spout”.
  • Car

Material: one 2.5 l plastic bottle and eight equal 2 l plastic bottles, wire, cap.

How to make:

1. wheels: cut the bottom of the eight smaller bottles, drill holes in the middle and join two by two with tape to form the wheels;

2. drill four holes in the 2.5 l bottle, two on each side where the wire will pass to secure the wheels;

3. cut out the top of the large bottle to make the windshield or glue part of a bottle to make the top;

4. thread the wire straight into the bodywork and then into each wheel, bending at the end so it doesn't come loose

Note: the car can also be made with smaller bottles like the ones in the photo below.


  • Truck

Material: one plastic bottle with handle (type of fabric softener), eight small soda bottles, wire.

How to make:

1. wheels: cut the bottom of the eight bottles, drill holes in the middle and join two by two with tape to form the wheels;

2. cut the top part of the bottle, right after the handle, to make the truck's bucket;

3. thread the wire straight into the bodywork and then into each wheel, bending at the end so it doesn't come loose.


Inspirations from communities

 

Costa Rica/MS

Toys made on Play Sunday at the Museum of Life

  • love pots

Material: cardboard, tape, gouache paint, brush, scissors, disposable cup, barbecue sticks, green/brown crepe paper and clay

How to make:

1. Cut the green crepe paper into wide strips, then take a barbecue stick and wrap a strip of green crepe paper in it, set aside;

2. Paint one of the hands with gouache paint, you can pass the brush with several different colors to make your hand well colored, then make a stamp of your hand on the cardboard, press well to make the sheet well marked, let it dry;

3. Wash your hand, dry and take a piece of clay, make a ball and put it inside the disposable cup, set it aside;

4. After the paint dries, cut out the shape of the hand and glue it with tape to the barbecue stick, covered with green crepe paper, then place the toothpick inside the disposable cup, press well to stick to the clay;

Your love vase is ready, the more hands you put in, the more flowery it will be!

  • crazy hat

Material: cardboard/cardboard plate, ruler, graphite pencil, scissors, glue, colored paper, colored ribbons, gouache paint (optional)

How to make:

1. Take the cardboard plate and draw an “X” in the middle of it with the graphite pencil, then over the “X” draw a cross;

2. If you don't have a cardboard plate, you can use cardboard. Make two circles in the center of the card, you can use two plates as a template, one large and one small.

3. Then make a hole in the center of the plate or cardboard and cut in the direction of the scratched lines, then open the parts that were cut well;

4. Get colored papers and make different cuts, it can be flowers, leaves, stars, hearts, circles etc…

5. Glue the cut papers to the tips of the hat, the more colored paper you put, the prettier your hat will be;

6. If you want, you can paint the edge of the hat with gouache paint, wait for it to dry and then glue ribbons;

And your crazy hat is ready!!!

  • turtle rattle

Material: pet bottle, bottle caps, hot glue, EVA or sturdy and easy to cut cardboard, graphite pencil, scissors, colored tape and colored marker

How to make:

1. Cut the bottom of the pet bottle and separate some colored caps;

2. On EVA or cardboard, with the graphite pencil make a circle around the bottom of the cut bottle, then draw the arms, legs, head and tail of the turtle;

3. Cut out the turtle you drew;

4. Glue half of the turtle with hot glue, then place the caps inside the turtle and finish the gluing;

5. Paste colored adhesive tape to decorate and help to better fix the bottom of the bottle on the EVA;

6. Draw the turtle's eyes;

And now just play!

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