Simple Yarn Doll Tutorial

If you’re looking for a fun and easy craft,  today’s post is for you!   The fabulous Shiloh is going to teach us how to make a yarn doll!

Hi! I’m Shiloh, from Everyday Gameplan. I’m so thankful that Emily has let me guest post here at Nap Time is My Time. 🙂 I’m a *mostly* SAHM. I still teach a few piano lessons every week. I grew up in New Zealand, and moved over here for college. I got married, and we’ve just stayed.:) I have been teaching kids since I was about 13. I’ve taught gymnastics, English, piano/music and Sunday School classes. All those different activities have given me a huge background knowledge of games and crafts. My dad was a huge game person too, so I think I came by it pretty honestly. I have a terrible story telling kind of imagination, but God has given me kind of an odd ability to think of a theme and adapt games or crafts to it. Sometimes, it’s AWESOME ideas. Other times…not so much.:) I have decided that I am very creative, but not so much artistic, so that’s why kid’s crafts are so great for me. I can use all the things adults would…paint, glue, scissors etc, but if it comes out looking a little crooked, that’s ok. It’s a kids craft.;)

This is a very simple yarn doll tutorial that I like for a couple reasons. The first reason is that I LOVE that even fairly young kids can at least help make it. The second is that it is perfect for dusting. If you have a toy to help a kid dust, that’s awesome. If you have a toy that the kid made that they can help dust with?? That’s amazing!!

You will need…

Yarn, scissors, a book and embroidery floss. The book is the gauge for the size of your doll. I chose a normal hardback book, about 8 inches tall. (Have you read Mary Poppins? One of my favorites) I prefer hardback books for this craft. You can use shorter or taller, but obviously that will affect the size of your doll, and it will take a varying amount of yarn.

Start by wrapping the yarn around the book.

All the way around is one loop.

Make 50 loops.:)

Carefully take the scissors and cut through all the yarn at the bottom of the book. Take the yarn off the book, lay it flat, and take note of the middle.

Tie some embroidery thread around that middle section. Fold the yarn back in half

Tie all the way around the yarn, about an inch or inch and a half from the top. This is the neck of your doll. Separate about 6 strands of yarn on either side of your doll.

Save those for later, and tie another piece of thread around the waist area of the doll.

Braid each arm. You won’t want to braid all the way to the end of the yarn, because it will be too long. Braid until it’s a little longer than the waist, and then use the thread to tie the arm off as well.

Trim the excess, and your doll is finished!

Turn your kids loose on the dusting!

If you want to make a boy doll, just separate into two legs below the waist, and tie off.

Hopefully, you’ll enjoy making a couple of these with your kids. Hopefully you’ll enjoy the benefits of your kids owning a couple of these.:) Thanks so much again to Emily for letting me share this with you guys.:)

If you’re looking for more ideas, feel free to follow me on Twitter or Facebook also.:)

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Thanks so much,  Shiloh,  for this wonderful craft!   I’m looking forward to making one soon.

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