Craft Magic - Blog Posts

Poppet Tutorial

Original inspiration for this lesson comes from iladisparu’s Voodoo Doll Tutorial on YouTube. I make my dolls slightly differently, but they’re very similar :) 

Materials:

Yarn (color of your choice)

String

Sewing needle

Buttons

Other Accessories of your choice

Step 1)

Loosely wrap the end of your yarn around four fingers and tie a knot.

Step 2)

After tying a knot, wrap the end of the yarn around your four fingers 8-9 times. Then, remove the bundle from your hand, and, making sure it doesn’t come undone, begin wrapping the loose end of the yarn around the center of the bundle (second picture). Next, separate the bundle into four sections so that it resembles a sort of butterfly (these are going to become the doll’s limbs!).

Step 3)

Once you’ve separated your bundle into four different smaller bunches, start wrapping the loose end of your yarn around the center of the bundle to create a fifth bunch of loops (This is for the doll’s head, I recommend making 4-5 loops for this section). Then, you can begin solidifying your doll by wrapping the loose end of the yarn up and down one of the bundles of loops (do this for all four limbs). 

TIP: Every time you make a limb, wrap the loose end of your yarn around the doll’s center before moving onto the next limb. This helps keep everything together!

Step 4)

Once you’ve finished all the limbs, you can move onto the head. Wrap the loose end of your yarn up and down the bundle of loops dedicated to the head and bend the resulting stub over. Then, begin wrapping the loose end of your yarn around that, keeping in mind you want the result to look spherical. 

Step 5)

Almost there!

When you’ve finished making the head, you can either glue the loose end of your yarn in place on the doll, or, using a large needle, weave it back into the doll’s body. 

At this point, your doll is a blank canvas and ready for you to decorate however you please. I personally just sewed a couple of black buttons for eyes onto mine, but the possibilities are endless. :) Just don’t forget to give your new friend a name.