No Sew Pioneer Rag Doll
Make a quick and easy no sew pioneer rag doll your kids will love! This tutorial will show you step-by-step how easy it is.
The Little House on the Prairie series were my all time favorite books growing up and Laura Ingalls was my childhood hero. She was a funny, brave, strong and precocious pioneer girl that offered young readers a glimpse of life in the late 1800s. Much of my play time was spent with my friends pretending we were pioneer girls running wild through the fields behind our house. I loved the strength and courage with which she met every challenge and I always wanted to be exactly like her.
My love for these books goes on and now I’ve passed my affection of these wonderful stories to my 6 year old daughter. As we read about Laura and her corncob wrapped in a handkerchief named Susan ( insert fits of giggles from my 6 year old that can’t fathom a corncob for a doll!) we decided it would be fun to make rag dolls that pioneer girls might have liked to play with all those many years ago.
Here is a quick and easy tutorial on how to make a no sew pioneer rag doll with items you probably already have around the house!
Here is what you need to make your own pioneer rag doll:
- 12″x12″ piece of muslin (for the body)
- 3″x6″ piece of fabric (for the apron)
- 3″x3″ piece of fabric folded in half diagonally (for the bonnet)
- cotton ball
- bakers twine
Let’s get started!
Place one cotton ball directly in the center of the 12″x12″ piece of muslin.
Wrap the muslin around the cotton ball diagonally and grab around the “neck” of the doll. Next, cut a piece of bakers twine, wrap around the neck and secure it with a knot.
Take each “arm” and tie it in a knot. Make sure
If the arm is too long, just give it a little snip so each arm is the same length.
Grab your 3″x5″ piece of fabric for the apron and cut about a 1″ slit on each side. This will be the ties of the apron.
Wrap the apron around the body of the doll and using the slits you just cut, tie into a knot.
Take your 3″x3″ fabric piece for the bonnet and fold it over diagonally. Secure the bonnet by tying it under the chin of the doll.
And there you have it! Quick and easy pioneer rag dolls that I’m sure Laura Ingalls herself would have loved. Your kids will have a blast making several with their friends. It’s fun to mix and match different colors and patterns of fabric to make each doll unique. No two dolls will look the same and I love that!
No you that you can make your own cute little rag doll, you won’t have to play with that corncob wrapped in a handkerchief anymore! 😉
Thanks for channeling your inner Laura Ingalls with me today!
I love the craft but it would be tough for a little kid definitely very fun and cute
Hey. Tjats brilliant. A little kid would love that. If a grandmum i once saw with a little bored girl who had had nothing would have had a brain to drag a handerchief out and?
No. But im gonna try this. Take one hankie and….its basically a travel doll!!
I used to have a corncob doll and now I have a rag doll. Thank you
I love this and am making it for Christmas for my girls. The only thing I’m having a tough time with is the bonnet. I’m thinking a 6×6 piece of fabric will work better for me than a 3×3.
Try it and let us know. Can’t wait to see how it turns out.
I love this! My son is reading the Little House boos for reading this quarter, so we’ll be doing this craft for him to give to his cousin. Do you have tips to make a rag doll boy?
If you have yarn, you can make a rag doll boy but it can be tricky. First, you wrap yarn around your hand enough times so you can make four limbs. Then cut the yarn and take it off your hand. After that, take another bit of yarn and make a neck by wrapping it around the top part of the yarn clump to make the head. Tie that, then separate the rest of the bottom into four parts. Take the first one and cut the loops. Then braid it and do the same with the other three. You can make it as long as you want.
Hi can you explain this further? i really want to make a boy one and I dont really understand what youre saying here lol.
search how to make a rag doll on the internet thats a boy
look up yarn dolls then you can see pictures and instructions and stuff
To cute I have made some to and civil war Dolls to thank you love them.
We are so happy to hear that. Thanks tons!
No way that bonnet works with a 3 x 3 piece! I cut a bunch out and put one together and learned the hard way! Ugh! But super cute and easy.
I love this doll!!!❤️❤️it’s so cute🥰🥰it was so easy to make and the perfect size doll💕thank u so much for the tutorial!!!!❤️💕🥰