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Kids
Toys
Doll Maker
Instructions
To be a good doll maker, you must make a
pattern. Although designing may sound difficult and the instructions
may seem lengthy, in practice if you follow them step by step
working as you go, you will find that one process leads to
the next quite easily, making the whole project into an exciting
challenge. What is, however, important before attempting making
patterns for a doll, is a careful study of the proportions
of the human body. There are several very good doll maker
books which explain how a body is constructed and most of
them can be obtained from a local Public Library.
The doll maker should note two points, that the word proportions
stands for the comparative relation of one thing to another.
Secondly, the established unit of measuring this in a human
body is the head. By looking through the books it will be
seen that all the drawings of a body are based on the rule
that the total height is seven and a half times the head in
an adult. But if the doll maker is concerned with dolls which
are basically a child's child, therefore our study must concentrate
on a child's body. It is noticeable when studying a human
form that the younger the child the bigger the head in proportion
to the total height. In practice this works out at approximately
five to one heads for the total height of a child of five
years and four and a half heads for a child of two.
For a doll maker to make a pattern - use this measurement
as a foundation. Remember, that one must never work on small
patterns as these will be too difficult to handle in later
stages such as sewing and stuffing. My doll maker advice is,
make your first sample doll to stand 38 cm from the top of
the head to the bottom of the feet. Bearing this size in mind,
take a large sheet of paper and mark a line which will be
the central line of the body and 38 cm long. At the top of
this line draw a circle so that the top of the circle is at
the top of the line. To simplify the drawing of a circle,
use a glass or a cup. If the doll is to represent a five-year-old,
for instance, the head circle will measure 7-5 cm while for
a child of two, it will be 9 cm.
The width of the body in its widest part i.e. shoulders, hips
and thighs is about the width
of the head, therefore mark this on one side of the central
line as working out the proportions for a doll's body. See
Diagram
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