Monday 11 March 2013

Paper dolls and a dolly chain

Whenever I visit a bookshop I go straight to the children's area as I love looking through brightly coloured titles written for little ones. When I discovered 'The Paper Dolls' book recently I knew I couldn't go home without it.

 
 
The story is written by Julia Donaldson, author of the much loved Gruffalo books. The illustrations are by the very talented Rebecca Cobb and they fit the story perfectly.
 
The story starts with mummy helping her little girl to make a chain of paper dolls.

 

 
The dolls' have comical names which are repeated in a little rhyme throughout the book; just right for little ones to remember and recite at the appropriate pages. 
 
 
 
 
The little girl and the dolls play happily together.
 

 
 
They have all kinds of adventures until one day! . . . . . sorry, it would be unfair to spoil the ending!
 
 


I used to love making paper dolly chains when I was young but these days I'm more inclined to make them from fabric. . . . . and so, inspired by this sweet story I gave it a go!


 
 
I made five little girls. Their hands are made from 'Velcro' so that they can be linked together to form a chain and dance.
 
 
 
 
With a piece of fluffy fabric attached to a pin board the dolls can be attached individually.
 
 
 
 
and each doll can link their own hands together as shown above.
 
 
 
 
All you have to remember is to put one Velcro hand facing forward and the other facing back.
 
These 4 inch (10 cm) squares of brightly coloured fabric that I purchased from Ebay some years ago were perfect for the dolly chain project.
 
 
 
 
I didn't have a pattern as I wanted each dolly to look slightly different. Each one is approximately 6 inches tall (15 cm). They are stuffed with tiny amounts of toy filler and their faces are drawn on with fabric pens. I used coloured wool for the hair and stitched it to the top of the head only. Too much hair would make the head too heavy.

If you have a little one in the family I'm sure a chain of dollies (paper or fabric) would provide hours of playtime fun.