Since ancient times, dolls have played a very important role in education. With their help, children acquired skills in needlework and home economics. In addition, dolls made of natural materials served as amulets for their owners.
Tow doll
To make a doll, tow is required. This natural material is obtained after the primary processing of hemp or flax. Of course, you can make it yourself, but the process is quite laborious, so it is much more convenient to buy material in a hardware store or on the market.
Prepare 3 bunches of tow. One 30 cm long will be needed to make the doll's body, 2 others about 15 cm long - for hands and hair. Fold a long bundle in half, put a shorter tow (this will be the doll's hair) into it. Stepping back a little, wrap the thread several times, you get a head and neck.
Then insert a second short bun and tie it underneath with a string to form the doll's arms and belt. Tie a bundle of tow on both sides to keep your hands from getting tousled. Below the waistband, divide the material in half and tie each piece at the bottom with a string. This will give the doll legs.
The toy is ready, now you can make a face for it. Wrap the top of the doll with a piece of white cloth and sew a piece at the back. Lift your hair and straighten it. Draw the face. In the old days, this was done with charcoal, but you can draw it with pencils or felt-tip pens.
For clothing, take cotton or linen shreds and wrap them around the doll.
Lumber swaddle doll
To make this folk toy, you need a small elbow-sized log (about 30 cm long and 10 cm in diameter). At the top of it, glue a white patch. In the old days, it was glued with boiled potatoes. You need to peel it, boil it and mash it into a homogeneous puree, and in order for the mass to be sticky, you should add a little water in which the potatoes were cooked. Apply the puree to the place where the doll's face will be and attach the cloth.
Draw the baby's face with charcoal: eyes, nose and mouth. Make hair out of tow or moss and stick it with a potato mass. Place the doll in a cloth, wrap it up and tie it with a ribbon.
Swaddling clothes were important because they taught little girls how to care for babies.
Doll with a scythe
This doll can be made from fresh grass, hay or straw. Take a bunch of grass two fingers thick, slightly longer than your palm. Bend it one third. The third part is the doll's height, and two-thirds is her braid.
Tie a thin bundle of grass around the neck, while the ends of this bundle will serve as the doll's arms. Bend their tips and tie them with a blade of grass, you get palms. From the remaining part (2/3 of a bunch of grass), braid a braid and secure it by tying it up with a blade of grass.
