Peg doll projects

I taught a class on peg doll making in San Fransisco back in September last year and I finally finished my demonstration doll I started in the class! Here she is: 

    

The face

I painted this on using acrylic paints then varnished it (you can use clear nail varnish if you don’t have any normal wood varnish!)

The bodice

Make a tube of fabric, wrap around the peg and sew together at the back

The skirt

Cut a rectangle of fabric and sew a length of lace around the bottom. Sew the sides together to make a tube then turn the top edge under and gather up using a double sewing thread for strength. Slip onto the doll, pull the gathering threads tight then stitch the skirt to the bodice. Tie a length of thin ribbon around her waist.

The sleeves

Make another tube of fabric (I used a piece of lace ribbon) and slip it onto a pipecleaner. Tie a piece of thread around each wrist and bury the ends of the thread in the wraps (us a needle to do this). Sew the centre of the arms to the back of the dress with a few stitches. Bend into shape.

Hair and hat

I plaited some embroidery thread, put glue onto the head of the doll and wrapped the hair around the head sticking it into place as I went. The hat is a circle of felt cut with pinking shears, pinched in the middle then sewn into place. The flowers are paper flowers used for scrapbooking. Just poke the wire through the felt and into the hair and secure with a few stitches.

Accessories

The shawl is a triangle of lace that came off an old t-shirt but you just cut yourself one from a matching fabric. The umbrella is a circle of fabric, with a wooden cocktail stick poked through the middle. Tie a matching thread around the bottom and one around the middle

Don’t forget there are more detailed step by step projects on this site so don’t forget to have a nose around if you are new!

(Use the tags at the side to help you find what you are looking for)

Winter peg

I know the snow has gone but it’s still the season to wrap up warm just as this little peg is! This is one of my own creations that I actually started years ago and finished very recently.

She has a silver blue dress edged with lace and ribbon and embellished with a satin ribbon bow over an organza petticoat. She has a felt muff to keep her hands warm and silvery grey hair decorated with sparkling diamonds (well gems anyway!). A fluffy boa finishes her outfit.

  

A restoration

This little peggie came in a bulk auction and was looking a little the worse for wear…

   

So, I took her apart..

 

Sorted out the individual parts and put her back together again! The peg was a lovely shape (definately vintage possibly older) so I sand papered off the less than attractive face, gave the whole thing a rub down, painted on a new face (using acrylic paint and a very fine brush) and gave it a varnish…

The skirt didn’t need much work as it had originally been stitched so I tidied up the bottom and added a lenth of lace around the edge before putting it back on the doll…

 I used the original pipecleaner covering it in ‘flair’ ribbon and wrapped it around the peg…

 

I also managed to reuse the fabric for the top although it needed tidying up and the edges oversewing. I sewed it around the arms so it wouldn’t move and fray further, then tied a white satin ribbon around her waist. I added a pearl necklace and a shawl around her shoulders (the lace part of an old top I was throwing out!). The hair I had to remake, and did this using a black stranded cotton which I made into a cord and glued onto her head winding it around in a circle finishing in the centre. The hat I reused, pulling the card out of the middle and stitched a buttonhole around the edge to secure the pieces of fabric together. I added a lace motif to the top and attached the hat at a angle.

 The whole project took me about 2 hours and I think you will agree, she scrubbed up quite nicely!

  

And I think it’s worth just putting the before and after pictures together…

  

A new dolly peg year!

Well it’s out with the old and in with the new so why not start the year off and get creative with some doll making! Visit my shop to buy a kit ready to make up or a bag of essentials just to get you going. There are also face decals for sale if you aren’t confident at drawing your own. These will really give your doll a professional look.

        

Face decals, ‘Spotty peg’ peg doll kits, peg doll basics kit

There are lots of pictures on this site to give you ideas and a start to finish project showing you how to make a basic doll, with more projects and ideas on the way this year so keep checking back. Don’t forget, you can post pictures of your doll on here too. Just send any images and accompanying text to this e-mail: dollypegdoll@yahoo.co.uk

Visitor numbers to this site have increased every month and there were over 1000 views in December which is fantastic. I would like to thank everyone who has visited this site for supporting me, especially those who I know visit regularly. I look forward to another year of blogging.

Happy new year to you all!

Sarah