Moore - Purely Primitive Dolls: How to Make Simple, Old-Fashioned Dolls

H ave you ever seen decorations for homes that look to be years and years old? Have you ever held something in your hands and wondered about the history behind it?

Maybe you wanted to buy a primitive doll but found they were quite expensive. Maybe you wished you could make them for yourself but you had no idea where to start. Primitive design uses these reminders of the past to decorate and use in your home. My primitive art makes me feel like I am keeping the past alive and displaying treasures from years ago.

What is primitive? Simply put, primitive is when something looks old and well-used, simple and unsophisticated. Primitives are usually distressed and a bit worn around the edges. Primitive dolls, an important part of the world of prims, are handmade dollsdolls made with simple techniques, simple materials, and hand-drawn designs. The bodies and clothes are often discolored (prim artists call it grunged), tattered, and torn. Clothing is frayed and unfinished, with a homespun charm you will find nowhere else. Prims tug at your heart. I love everything about primitive style and the details in the design. Primitives add charm to any home.

Think of days long ago when the man had to make everything for his family. He built the home and made everything insideall the furniture, and everything needed to live, all completely handmade. People then used dyes from vegetables to make paint and milk paint to give color to their cabinets and furnishings. The wife sewed their clothing, using homespun and calico fabrics. Everything they used was simple and they couldnt afford any extras that came from the storeeven if there was a general store close by.

Picture a daughter asking her mother to make her a doll to hold and love. Mother would make these dolls using scraps of fabrics from the clothes she made for her family and stuff them with rags, lumpy and bumpy. Maybe the dolls had hand-drawn faces, or maybe they had no face at all. I am sure that these dolls were loved to pieces.

Some might confuse antique style with primitive style. Primitive is in no way antique. Primitive means those things that havent been restored, the old, old items left in their original state. In the olden days, items were made to withstand time and use and last through the years. A hand-carved wooden bowl a husband made for his wife, a cupboard to hold their tin dishes and sacks of flour and sugarthese were made to last. If a repair was needed, a scrap piece of tin was used to make a patch or repair.

Primitive dolls are huge in the world of primitive design. If you know someone who decorates their home in the primitive style you can rest assured they have primitive dolls. Even if you dont decorate primitive, one of these dolls is sure to speak to your heart. These dolls are conversation pieces as well as works of art.

Every artist has a different style: some styles are simple, some can be silly, some have a more country look, and some can be extreme primitive, which means they look extremely tattered and torn and well-loved. There are theme dolls: angels and Santas, Uncle Sams and scarecrows, dolls for the spring with a garden theme.

Primitive goods are also very common in a primitive home; you might find handmade vege - tables, crows, or flowers. They all have one thing in common: they are handmade from fabric and are grunged. You will find lots of these dolls and other items online at primitive websites, in the back of most primitive magazines, and you can buy them from the online auction sites.

Prairie doll with clothespin baby

Be careful when purchasing primitive dolls. A real folk art doll will be one of a kind, signed and dated by the artist. There are companies who make large quantities of primitive dolls; these are made on an assembly line and are not true artist dolls. And remember that there is a big difference in a one-of-a-kind doll and a doll made from a pattern. Pattern dolls are wonderful, but they are another artists design that you copy.

If you have seen primitive dolls and were sure that you could never make one yourself, I understand. I thought the same thing. It looked so hard and complicated and I was sure I needed to take sewing classes.

But I am here to show you that no classes are needed. I will show you step by step how to create a primitive doll and give you tips so the doll you create will be your very own style and not someone elses design. There is something special about creating your own dolls. That doll will be your own, and it will hold a piece of your heart. I will teach you how to take an idea, put it to paper, then to fabric, and lastly to realitya doll you will be proud of.

Remember that there is no right or wrong way to do this. I will give you suggestions and tips to use as you learn the techniques. Then you will find a way that works for you. So come along with me into a whole new world of drawing, sewing, grunging (giving an aged appearance)and find a piece of yourself you never knew existed.

W hen I decide to design a new doll, I look around for inspiration. I never know what that will be or when it might happen, so I always carry with me a small pad of paper and a pencil. I never know just when an inspiration will come.

For instance, one day I was sitting outside on my deck thinking about a design for a new doll. I was trying to come up with something new and a pesky bee wouldnt go away. So I was inspired to design a doll with a bee on her shoulder. I created a net out of wire and cheesecloth and a stick from my backyard; I added an old jar with a honey label on it.

You might find inspiration from one of my designs or from people you meet. Whatever you find that touches your heart can become a design for a doll, whether it be the dolls face or what she holds in her arms.

Heres all you need to get started. Find yourself a spiral notebook, a pad of paper, scrap copy paperany blank paper will doand a pencil. Lets draw!

Put it on paper

When you think about the kind of doll that appeals to you what comes to mind? Maybe a doll that appears to have been found in an old trunk in Grannys attic? Or maybe you would like to create something for a season, lets say spring or summer.

Head and neck shapes

1. With paper and pencil in hand, first draw the head: round, oblong, long and skinnythe choice is yours. Any shape is fine because there is no wrong or right in primitive design. If you dont feel comfortable the first time drawing freehand you can use a small plate or other object as a template. But remember: unless you are an expert sewer you most likely wont be able to follow exactly the lines when it comes time to sew the doll together. I am not an expert sewer so I cant follow the lines, but that is okay. Draw a head shape that appeals to you.
2. Next, draw the neck: long and skinny, or short and wide. The size of the neck should be in relation to the size of the head. I have made plenty of rather small-headed dolls with long skinny necks. But remember that the neck must support the head, so if you design a large head and want a long neck as well, make the neck wide enough to hold the head.