Friendship Dolls

Friendship dolls were first exchanged in 1927 as a way for the United States and Japan to promote friendship and peace.  These dolls are still exchanged today.



Tools
Glue (Aleene's Fast Grab Tacky Glue)
Ruler
Scissors

Materials
Baby Flat Clothespins
Color Pencils or Fine Tip Markers
Embroidery Floss
Square Wood Sticks

Instructions
On the back of the clothespin, put a small dot of glue.

For a dress, wrap the clothespin with embroidery thread starting at the bottom (feet) and work up the body to the neck.

For arms cut a wood stick in half.  This will give you two 1 1/4 inch pieces.

Put a small dot of glue on the stick and begin wrapping with matching embroidery thread. 

Glue the arms to the body.

Wrap the shoulders with matching embroidery thread.

For hair, cut a one inch cardboard square.  Wrap the square with embroidery thread 36 times. 

Cut the embroidery thread off of the cardboard.

Tie an embroidery thread bow 1/4 inch from one end.

Glue the small end of hair bundle to top of the clothespin and the sides of the face.

Add a face with color pencils.

Clothing and hair variations:
For a shirt or sweater, wrap the clothespin with embroidery thread starting at the waist and work up the body to the neck.

Make arms and glue in place.

Wrap shoulders with matching embroidery thread.

Shirts, sweaters and arms should be done after the skirt or pants.

For a skirt, wrap the clothespin with embroidery thread starting at the bottom and work up the body to the waist.

For pants, wrap each leg with embroidery thread starting at the bottom (feet) and continue to work up the body to the waist.

For hair braids, cut six 6 inch pieces of embroidery thread. 

Tie the cut embroidery thread in half with matching embroidery thread and braid loosely. 

Tie the braids with an embroidery thread bow. 

Glue braids to the doll head.

For long hair, cut a 2 or 3 inch cardboard square and wrap with embroidery thread about 20 times.

Cut the embroidery thread off of the cardboard.

Tie the cut embroidery thread in half with matching embroidery thread.

Glue the embroidery thread bundle to the doll head.

For short hair, cut a one inch cardboard square. Wrap the square with embroidery thread 20 times. 
Tie the embroidery thread together on one end of the cardboard. 

Cut the embroidery thread off of the cardboard. 

Glue the embroidery thread bundle to the doll head.

You now have a friendship doll to share.