Make Pantyhose People!

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Handcraft the Head

To create the doll's noggin, simply cut off one foot of the pair of hose (do so at a point about five or six inches from the toe), and pack it with the fiberfill. If your piece of hosiery has runs in the foot, you could, instead, cut a section of nylon from the leg, stitch one end, turn it inside out, and stuff the resulting bag. The heads I make usually end up being about the size of a softball after they're stuffed.

Next, poke a hole in the polyester-filled opening with your finger or a pencil. Dab some glue on both sides of one end of the popsicle stick, and then insert it an inch or two into the hole. Tie a string tightly around the nylon and its wooden support to secure the neck. (The hose should extend a few inches below the string to insure an easy attachment to the body.)

Fashion the Face

I always begin bringing a doll "to life" by fashioning a nose for it, then proceed to the eyes or mouth. To make a round sniffer, insert the needle (using a single thread) through the top of the head and bring it out the center of the face. (Always run your needle through the top of the head and push it back out the same way after you've completed any facial feature. If you pierce the rear of the head, you'll wind up with a flattened noggin on your doll.)

Then, with tiny stitches, sew a circle around the diameter of the nose-to-be. Prick the hosiery in order to lift some stuffing into the center of the outlined ring. (Don't, however, stick the needle all the way in, it's easily lost!) When you've got a sizable bump protruding in the circle, work the needle through the center of the head and out the top. Pull gently until the "noose" tightens and the nose pops up, then knot and cut the thread.

To give your doll wide-open eyes, stitch the border for the orbs in the same manner as you did when making the nose. The sewn circles should be about the size of a quarter — when you gather the stitches, the area will shrink and bug out a bit.

The mouth is formed by inserting a threaded needle through the top of the head, as indicated previously, and bringing it out at a corner of the grin (or frown) to be. Run a gathering stitch from one corner of the mouth to the other, then return the needle through the crown. Again, the finishing sequence is pull, knot and cut.

Dimples look darling and are easily done. One tiny stitch is all that's required. Fluff up the cheeks first, then run the threaded needle through its usual route, pulling it out at the cheek's center. Take a tiny stitch there, then work the needle back through the head. Pull, knot and cut the string, and you've made a dimple!

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