Guest Author - Susan Kramer

These easy-to-make yarn dolls make great ornaments for the Christmas tree.

For directions to make the basic yarn doll, or a boy doll, click here.

You'll need 6 feet of yarn for the head, body, skirt section. And, 4 feet of yarn for the arms section, plus four 6-inch lengths to tie body parts together and an 18-inch length for hanging on the tree.

The girl doll is made slightly different from her brother. Make your knots like this:

- Neck.
- Arms tied on to body cross-wise with the loose ends of neck knot yarn.
- Waist.
- Wrists.

To finish the lower edge of the dress snip the lower end of the loop of threads. I also snipped the threads at the ends of the fingers.

To hang your finished yarn doll for an ornament, take the 18 inch length of yarn and thread it through the head loop, tie securely at the top of head and then tie a knot and bow near the ends to form a large loop for hanging.

These dolls are a great project for adults and kids to work on together and with different colors yarn for the arms and bodies you can get a good variety of dolls. And, of course, what cuter way to use up short lengths of yarn from other projects!

Basic Yarn Doll Directions
How to Knot on Yarn Doll Wigs
A Variety of Yarn Dolls for the Christmas Tree

Charity Note:
I'd like to suggest that if you spend time making doll clothes, anyway, that you collect a few dolls from friends and neighbors and sew a wardrobe or a complete outfit for each doll. Then donate the doll in the completed outfit to a charity that distributes used dolls and toys to kids that otherwise would not have any.

Article and Photo Credit Susan Kramer