15 Adorable DIY Dolls you can Make Yourself

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These Adorable DIY Dolls that you can Make Yourself are the perfect gift for a little girl or boy you know! Don’t forget to make clothes & accessories to match!

My favorite toy as a child was without doubt, a doll my father bought me. I was so happy when I got it, I took it with me everywhere – I nearly took her to the bathroom but was stopped by my angry Mom! I brushed her hair, tucked her in with me to sleep and generally made her my companion.

So it gave me a lot of joy when I saw Miss P playing with her first doll the same way, being so attached to it. There’s so much innocence in the love a child has for a doll, it really is something worth observing! And this is something that started wayyy before, as far back as 100 A.D.

Why Dolls are Good for Kids

It’s a good thing that kids play with dolls, since sciences now says that playing with dolls has significant benefits for children – both boys and girls. Here are some of them:

  • Dolls encourage social skills in children, including language skills
  • Playing with dolls activates parts of the brain that are associated with empathy and compassion
  • When playing with a doll, a child learns responsibility, as they care for the doll like they would do for another person
  • Pretend play with dolls develops a child’s imagination as they create many scenarios of their own

Pretty sure we don’t think of all these when we hand a child a doll, but there you go – bonus benefits along with all the fun! Now that we know dolls are so important, it’s only fair that we give them their due, and since 2nd August is Doll Day, we’re right on time! Here are 15 adorable DIY dolls that you can make by yourself and which would make really great gifts!

15 Adorable DIY Dolls you can Make Yourself

These Adorable DIY Dolls that you can Make Yourself are the perfect gift for a little girl or boy you know! Don't forget to make clothes & accessories to match!

1. Tea Towel Doll

These Adorable DIY Dolls that you can Make Yourself are the perfect gift for a little girl or boy you know! Don't forget to make clothes & accessories to match!

Can you believe you can turn even a tea towel into a doll? Well, Martha Stewart certainly thinks so! This is a great craft to make with a tea towel that has got scorched on one corner – you can make use of the remaining fabric. 

2. Mermaid Peg Doll

You don't need too many things to make this gorgeous Peg Doll Mermaid Craft! Dress up her in any color of your choice & get ready for lots of pretend play!

Mermaids are among the most mysterious creatures in fantasy, and many people are still confused about their existence. Anyway, there’s no doubt about the fact that they’re gorgeous, and this peg doll craft is a pretty good representation of that beauty!

3. Braided Yarn Dolls

These Adorable DIY Dolls that you can Make Yourself are the perfect gift for a little girl or boy you know! Don't forget to make clothes & accessories to match!

Don’t have any fancy craft supplies at home? You don’t need any to make a doll, as The Crafty Train proves – just yarn will do! These dolls are really simple and basic, but they’re still so pretty! Try adding some yarn to make long hair – and then cut it to make any hairstyle you like!

4. Cute Sock Dolls

These Adorable DIY Dolls that you can Make Yourself are the perfect gift for a little girl or boy you know! Don't forget to make clothes & accessories to match!

Sock dolls are a classic world over, especially since socks have this peculiar habit of losing their mates in the Bermuda Triangle! We absolutely love these sock dolls from Madly Odd – they’re so cute and chubby and no one would think that this was once a sock!

5. Waldorf Wooden Gnome Dolls

Craft 2

Waldorf dolls are dolls that are created in line with Waldorf education philosophies. These dolls are usually made of natural materials, just like these peg dolls, made from wooden pegs. You can paint them any way you like and use natural fabrics to make their clothes and hats.

6. DIY Wire Mini Doll

These Adorable DIY Dolls that you can Make Yourself are the perfect gift for a little girl or boy you know! Don't forget to make clothes & accessories to match!

Can you guess what this doll from Cool Creativity is made of? It’s made with wire! We love how they’ve converted something so basic into a cute, Parisian chic doll! The best part is that once you’ve got the hang of making the basic structure, you can customize the dresses, hair and accessories.

7. Handmade Worry Dolls

These Adorable DIY Dolls that you can Make Yourself are the perfect gift for a little girl or boy you know! Don't forget to make clothes & accessories to match!

Lia Griffith has loads of fun tutorials on her website, but one of my personal favorites are these worry dolls. Worry dolls are based on a Guatemalan tradition, where worried children would tell the doll about their problems and sleep with the doll under their pillow. By morning, the doll would have made the problems vanish!

8. DIY Sock Doll in a Saree

saree dolls

With India’s Independence Day coming up on August 15th, it might be the perfect time to attempt a doll in a saree! You can make our own cute little sarees with plain fabric and embellishments and golden lace. Don’t forget to accessorize!

9. DIY Fairy Doll

These Adorable DIY Dolls that you can Make Yourself are the perfect gift for a little girl or boy you know! Don't forget to make clothes & accessories to match!

Don’t these dolls look like they just emerged from their woodland mushroom homes? The Whoot has done an excellent job of converting basic materials to these ethereal creatures that really look like fairies!

10. Tilly Doll with Yarn Hair

These Adorable DIY Dolls that you can Make Yourself are the perfect gift for a little girl or boy you know! Don't forget to make clothes & accessories to match!

If you’d like a substantial doll with lots of hair which you can dress and care for, Tilly and Puffin has the perfect doll for you! Tilly is a gorgeous doll, and she looks adorable in those denim overalls! Of course, her hair is the highlight here, and you can go with any color yarn to create a custom Tilly doll.

11. Rag Doll with Dresses

These Adorable DIY Dolls that you can Make Yourself are the perfect gift for a little girl or boy you know! Don't forget to make clothes & accessories to match!

You can’t have a list of DIY Dolls without mentioning rag dolls, another classic doll type. This tutorial from More Like Home shows us how to make a simple rag doll – along with dresses! One of the most fun things about playing with dolls is getting to dress them up, so go ahead and make a full wardrobe for your doll!

12. Pipe Cleaner Bendy Dolls

These Adorable DIY Dolls that you can Make Yourself are the perfect gift for a little girl or boy you know! Don't forget to make clothes & accessories to match!

The Enchanted Tree makes use of the super bendy nature of pipe cleaners to create these cute little dolls. These little fairies don’t require too many extra craft supplies beyond the basics, although the finished product does look quite professionally made!

13. Wooden Peg Fairy Dolls

These Adorable DIY Dolls that you can Make Yourself are the perfect gift for a little girl or boy you know! Don't forget to make clothes & accessories to match!

How gorgeous is this doll from Hostess with the Mostess? I think I could become a child again just to play with this doll! Check out the full tutorial for more ideas on making these dolls in different colors and dresses.

14. Clothespin Dolls

These Adorable DIY Dolls that you can Make Yourself are the perfect gift for a little girl or boy you know! Don't forget to make clothes & accessories to match!

Ginger Cake proves that the weirdest things can give you the most creative results! Here, clothes pegs turn into some whacky looking dolls and I can only imagine the crazy adventures they must have together!

15. Felt Mermaid Doll

These Adorable DIY Dolls that you can Make Yourself are the perfect gift for a little girl or boy you know! Don't forget to make clothes & accessories to match!

Red Ted Art has a felt plushie doll that’s prefect for mermaid fans and sewing beginners alike. We love the use of the soft colors and the little details added to the tail. This would make a great stocking stuffer for the holidays!

These Adorable DIY Dolls that you can Make Yourself are the perfect gift for a little girl or boy you know! Don't forget to make clothes & accessories to match!

Once you’ve made your doll, she deserves a place to live, doesn’t she? Well that’s no problem, because you can very well build her a DIY dollhouse too! Once that’s also ready, you’ll be inspired to create matching furniture and decor pieces with whatever craft supplies you have. It’s true – dolls truly are a starting point for a world of imaginative and creative play!

These Adorable DIY Dolls that you can Make Yourself are the perfect gift for a little girl or boy you know! Don't forget to make clothes & accessories to match!

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