Here is another way of making a doll which is very easy and simple. First find a young ear of corn, one on which the silk has not turned brown; then with a crab-apple for a head and a leaf of the corn to dress her with, you have your material. Cut off squarely that end of the ear where the husks are puckered, to join the stalk, and carefully take the silk from the other end, disturbing as little as possible the closely wrapped husks.
Roll part of the leaf (as indicated in Fig. 120) for the arms, then with a small twig fasten the head to the arms; stick the other end of the twig into the small end of the corn-cob, and the doll is ready for dressing. Her bonnet is made of the leaf just where it joins the stalk (Fig. 121), and is fastened to her head with a thorn. Before adjusting the bonnet, however, the silk must be placed on the head to form the hair.
| Material and Parts of Doll. | Mary Jane. |
Make the scarf of part of the leaf (Fig. 122), fold it around the shoulders, and secure it with thorns.
The features also are made of thorns.
When her toilet is complete, you can but acknowledge that this rosy-cheeked little maid, peeping from beneath her poke-bonnet, is very cunning indeed.
Flower Dolls.
The flower lady with the baby is made of a yellow gourd flower; the small gourd attached, which has just begun to form, serves for her head; a green gourd leaf is used for her shawl, and her bonnet is made of a smaller leaf folded to fit her head. The baby is a white gourd bud, with a cap made of a leaf. A small twig stuck through part of the lady’s shawl, through the baby, and into the lady doll, holds the child in place and makes it appear as though clasped in the mother’s arms.