MAKE YOUR OWN TOYS AND DOLLS

New Zealand Listener, Volume 11, Issue 262, 30 June 1944, Page 13

MAKE YOUR OWN TOYS AND DOLLS

(From an

A.C.

E.

Broadcast )

NEw ZEALAND, as everybody knows, is soon to receive some hundreds of Polish children uprooted by the wat. How long they will remain in New Zealand no one at present knows, but it will be long enough to present an entertainment ‘problem. The younger ones will require toys, and already listeners to 2YA have heard an appeal for toys broadcast by Mrs. T. C. A. Hislop. They have also heard an A.C.E. broadcast on the making of toys, but it is one thing to listen and another to remember. Here are some of the practical hints given in the A.C.E. talk, with a tfeminder that further information can be obtained by writing to the A.C.E., University of Otago. And of course, we do not forget that charity begins at home. What is good for the Poles is good for New Zealanders: * % * FTEN we find young chil- () dren owning most expensive toys which neither interest them nor help them to develop their latent capabilities. These expensive mechanical toys are of interest to older children and to the grown-ups, too; but young children are interested in doing things themselves, not in watching the toy do it for itself. There is really nothing simpler to make than the soft toys which are the ideal toys for the infant and crawler. One which most-of them love is a ball made with bright coloured sections. If it is not too firmly stuffed it will be soft and cuddly and yet have the advantage of rolling, which makes it so much more entertaining than a toy that just "stays put." It is a good idea to cut a lining and stuff this. Then the coloured outer cover can. be taken off and washed when necessary. This cover can be made of knitted wool or flannel, or indeed of any scraps of woollen or cotton material. Soft toys, such as ducks and bunnies, dolls, humpty dumpties, don’t require any skill in making, and the chief things to aim at are that they should be gay and soft and preferably washable. We have typed directions for Ealiting a duck, humpty-dumpty, an owl, a rabbit, and an elephant, and could supply them at 1d each, plus 2d postage. Lifelike Toys "When the child gets a little older, he likes more lifelike toys. These do require a certain amount of care and skill in the making. First there is the pattern — books on toymaking can be bought at most booksellers. If you cannot get a copy, the A.C.E. may again be able to help you, as we have a fair collection of toy patterns at 6d each. Having got a pattern, the next is to collect the materials. You'll need some firm kind of cloth that will not (continued on next page)

MAKE YOUR OWN TOYS (continued from previous page) pull away at the seams nor stretch out of shape. Skins are good, but I'd suggest making the toy in cloth first before cutting a furry skin, as it would be simpler to learn on cloth than in the skin. Note that the fur or the nap in a cloth with pile must run in the right direction, and lie from head to tail and from the top of the legs towards the feet. You will need also material for stuffing, which can be ."wood wool," coarse dry sawdust, rags, flock, or scoured wool. These firmer toys stuffed with scoured sheep’s wool are. rather heavy, as so much packs in. However, it is ideal for the lightly-stuffed cuddly toy I spoke of a few moments ago. I think a fine wood wool is one of the best things to use for stuffing the firmer

toys if it can be procured. Also needed are some lengths of fine fencing-wire. The wrapping wire from around fruit cases can be used if it is twisted to form a double strand. This is needed to stiffen the animal’s legs and neck and backbone. A piece of fine cardboard is needed to cut ovals for the soles of the feet, and you will need strong thread, sharp needles and scissors, a pair of pliers or tinsnips for cutting the wire, and if possible, a long double-pointed upholsterer’s needle. After cutting out the toy, stitch the pieces together, following the stitching line carefully, as this helps to give the animal a good shape. Leave the seam along the body undone from front to back legs, otherwise you will have difficulty in putting the stiffening wires in place. Snip the seams along all concave curves, otherwise they will not stretch. Also cut away bulk at the corners. Then turn the cover inside out and see that all seams are properly stretched and flat. Cut the cardboard discs for the soles of the feet and slip them into place. Now take your wire and measure a piece long enough to reach from the sole of one front foot to the other with a wide curve across the thickness of the animal’s body. Add 2-3 inches at both ends. Cut this off and then turn the 3 inches back to form small loops at both ends. Twist the ends tightly around the wire so they cannot work free. Next tear some strips of cloth and thread it sepeatedly through the loops so that they are well padded. Bend the centre of the wire to form a hairpin shape and then put it inside the cover. The padded loops should reech' down to the cardboard soles. Similarly make a hairpin-shaped wire (continued on next page)

(continued from previous page) with looped and padded ends for the hind legs — bending it at the hocks if you wish. If the animal has a long back or a long neck, it is as well to make a wire with a padded loop for the head and neck, and to carry it on along the back twisting it around the bend in the front and back leg wires. Stuffing the Animal Next stuff the animal. Begin by stuffing the hind legs, then the head, and front legs, and finally the body. Draw the open edges together with a kind of lacing stitch. That is to say, you put the needle under the folded-back edge of the material on each side alternately. Then when you draw up the thread the edges close with a very neat firm seam. Next you have to prod and poke the stuffing and make it as even as possible. If you have a long upholsterer’s needle and some strong linen thread, you can run some bracing stays through the animal wherever you think the added support is needed. By using the long double-pointed needle you can bind the stuffing into the shape you want without ever bringing the thread through the cover except at the beginning and the end of the operation. After this you have to embroider in eyes, nose, mouth or whiskers. You can easily make a fringe for hair, mane and tail if they aré required. Papier Mache Dollis Dolls are as easily made as toys, and if you have any experience with papier maché you may want to make a really strong washable doll. To do this you need a doll for a model, and plenty of paste and fine paper, either the thinnest brown paper or tissue paper. Tear the paper into strips about an inch wide. Lightly vaseline..the doll’s body-a celluloid doll is ideal. Lay the pasted strips over it, overlapping them and moulding them to the shape of the body. Leave a thin strip running from the neck opening down each side. Cover this area with only five or six thicknesses of paper, but make the rest quite thick; say a quarter to three-eighths of an inch in all. When it is dry, cut along the sides carefully with a razor blade, and take the front and back off the model. Put them together between two blocks to hold them in place, and put on enough layers over the join to make it even with the rest. Then put on some more paper all over to make it as strong as you want it. Next do the same with the head, using a blunt stick to press the pasted paper into the hollows at eyes and mouth and ears. Leave a thin strip from side to side, and when dry, cut here and remove the shell of front and back. Then put the face and back of head together again as for the body. The arms can be done similarly, or they can be made of cloth stuffed with saw dust. The body can +e made of cloth and sawdust, too, of course. In this case, give the head a full-length neck and some shoulders, so that when the body is joined on there will be a good foundation to which to fasten it. If you paint the papier maché with an enamel paint, it will be washable and almost. everlasting. White with a little pink and a suspicion of yellow will give the desired flesh colour, and, of course, you can blend the colours you want for cheeks, eyes, lips, hair and eyebrows.