Personalized "Paper" Dress-Up Doll

Show of hands- who played with paper dolls when they were younger?  I loved paper dolls.  As I have grown, my love for them hasn't quite disappeared and I use any opportunity I can to make or play with them again.  When I worked as a traveling social worker, I purchased a set of magnetic dress up dolls (at the dollar store!) for my 'kids' to play with in the car.  You might also remember a post from 2014 where I created felt dress up dolls for a little girl I know who was going through cancer treatments.

See the details and get the tutorial for the felt dress up doll HERE.


I had almost forgotten about another dress up doll I made until my 2 year old son found it and has been obsessed every since.  It's seriously his new favorite thing to play and I think it makes it extra fun for him that the "doll" is actually his mommy!

I made this Velcro "paper" (photo) doll back in 2006 for my Consumer Clothing notebook as part of one of my 4-H projects.  I wanted to demonstrate the different ways my consumer clothing outfit could be worn with other articles of clothing that I owned.  This idea was very popular in the project in our county and state level and apparently has also won over the heart of my toddler.

What makes this project so special is that your child (or students, or whoever!) can dress up mommy or daddy, grandma, friends or even themselves!  It is also very inexpensive to make and would make for an awesome personalized gift that they are sure to treasure.


Here's how you make it:

Step 1: Pick out several outfits that include a shirt, pants/skirts and shoes.  Include some dresses, hats or other accessories for extra fun!

Step 2: Set up a timed camera or have someone else take photos of you in each outfit.  Make sure you are standing in the exact same spot and position for each photo.  It doesn't matter that your pieces match in the photos because you will be cutting them apart anyways.

Step 3: Take 1 photo of yourself in a swimsuit.  I mean, you could take one nude but I'm not sure you want that floating around as your kid plays with it!  haha This will serve as the "bare model" that can be dressed in different outfits.  You could also use other pieces of clothing as long as it wouldn't "stick out" past any of the outfits that are being dressed on top of it.

{I must really love sharing my crafts with you or I would never post this photo on the world wide web! Eek!}

Step 4: Print your photos and carefully cut around each piece of clothing. [My favorite places to print photos are Shutterfly.com or if you need them quickly, your local CVS.]

*Feel free to check out a list of my favorite crafting resources here*

Step 5 (Optional): Glue the doll to a scrapbook paper, board or whatever you want as your background piece.  If you wish to keep the doll loose that should be fine too.


Step 6: Attach sticky Velcro dots to the back of each article of clothing (you may have to cut them down for the shoes or other small accessories) and to the front of your doll.  If you are using a board/paper background, include Velcro pieces to hold all the items of clothing. Make sure you use the different "sides" of Velcro so that the clothing sticks to the doll/background.

{You can see how I used the Velcro dots behind the shoes.  Ignore the missing white flip flop and pen marks.  That's what happens when you give it to a toddler!}

{He loves it!}

That's it!  
Get as creative as you want with the board design and with how many outfit options you have.  I think it would be fun to even have other scenery like your pet, or household items that can be used to "decorate" the room/back board.  Go crazy and get creative!

DIY Felt Dress-Up Doll

Sometimes crafting is more than a hobby, more than just "something to do" or even more than a personal business.  Sometimes crafting brings joy to someone who needs it, someone who is going through much tougher issues than breaking a needle or running out of glue.  Today I want to share with you a craft that I made for a very tough little girl, Emily.  You see, Emily is a friend of mine's daughter and she was diagnosed with a rare childhood cancer- Rhabdomyosarcoma. Scary stuff.  She has been participating in chemo and radiation for several weeks and some of us have been wanting to help as much as we could.  One thing I did was make a personalized felt dress-up doll set for Emily that she could carry with her on her many car rides, while at the hospital or at home.  It's not much but as a young girl, I remember finding great joy in my felt dress up doll.

Felt dolls are super easy to make.  All you need is:

- Felt (plus any additional fabric you might add)
- Glue (if adding embellishments)
- Fabric Scissors
- DMC Thread & Needle

A very talented blogger named Rachel shared a template for felt dolls on her blog Smile and Wave. Please do not use her template for profit... bloggers work hard to make these wonderful free things for us, don't mistreat that.  You can find the free template here.  Just print and cut.

{What I Made}
Instead of creating a standing board, I wanted to make a folding felt book that Emily could use to not only transport the doll and outfits but also use as the felt backdrop.  Using some fun felt, I also cut out her name to make it extra special:

I hand-stitched the edges with a contrasting color for a extra fun appearance.  Then, I added some ribbon and a button so that the book could be closed up.  Don't forget the heart above the "i"... why?  Because as a little girl, I added hearts to everything!  Since the entire book is made of felt, it can be rolled up as well.

When it's opened up, there are flaps so that the clothes all fit without having to stack on top of each other.  I made several outfits so I had to add a few of these flaps!

And here is just a few of the outfits that I made...

Some are formal, some are casual and some are just plan fun!  That "superhero" outfit you see was made especially for Emily- since she is our little hero!  Emily has been loosing her hair and I wanted to make sure that her doll would be able to have hair or not- depending on what Emily wanted.

For the doll's face, I simply hand stitched a mouth and made some knots for the eyes out of DMC thread.  This only takes a few minutes.

I also cut out a variety of hair styles that could be swapped out (or she can go bald and embrace her superhero self!).  Here is what the back looks like so that it can slide over the head:

If you want to cut it straight across for visual reasons, go ahead.  I think the triangle piece helps it stay in place well.

{Ready for some DETAILS?!}
It's all about the details!  Maybe it's some Sequin, or tulle or just an extra special something... any way to add a special touch shows that some thought went into the project.

1. Fabric (Felt) Prints- There are some VERY CUTE felts in the stores now!  I purchased some fun prints from Jo-Ann Fabrics and they only cost a few cents more than the plain colors.  Worth every penny.

2. Matching Accessories- Again, this is only one example of the many ways that an accessory can be added.  Love the matching hair pieces!

3. Hand Stitching- Whether it's a knot in the middle of a flower or adding some detail to a set of fairy wings, hand stitching adds a little special something.

4. Outfit-Specific Details- Speaking of the fairy outfit, don't forget the details like the little balls on the tops of the shoes!

5. Unexpected Accessories- Add a purse, sunglasses or a scarf to dress up any outfit!

6. Beading/Sequin Pieces- Take any spare craft material to make a felt outfit look a little more like something we might wear!

7. Extra Special Hair Accessories- Sure, flowers are cute but what is more fun than a princess tiara or a feathered headdress?

{Your Turn!}
I hope this post inspired you not only to create a fun little craft but to find meaning in what you are making.  If you want to read more about Emily's journey, follow the website they set up here.  If you wish to help the family along their way by offering prayers, words of encouragement or monetary gifts, please visit here.

Happy Crafting,
Kelsie Ann