Thread: Create Your Own Inner Child Doll

Sewing Instructions

My dear friend, Wendy Kayte, told me about her "inner child dolls" she had made to use in her hypnotherapy practice They sounded so adorable! She kindly offered to give us instruction on how to create our very own "inner child."

I went to the store and purchased the supplies needed and in under two hours had my infant done and ready to love. In the photo you will see that the onesie I chose that serves as the body template looks like pajamas. Sweet dreams wee one.

Inner Child Dolls
by Wendy Kaplan, CH.T.
Certified Transpersonal Clinical Hypnotherapist

The thing I really want to stress here is that how your doll looks is less important than how he/she feels. You're not trying to make it perfect. You're creating something and filling it with love, tears, memories, etc. The act of making them is most satisfying! This little one will be with you for a long time. Remember your first teddy bear? You didn't care how it looked, it just made you feel good. That's the same way your Inner Child should feel.

My little girl, by the way, is holding a small bouquet of flowers, and her head is lowered into them, "sniffing" them. This reminds me to always stop to smell the flowers. My little boy's arms are outstretched, waiting for that hug he always seems to need.

I prefer to leave the head "floppy" holding an infant, for me, is most satisfying. Supporting the little head, rocking, cooing, crying, singing. Whatever my mood, I feel as if I'm nurturing my "self".

Materials Needed

• 1 4 -5" styrofoam ball
• One infant sized "onesie" with long sleeves. (One of those one-piece sleepers with feet in them)
• One infant sized outfit, 1 size bigger than the onesie
• Polyester fiber-fill (from a craft store)
• Hot glue gun
• Pair of pantyhose, or pair of stockings
• Needle and thread
• Red magic marker (optional)
• Pair of infant socks
• Pair of infant shoes (optional)
• 6" stick (or chopstick) (optional)

Assembly Instructions

Put the styrofoam ball inside the leg of the (panty)hose. Stuff polyester fiberfill around the ball, forming the head of your "baby." Use your hands to do this, smoothing the filling as you go.

When you're satisfied that the head is the right size and shape for your baby, continue filling the stocking to form a "neck." When the neck is approximately 4" long, stop, cut stocking and glue shut. Note: You may sew it shut if you're more comfortable with this procedure.

Fill the "onesie", smoothing the filling into the legs, bottom, arms, and torso. This will take a lot of "massaging" to get the right shape for your "child."

Fill the infant socks lightly, to make the hands. If you feel comfortable doing this, you can cut the shape of a "mitten". My inner child dolls never have real hands.

At this point, assemble all the pieces together, using a hot glue gun. If you prefer, you may sew it all together. I don't have a sewing machine, so for me, a glue gun was easiest. Before you glue the head into place, you may want to insert the 6" stick (or chopstick) into the styrofoam ball. This will give the head a bit more stability. Personally, since infant's have "floppy" heads, I didn't want to do this. I found that having to support the head made me feel better. This is a personal thing, I might add.

When your baby is fully assembled, dress him or her in the second outfit. For instance, if your onesie was a size 6 months, then your outer outfit should be a size 9 months. I bought outfits that came complete with hats or headbands, because there's no hair on their heads. My little girl has a pink & blue plaid dress with a headband with a bow to match. Since her legs seemed kind of "fat" to me, I bought a pair of pink pull-on pants. I left her barefoot. My little boy is wearing a baseball outfit (pants and top) and has a cap to match.

To finish the face, you may want to pinch together the front portion and sew a "nose" to do this, you make your stitches go under the stuffing, making the sides indent. Remember, most babies have very small noses. You can also draw a small mouth on the face with a red magic marker, or eyes with a blue, black or brown magic marker.


http://healing.about.com/cs/innerchi...rchilddoll.htm

MyK