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| Examples of Clothespin Scouts, from left to right: Brownies, Girl Camp, Girl Scouts, Cub Scouts and Girl Scouts of America. |
Scout forces come in all shapes, sizes, and agendas. Here I have provided examples of clothespin dolls that are vintage fashions from: Brownies, Girl Scouts, Girl Campers, Cub Scouts, and Boy Scouts of America. Give young crafters plenty of time to add detail and personality to their clothespin dolls and don’t be surprised if it takes two or three days to complete. Remember, the more details, the more magical the final craft will look!
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| On the left, a clothespin girl doll. Center, Scouts with Merit Badges. Right, a Cub Scout clothespin doll. |
Support list:
- Acrylic paints or poster paints
- Wooden clothespins
- Felt: green, blue, brown, red, etc…
- The white glue is sticky
- Hot glue gun and hot glue (optional)
- Hair embroidery floss
- Wire for eyeglasses
- Seed beads “spots” and colored noses
- Decorations such as: lace and buttons
- Chenille stems from the arms
- Cotton batting to wind chenille stems
- Adhesive tape to hold items in place while drying
- Wooden stands for ready-made dolls (optional)
- Magic Fine Tip Markers (Permanent Ink Only)
Step by step instructions:
- Start this craft by painting the shapes of the clothespin using the basic colors of the doll’s outfit and the flesh color. Let it dry.
- Then cut out small pieces of felt and stick them together for simple fashion details like skirts, jackets, bandannas, hats, and merit badges.
- Create wigs using embroidery floss and attach these hairs with white super glue or hot glue.
- To make the arms this time, I dipped the chenille stem in white glue and rolled it onto a cotton ball tattered across its surface.
- Cut shorter lengths to wrap around the neck and stick this wire in place using hot glue.
- Paint the sleeves and arm parts of the wire.
- Using beads, glue on your doll’s nose and let it dry before painting it a flesh color to match the rest of the head.
- Paint over the eyes and mouth. You may need to use the tip of a toothpick to get the details of your face small enough for the face of a clothespin.
- I use permanent ink and a fine marker to draw on the little eyebrows of these wooden dolls.
- The mini caps, designed using felt, are permanently attached to clothespins so they don’t get lost during play.
- I use a needle and thread to attach seed beads to merit badges. Gold metallic beads have also been strung across the handkerchiefs of a Boy Scout’s uniform.
- I painted the wooden stands green to look like grass and also added some small mud flowers as well.
- Lace trim has been added to the cuffs of the Girl Scout, Brownie, and Campfire clothespin doll versions. (I think an obvious reference to the old uniforms).
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| Crowd of clothespin scout dolls, front to back. |
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| Girl Scout puppet sample, front to back. |
More links to dress up your doll like a Boy Scout: