Amulet doll “Plantain”

Handicraft techniques / Sewing / Sewn dolls 35 576 0

When preparing men for a trip, girls (women) often put a hand-made miniature amulet doll “Plantain Girl” made from pieces of fabric with their loved ones along with their belongings. In the hands of the doll there was a bundle in which several grains of millet or other grains and thread were hidden. Cereals were a kind of symbol of satiety, so that the traveler would always be well-fed on the road. The threads were placed so that the traveler would always be able to find his way home. And you can make such a doll very quickly and easily.

The main materials needed for the work are scraps of fabric of the following sizes:
square 16 x 16 cm, white,
strip of white fabric 4 x 18 cm,
strip of colored fabric 4 x 18 cm,
thick colored fabric in the shape of a rectangle 7 x 18 cm,
triangle made of colored fabric 16 x 24 x 16 cm,
square 6 x 6 cm made of colored fabric. In addition to scraps of fabric, we will need scissors, thread (regular), rags (sintepon), several grains of millet.

Let's start making the amulet doll:
By placing a white rag in the middle of the square, we form a dense ball that will act as the doll’s head.

We tie it under the ball with threads and, leaving a short length, cut off the excess fabric. From a colored strip we make a warrior on the doll’s head: we fold the strip first with the sides towards the center, then in half. We put the resulting narrow strip on the doll’s head and tie it in the neck area with threads.

Next, we make a dress for the doll from a colored rectangle: we string one side of the fabric on a needle and thread and again tie it with threads in the neck area. Then, from the white stripe, using the same principle as the warrior, we make the hands of the doll.

We put millet and threads in the center of a small colored square and tie it in the form of a knot to the doll’s hands. We again tie the hands with the knot to the neck with threads, put a scarf (fabric in the shape of a triangle) on top of the doll’s head and tie it at the back with a knot. The amulet doll is ready.