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ITH Small Felt Paperdolls Embroidery Project

By Pat Williams on May 23, 2025

PROJECT DETAILS

SKILL LEVEL

Some Experience

TIME REQUIRED

00:30

FINISHED SIZE

4.5 x 6.5 inches

Description

Fun felt paperdolls made of felt are made in the 5” x 7” hoop. Stitch up each doll in less than ½ hour.

Project Preview Video

Materials

5” x 7” embroidery hoop

For all dolls:

Flesh Craft Felt:

7” x 5 ½” dark, medium, or light flesh

White Craft Felt:

1 1 ¾” x 2 ½” rectangle

1 1 ¾” x 3” rectangle

Black Craft Felt:

2 1 ½” squares

½ of an oval of the loopy side of Sticky Velcro for Fabrics oval

Eco-fi Friendly Felt White this is a very stiff felt sheet made from recycled bottles – one sheet will make two dolls. Each doll requires a 7” x 5 ½” rectangle.

2.5 ounce cut-away stabilizer

Small sharp to the point regular embroidery scissors – not curved ITH scissors

Spray Adhesive

Materials for specific dolls:

SFPD01: 2 2” squares of pink craft felt and a 3 ½” x 5 ½” rectangle of black craft felt

SFPD02: 5 ½” x 4” rectangle of black craft felt

SPFD03: 5” x 4” rectangle of orange felt and a 2 ½” x 2” rectangle of pink felt

SPFD04: 4 ½” x 4” rectangle of yellow felt and 3 ½” x 2 ½” of pink felt

Designs used in this project

https://www.embroiderydesigns.com/productdetails/pat-williams/designs/1/sfpd01

https://www.embroiderydesigns.com/productdetails/pat-williams/designs/1/sfpd02

https://www.embroiderydesigns.com/productdetails/pat-williams/designs/1/sfpd03

https://www.embroiderydesigns.com/productdetails/pat-williams/designs/1/sfpd04

Final Product: What You Will Create

Preface:

Be sure to use the stiff felt for the back of each doll as this is what gives her enough stiffness to be played with. Each doll is made in the same manner. The sample pictures used in the following instructions are for Small Felt Doll 1, SPFD01. Black thread is used for all color stops except pink thread is used to embroider the pink cheeks and one doll’s barrette.

Step 1:

Cut the craft felt pieces and stiff felt pieces per the materials list above for the doll that you are making. These pieces shown in the picture are for the Small Felt Paperdoll 1.

Step 2:

Run the first color stop (CS) 1 with black thread as a placement line for the flesh felt.

Step 3:

Lay the flesh felt over the placement lines. Run CS 2 in black to tack down the body. Do not trim the felt.

Step 4:

Run CS 3 in black as a placement line for the doll’s hair.

Step 5:

Place the doll’s hair felt rectangle over the placement lines and run CS 4 in black thread to tack the hair into place.

Step 6:

Trim the hair felt as close as possible to the tack down lines that cross the face.

Step 7:

Run the CS 5 as a placement line for the top. Lay the 1 ¾” x 2 ½” rectangle of white felt over the placement lines and run CS 6 to tack it down.

Step 8:

Trim all sides of the top right up next to the tack down lines.

Step 9:

Continue adding the underwear, bows in hair and shoes using the same techniques as used in Step 7.

Step 10:

The next color stop will stitch the facial features in black. Change to pink thread for the next color stop to embroider the cheek hearts and in the case of doll 3 it will also embroider the barrette in her hair

Step 11:

Remove the hoop from the machine, do not unhoop. Turn the hoop over.

Step 12:

Spray the firm eco-fi felt with adhesive and place over the doll outlines on the back of the hoop. Return the hoop to the machine and run the final color stop with black thread to tack the back felt to the doll.

Step 13:

Remove the project from the hoop and cut away the excess stabilizer from around the felt. Then cut out the doll with about 1/8th” from the doll outlines. Do not try to cut the doll out in one continuous cut around the whole doll. It is important to keep the scissors perpendicular to the outline, so it is better to cut out small sections at a time. If you attempt to cut out in one continuous motion it is too easy to slant the blades of the scissors and you might cut the outline threads on the back of the doll.

Step 14:

Complete the cutting out of your felt paperdoll.

Step 15:

The Velcro® ovals used to stick the clothes to the doll need to be Velcro Peel and Stick Sticky Back for Fabrics. Take one of the loopy Velcro ovals and slice it in half while it is still attached to the paper backing that it comes on. Peel ½ an oval off the paper and stick to the front of the doll’s top. Leave the Velcro® for 24 hours before you try on dresses.

Step 16:

Congratulations your doll/dolls are complete!

Step 17:

See our project ITH Small Felt Doll Dresses for all the cute dress you can stitch out for these dolls. The dresses take about 15 minutes each and will fit all the four dolls.

For the love of embroidery…
Pat Williams

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Meet the Author: Pat Williams

Award winning Digitizer, Embroidery Educator, Author and a Consultant to the Industry, Pat Williams has 30 years of experience in the embroidery industry. Pat has won multiple awards for her digitizing expertise including the 2007 Impressions Awards Grand Championship, Best of Show as well as the 1st and 2nd Place Awards. Pat’s love of digitizing has afforded her the opportunity to write numerous articles for Impressions magazine in the United States and Images Magazine in Europe. In 2001 Pat was named “Embroidery Educator of the Year.” For many years Pat taught digitizing seminars at the ISS Shows in Long Beach, CA and for Compucon software. She now resides in Tucson, AZ.

ITH Small Felt Paperdolls Embroidery Project

PROJECT DETAILS

Project Preview Video

Small Felt Paper Doll 1

Small Felt Paper Doll 2

Small Felt Paper Doll 3

Small Felt Paper Doll 4

Cut Away Stabilizer - 2.5 Oz wt.