Aprairie doll is a certain kind of primitive doll. Prairie dolls make me think of the days of covered wagons, folks traveling to a new part of the country to start a new life, traveling on wagon trains. It was a hard life on the prairie.

Mothers didn’t have much to work with and children didn’t have many toys. So when a mother wanted to give her children something to play with she did the only thing she could—she made a doll from scrap pieces of fabric and stuffed it with whatever was available. These make-do dolls were simple—nothing fancy, stuffed with scraps of rags, hay, or sawdust. A simple homespun dress, a piece of fabric to resemble a bonnet, and most likely, no facial features would be the finishing touches. These little creations were loved and cherished by little girls and probably had to be repaired many times over.

I wanted my prairie doll to look like she had been loved for many, many years. I gave her face a repair patch, which proves that she has withstood years of being played with and loved. She has a simple dress and a simple scarf on her head, which is attached with stitches on the top and the sides.

I decided to give her a baby. I made this primitive baby from an old clothespin. First I wrapped cotton batting around the clothespin. I was careful to let the rounded top of the clothespin show—that is the baby’s head. Then I wrapped fabric over the batting and tied it all on with grungy string.

Prairie dolls can be more involved and fancy if you like that look. You can give her a hand-drawn face. Or you can make her a dress with more details, like a gathered skirt and high laced boots. You could put a little book in her arms. The choice is yours and you can be as creative as you want. Fancy or simple, she is your prairie doll.