How to Make a Voodoo Doll

Making Voodoo dolls can be a lot of fun. It is an activity that elicits laughter and is food for some great and potentially therapeutic conversation among family and friends. Invariably, the stereotypical reasons as to why people make Voodoo dolls comes up, and you have an opportunity to discuss who pissed you off, hurt you, and who deserves a good hexing. What a great forum for a self-help group!

Read below for the original How to Make a Voodoo Doll Tutorial.

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How to Make a Voodoo Doll Out of Anything: Episode 1: Barnyard Ju Ju

This is the first in a series of videos by Planet Voodoo on how to make a Voodoo doll out of absolutely anything. In this episode, Voodoo Mama takes you on a hunt for junk in some barns and show you how to make a guardian Ju Ju using all salvaged items. It's Voodoo Gone Green, y'all. Music courtesy of Studio Voodoo.

How to Make a Voodoo Doll

Trippy little movie conjured up by Planet Voodoo showing how to make your very own New Orleans-style Voodoo Hoodoo doll. Featuring music by Studio Voodoo.

INTRODUCTION

One of the first things to consider for this activity is what type of Voodoo doll you want to make. As you can see from perusing this website, there are countless types of spirits and purposes to inspire the creative process. Here, I will present instructions for making an all-purpose Voodoo doll.

The following instructions are based on the traditional manner of constructing Voodoo dolls as done in New Orleans. Keep in mind that there are as many ways of making Voodoo dolls as are people making them! Nonetheless, here are a few basic guidelines to get you started.

WARNING! I ASSUME NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY ILLNESS, UNFORTUNATE EVENTS, DEPRESSION, CONFUSION, BAD LUCK, OR DEATH THAT MAY OCCUR AS A RESULT OF ANY ACTIVITY ASSOCIATED WITH THE MAKING OR USE OF YOUR VOODOO DOLL. This information is provided as entertainment only.

INSTRUCTIONS

STEP ONE: GATHER MATERIALS

You will need:

2 strong sticks

Spanish moss

scrap fabric cut in 2 inch strips, 2 to 3 feet long (color of your choice)

yarn that complements or contrasts fabric

string, hemp cord, or waxed thread

2 beads or buttons to use as eyes

needle and thread in a color to match or contrast your fabric

tacky glue (Goop is one of my favorite glues to use)

7 pins with heads in the following colors: red, blue, green, purple, yellow, black, white

STEP TWO: ASSEMBLE

Make a cross shape with your two sticks. Tie them together with your string. Hemp cord or waxed thread is better than regular string as they tend to be stronger.

STEP THREE: WRAP THE MOSS

Take the Spanish moss and wrap it around the sticks, starting at the middle for reinforcement, and going up around the head, down to one arm, back across to the other arm, back to the middle, and down to the bottom. If possible, use moss that is connected together in a big enough piece to cover the sticks without breaking it apart. The idea is to wrap the doll in one continuous motion. I find that the result is often times a stronger doll. If you break the moss apart and have to use more than one continuous piece, that is okay. However, you may have to wrap string around the moss to keep it from falling off. If you wrap tight enough, you shouldn't have to use string over the moss.

STEP FOUR: ADD FABRIC

Take your fabric strips and wrap around the moss and sticks. Make sure to leave some of the moss showing, such as on the head (for hair), at the ends of the arms, and at the bottom. Secure with tacky glue. You may want to reinforce with a couple of stitches with your needle and thread. Add your contrasting fabric, yarn, and/or ribbon.

STEP FIVE: MAKE A FACE

Take your beads or buttons and attach them with the needle and thread for eyes, or glue 2 black eyed peas to the face for eyes. Add a button or bead for the mouth. I used a plastic flower for the mouth of this one. Stick some feathers in the top of your voodoo doll's head.

STEP SIX: ADD 7 PINS

Add the seven pins and now your Voodoo doll is complete!

Symbolism of the 7 pin colors:

yellow - success

white - positive

red - power

purple - spirituality

green - money

blue - love

black - repelling negative energy