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!Take
control of your life with this empowering activity!
One of the first things to consider when deciding to make a
Voodoo doll is precisely 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.
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
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!
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
STEP FOUR: ADD FABRIC
