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Worry Dolls

Description: Create your own worry doll and learn about the Mayan craft tradition.

Grade Level: 1st & Up (adult help needed)

Supplies • Clothespin

• Pipe Cleaners (2 cut in halves)

• Embroidery Floss/Yarn (3-5 colors• Scrap Felt/Fabric• Liquid Glue

• Markers• Scissors

Lesson

1. Learn about the origins of worry dolls. Worry dolls are tiny hand-crafted dollsfrom Guatemala. The dolls are clothed in traditional Mayan clothing and are typically small in size. Guatemalan artisans attached pieces of wood together or twist together wire to create a torso, legs, arms, and head. By winding cloth and yarn around the wood or wire frame, the artisans give the doll shape and color. They use scraps of traditional woven fabric to make the doll costumes and add more yarn to create the head, hair, feet and hands. Finally, they place a set of 6-12 dolls in tiny wooden boxes or cloth pouches. They sale them in markets as a charm against worrying. Artisans create these tiny crafts to help earn money for their families. According to Mayan legend, telling a doll your worries at night and then placing the doll under your pillow helps to take the worry away. This is because the doll takes over the worrying for the person who then sleeps peacefully through the night. The worry dolls (Muñeca quitapena) original Guatemalan tradition comes from a local legend about a Mayan princess named Ixmucane. The princess received a special gift from the Sun god which would allow her to solve any problem a human could worry about. The indigenous people from the Highlands in Guatemala created worry dolls many generations ago as a remedy for worrying. According to the Mayan legend, when worrying keeps a person awake, he or she tells a worry to as many dolls as necessary. When morning breaks, the person awakens without the worries that the dolls took away during the night. A variation of the legend instructs a person to tell the dolls her worries then place them in their cloth pouch or wooden box before going to bed. It relates a lot with society today to be able to let go of your troubles and find something for comfort.

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2. Make a worry doll. First, you will get your clothespin and a pipe cleaner. Wrap and twist a pipe cleaner around the clothespin to create arms. Then, pick one color of yarn and wrap it around the clothespin, starting from just under the “head” to the “waist.” This will help form the middle of the body. You can also wrap the arms to hide the pipe cleaner in a different color. Tie a knot at the end of the yarn and tuck into the weaving to hide the end. Ask for help tying knots if you need it. Using a different color and starting from the bottom to the waist, wrap the clothespin with the yarn. You can wrap each “leg” of the clothespin separately or wrap a piece of felt around both of them to make a dress look. Glue your felt to secure it. Then use markers to decorate the face. You can also add on small pieces of felt and more yarn colors to accessorize. Use glue to stick the pieces on.

Extend your Learning

Create a box or pouch for your worry doll to sleep at night once your worry doll is complete. Using two sheets of the construction paper, staple or tape along the bottom and the edges, but keep the top open for the doll to go inside. Decorate the pouch using crayons or coloring pencils.