How to Attach Plush Doll to Wreath
- Make a small 1-inch, x-shaped incision with your scissors to the back or bottom of the doll where the heavy part of the toy is located. This is usually on the bottom part where it would sit on a shelf. If there is more than one layer of fabric, continue cutting x-shaped incisions until you have cut through the bag located inside the animal. That’s right; I said a “bag”. You see the manufacturers fill a plastic bag with either sand or pebbles to help weight the doll and sew it inside the doll.
- Place your fingers inside your incision and use your fingers to pull out the sand or pebbles used to make the doll heavy. This may take some time and is messy do hold it over a trash can. Keep putting your finger inside and pulling out the weight until you have the majority of the pebbles out and you can grab the bag. Once you can grab the bag, gently pull it out of the doll being careful not to rip a larger hole in the doll.
- From here you can either sew the hole closed with a needle and thread or leave it open if the wreath elements will cover the hole. On this example I left the hole open because the fabric was felt; however, if the material were more of a knit, sweater-like material, I would have sewn it so it would not unravel further.
- Use scraps of evergreen, ribbon, berries, leaves or anything you happen to have on hand to jazz up the doll somehow. In this example, I chose to embellish the present the elf doll is holding. This gives the doll a personal, decorative touch and my customers just LOVE my attention to detail!
- Use a pipe cleaner or floral wire to wrap around the doll somewhere where it will be hidden and not seen. Usually this location is either under the neck or around the waist of the doll. If you can’t locate a place and the wire is seen, then wrap a coordinating ribbon around and on top of the wire to help hide the mechanics of the wire.
- Nestle the now pre-wired doll into the wreath placing the doll off center either to the right or left of the wreath. I think placing focal points like dolls off center is more pleasing to the eye than if it were dead center in a wreath.
- Use the ends of the floral wire to then wrap around the metal frame on the back side of the wreath. Since the frame is also another mechanic of the wreath this will ensure the doll is attach to something sturdy.
- You can then pose your animal by crossing his legs, propping up an arm, etc. to make the doll come to life and add character to the doll. You can even add more embellishments if you want.
From here I continue designing the wreath adding elements from largest to smallest; so in this example, poinsettias, ornaments and then filler. Be careful not to drip hot glue onto the doll while designing the rest of your wreath, to do this I sometimes cover it with a piece of a plastic bag.
Here is a video showing you EXACTLY how to attach a Plush Doll to a Deco Mesh Wreath
I hope you enjoyed my secret tip of adding a plush doll to a wreath. Let me know what you think or what tips you have for adding dolls to wreaths.
Happy Wreathing,
Julie 🙂
Julie, thank you for again sharing one of your secrets with us. I have often passed up a stuffed toy for one of my wreaths because it was to heavy. Now thanks to you I won’t have to do that. Thank you so much for your generous tips and all the help that you are always ready to give us.
Cute, cute, cute, Julie! Love your work! Have and am learning so much from you! Thanks for sharing! Lana
Julie,
I have to say I my self never thought to do this and have also passed up great sales, cute dolls due to its weight.
Thank you so very much for this helpful tip.. I will be Elf shopping soon to go get the dolls I wanted but knew they were just to heavy to use 🙂
You are the greatest!!
Laura~
Thanks so much for all your tips and encouragement. You are truly talented. Always looking forward to learning something new.
Julie
Thank you so much for your sharing! You are so talented! I enjoy your tutorials so much!
Lisa
Your wreaths are gorgeous! Thank you for sharing your secrets. I think I may try this with one of those angels. I have double doors, so I will have to make two coordinating wreaths. This is going to be fun 🙂
Great tip!! Thanks for sharing!!
Thank you so much!! Your wreath is beautiful!
Thanks so much for the tip, Julie!! Really helpful to me!
Julie, thank you for this idea. Recently, when I ever did add any sort of plush to my wreaths I had been actually doing a little surgery to take out the whole bag, then having to stitch the whole bottom up! Which I found very time consuming. Your idea is so much faster. I also would like to tell that when it comes to making wreaths you are my hero. I just love your designs and products. You are so talented and such an inspiration to others. I also love the idea of not centering. It gives the end product such a touch of class.
Hi Julie
Thank you so much! I too have often passed up the greatest deals on dolls for this very reason! Learning everyday. Your tips are so helpful.
Diane
Thank you Julie
All your creative ways are helping me.
Thanks again
Gladys