A doll amulet made of threads, a glorious protector and favorite of the whole family, appeared in Rus' many decades ago. Funny mascots in the form of faceless toys lived in every home. They were treated with special respect. Defenseless in appearance, doll amulets had by no means toy powers. They easily repelled unwanted blows of fate and attracted success and prosperity.
Amulet dolls made of threads: the history of the appearance of the amulet
Thread dolls were actively used in Rus' and were used in rituals, holidays, everyday life and children's games. Often such small homemade toys played the role of powerful amulets and talismans.
Important ! The thread amulets were faceless. It was believed that evil spirits could not possess a doll without a face.
The first such products appeared during pagan times. They were made from twigs and burlap. The dolls were placed near the stove in the corner with a sheaf of wheat. It was a symbol of home. Gradually we moved on to other more beautiful materials - threads and fabrics, where natural materials in the form of grasses and twigs were only partially used.
Dolls made of straw and hay
Later, reels appeared, which were made from self-woven linen fabric and scraps of woolen textiles. These later models are about 5 thousand years old. This means that the thread figure appeared even earlier. And straw and grass ones can date back to the times when the first inhabitants appeared on the lands of Rus'.
What is the significance of the amulet?
The history of amulets-dolls has its roots in the Trypillian culture, which existed more than 5 thousand years ago. In those days when the figurine of a woman personified the symbol of fertility, motherhood and home. This is exactly the meaning of the dolls - to protect the home from the machinations of ill-wishers, to protect household members from illness and grief, to help women bear and give birth to healthy children.
Winding amulets dolls is an exclusively female activity. Men were forbidden to even be present at the trial.
The manufacturing technique itself is the same for all Slavic peoples, but each region had its own characteristic differences:
- The Ukrainian doll stood out with a large head and a long braid made of birch bark, straw or bast, but it did not have arms.
- Belorusskaya - bright and detailed decoration.
Their faces were not embroidered or painted. It was believed that a doll with eyes could return to a person all the absorbed negativity, multiplying it many times over. In some areas, a “protective cross” was embroidered in place of the doll’s face.
The size varied depending on how many people would use the doll. If it is for one person, then the height should not exceed 10 cm. If for the whole family - from 20 cm or more.
Features of the amulet doll
A thread doll has a lot of features. The first is the manufacturing principle. All parts are formed without the use of a needle or scissors. Therefore, even a child can cope with such work.
Motanka amulets
The second feature is that there are several types of such products, each of which is determined by the purpose of use. The last uniqueness is the color design. Each element of the composition carries its own magical load, which is activated and spreads to the person and home.
What kind of amulets dolls are there?
Dolls made from fabric or thread are called reels, as they are formed on the principle of winding and tying parts together. In this design, you can distinguish 3 types of dolls:
- Gaming. Used in children's games. To do this, you can create multi-handed toys and unusual figures to amuse the baby.
- Ritual. It is made and used in the rites of individual holidays (Midsummer Kupala, weddings, Solstice).
- Protective. Formed to house the house. Each option had its own purpose - to protect health, offspring, wealth in the home and family.
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In turn, ritual and protective ones can be divided into the following:
- Desire (to fulfill wishes);
- Herbalist (made from charmed herbs and intended for healing the sick);
- Ten pens (amulet for girls who want to find love).
Boys and girls can play with such products; in the form of talismans, they can also be used for various purposes.
What types of dolls are there?
Note ! Additionally, items of clothing can be made, for example, a hat, a sundress, a scarf, a necklace. This helps to attribute the item to one or another type of doll.
What does thread color mean?
The best option for making a doll from threads is cotton (floss) or a wool base. It is also worth paying attention to the color. The Slavs invested sacred meaning in color preference:
- Red – attracts love and wealth. A powerful color that helps enhance energy and attract positive emotions. If you tie a red thread around the belt of such a doll, you can protect yourself from the evil eye, damage, bad influence and problems.
- Green is considered a symbol of nature. Helps calm the nervous system. According to the Slavs, the presence of this color in a doll will help a person reunite with nature, open himself to new achievements, and find peace and harmony in the soul. Cleanses energy and gives peace.
- Yellow is read as a symbol of the sun and all life. Additionally, it is a “magnet” for good luck and wealth. Patronizes people who are looking for themselves and trying to find spiritual harmony. Symbolizes happiness and prosperity.
Color preferences in manufacturing
Important ! Using different colors, you need to try to get a bright figurine in order to activate the positive energy of the amulet (talisman) and further strengthen it.
The ancient Slavs believed that it was the bright colors and the presence of several colors in the weave that could protect a person and ward off trouble. Pagan symbols of that time were often additionally painted with natural dyes if thread of the desired color was not available.
Origin and application
There are 3 types of reels among the Slavs:
- amulet;
- ritual;
- gaming
This tradition originated among the Slavs, but toys similar to motankas are found among the Bashkir, Moldavian and Chukchi peoples.
Such crafts were often made by the Slavs for the day of Ivan Kupala.
Charms were worn in honor of holidays (Christmas, Midsummer Day) or as a gift to loved ones, for example, during a wedding, at the birth of a child, on a birthday or anniversary. This art was practiced from a young age until old age. If the doll did not carry any sacred meaning, then it was used only as a toy for children. But Slavic bundles of amulets could not be used for entertainment: they were carried with them or hung in the corner of the house so that it would protect the family and bring prosperity.
What you need to make a doll from yarn with your own hands
Before you make a doll from threads, you need to prepare all the necessary tools and materials. The basis can be knitting material, which is used in the manufacture of socks, hats, and sweaters.
Manufacturing technology involves the use of other types of threads - floss, silk and sewing. An important condition is that all ingredients must be exclusively natural. To create a doll from threads you need to prepare:
- linen threads;
- floss, sewing or silk;
- wool knitting threads;
- satin ribbons of different colors;
- scissors;
- a piece of hard cardboard.
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Basic material for making reel
Additionally, you need to prepare a drawing or sketch, in accordance with which the work will be carried out. For a modern type of doll, other finishing materials may be needed - lace, bright fabrics.
Basic manufacturing rules
To make a healing doll “for health”, the needlewoman must adhere to the following rules:
It is important that the woman is in a good mood for this work.
- The amulet is made only in a good mood with mental good wishes. If the needlewoman is not in the mood, the doll will absorb negative emotions and pass them on to the patient.
- You should not work in a hurry, as this creates nervousness and sloppiness. The Slavic talisman will not tolerate disrespect and will not help.
- You should not use Orthodox prayers when creating a doll, as this is a pagan amulet. Glorification of the deities - Beregina, Lada, Lelya or Makosh - is better suited. The patient may belong to any religion. There is no need to remove the cross or other symbol of faith.
- The face, according to traditional canons, is left clean. You can make a cross from crossed pieces of fabric to protect you from misfortunes and stop illness. Making eyes, nose or mouth is strictly prohibited, as the amulet will lose its power and dangerous otherworldly entities can move into it.
- The amulet is created in one go. It is impossible to interrupt and switch to other household chores, as well as to talk with household members. Therefore, the family is warned not to disturb the needlewoman.
How to make a doll from threads
Making a doll from yarn with your own hands is quite simple. For example, for women, the Ten-Handed doll will be the best assistant and amulet. Such a figurine was passed from mother to daughter, who got married and had to move to her husband’s house. This product also helped in family life.
Additional Information ! According to legend, such a doll was given to a woman by the goddess Makosha.
A simple and accessible master class on how to make a doll-amulet from threads with your own hands:
- First you need to prepare a cardboard template. It should be a rectangle with a side length of about 15 cm.
- You need to wrap the workpiece along the long side with linen thread. The number of turns must be a multiple of 3.
- Cut the threads on one side and carefully remove the rectangle. Gather the threads into a bundle and place them on the table.
- Stepping back about 2 mm from the cut point, wrap the bundle with red thread, which is fixed with several knots on the base.
- Cut the bundle of threads on the other side. Braid the braid and secure the workpiece in the same way as in the first case.
- In the same way, 4 more elements are made, only floss of a different color is used as a binding.
- Place the resulting parts together and determine their middle, tie them together in the center with linen thread. The handles are ready.
- The torso is made in the same way as each arm. You can even use the same cardboard template. Only there should be more than 200 turns of the winding, and fixation after cutting one edge is made in the center.
- Then you need to separate a small number of threads and place them at the top relative to the central dressing. Tie the separated part with red thread.
- Divide the rest of the winding into 2 parts and thread the bundle through it from your hands. At this point, rewind the main skein of tape crosswise so that the hands are tightly fixed.
- Below the cross-shaped bandage of the base, tie a strip of natural lace. From the remaining threads below the lace apron, braid a multiple of 3 thin braids. A large braid needs to be braided from the threads left at the top. Everything is fixed with red threads.
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Such manufacturing instructions can also help in making simpler models of dolls from threads.
Making a Doll of Ten Hands
Note! After production, you need to perform a ritual that will help activate the toy. Due to a special conspiracy, each hand is assigned its own function - washing, cleaning, raising children.
Description of the step-by-step master class
Necessary materials:
- yarn for the body - beige, white;
- for hair – brown, yellow, orange;
- for hands you can take pink or another shade;
- cotton wool;
- red threads;
- rectangular patch for apron;
- ribbons, beads for decoration.
The doll will be elegant if the fabric for the apron is decorated with embroidery in advance. The colors for the ribbons should be selected taking into account the purpose of the toy amulet: red – vital energy, activity, white – innocence, purity of thoughts, yellow charges with optimism, and green gives calm.
Making a pupa step by step:
- It is advisable to prepare the yarn for the body in advance. Wrap the threads tightly (30-40 turns) around a book or cardboard 18-20 cm high. Cut them on one side, fold them in half and cut them on the other side.
- Wrap the hair threads on an object with a larger width (22-24 cm), make at least 50 turns. Cut them on one side and repeat the manipulation, removing them from the workpiece and folding them in half.
- Place the hair yarn into the bundle of threads for the body so that it is inside, evenly distributing the beige threads around the “hair”. Use a red thread to tie them together, moving 2 cm from the edge.
- Turn the threads for the body so that they are at the bottom and for the hair at the top.
- Place cotton wool in the head area and tie it with a red thread in the “neck” area, forming a head.
- Distribute the hair yarn on the back of the head and temples of the doll's head and secure it with a thread around the neck. Braid your hair with a neat parting. Secure the braids with thread and decorate with ribbons on top.
- Prepare the pink yarn for the arms, as well as the blank for the body, winding it around an object 20-22 cm high. Tie the cut threads on one side into a bun, braid them tightly and tie the rest of the threads on the other side.
- Insert a pink braid (arm) into the main piece and form a waist by tying a red thread on the belt. After which it is not torn off, but thrown over the right shoulder, wrapped around the neck, then onto the left shoulder and returned to the waist to form a cross.
- An apron is tied to the waist, the doll's head is decorated with a ribbon, beautiful braid or lace.
There are no special instructions regarding decorating the bereginya, so the final result will depend only on the imagination of the needlewoman.
What else can you make Slavic amulets dolls from?
The yarn doll, which can be used as a talisman, is a modern alternative to those used in the past. If we look at the presentations of old ritual or amulet dolls, it is easy to see what the Slavs used to make such things from:
- Dry grass or soft straw.
- Thin twigs or branches of fruit and forest trees.
- Often wicker was used as the main material.
- Scraps of fabric and thread were actively used.
What else can dolls be made from?
You can even use all of the listed materials at once. Additionally, aromatic herbs or flowers are woven in. If there are cut threads left, you can use them to weave thin braids, which in turn can be tied with red ribbons.
Making clothes for a toy
Step-by-step execution of clothes. It is also made from soft threads, but of a different color. For example, if the doll is blue, then you can make her a blue dress.
Hanging decorations
Fluff the threads a little at the hem of the garment and you will get a fringe. For large toys, you can make beautiful ball gowns, with transitions into different colors. To do this, you need to weave two colors of thread together.
Clothing made from burlap looks very beautiful. These can be Slavic outfits, with beautiful wreaths on the toy’s head. You can make clothes for girls in the form of aprons or long dresses. Knit a small sweater and pants, or some outerwear item, from wool yarn. As clothing items, you can take cotton or chintz fabrics. So that later you can remove them from the product and wash them.
Jute decoration
When to say goodbye to a doll
A thread doll does not belong to the category of home amulets that can be stored for a long time. And Zhelanica should be completely liquidated immediately after receiving what was asked for.
A thread doll worth saying goodbye to
In some cases, the doll is stored for only a month from the date of manufacture. If no positive changes occur, then the figurine should be burned away from the house. There are several reasons for this - all the rules were not followed at the time the amulet was created, or the doll simply does not correspond to the energy of the house (person).
No action will be performed by the reel if the master has not performed the required ritual. You should not buy ready-made products of this kind - you need to make them yourself, since the figurine is charged with the energy of the person who made it.
According to Old Slavonic instructions, a figurine made of threads with woven herbs and branches had to be changed every year if it was the shore of the hearth. You must carefully monitor the condition of the amulet: if it begins to deteriorate, then it is time to burn such a base, since the magical object has taken on all the negativity that was sent to the house.
Bright thread dolls
When making reels or thread dolls, it is worth using certain step-by-step master classes, since even the smallest knot can affect the effectiveness of the product. When making such an amulet or talisman, it is worth taking into account a lot of nuances and rules that were passed down by ancestors to obtain a real “magical protector”.
Varieties and meaning
Previously, girls made dolls to protect themselves and their relatives from harm. Mothers knitted reels for their sons on the road so that they would find their way back. There was a tradition of hanging amulets on Ivan Kupala. He helped girls find a lover or a man and start a family. There are many Slavic talismans that helped newlyweds, mothers and future housewives. Each type of amulet had a special meaning. Its individual elements could be interpreted differently:
- long braid - longevity;
- fluffy skirts - wealth.
Examples of types of dolls and a brief description are given in the table:
| Name | Characteristic |
| "Desire" | Motanka was made to achieve one’s desires, and after fulfilling its purpose, the doll was destroyed |
| "Herbalist" | The charmed herb was wrapped in fabric for production, and the amulet brought good luck and success in life |
| "Ten Hand" | This is a female talisman that helped girls find their betrothed |
| He also protected from damage and slander, helped to cope with household chores | |
| "Cabbage" | Thanks to this amulet, girls got married faster |
| The folk doll helped pregnant women to bear and give birth to a healthy child. | |
| "Bereginya" | They hung it over the entrance to the house so that the amulet would prevent damage and the evil eye from entering, and would also increase wealth and bring happiness and joy to the family |
| "Broom" | Protected the house from negative energy and swept it out into the street |
| "Bell" | Bring joy to the house: 3 wide skirts symbolized 3 levels of happiness in a person |
| "Prosperous" | Symbolized wealth and goodness, helped housewives cope with household chores |
| Used as a toy for children |
