The other day I was walking out of the grocery store when I happened to glance up at the gumball machines near the door. I stopped dead in my tracks and stared slack-jawed for a moment before grabbing my wallet and madly digging for quarters. I mean, seriously, who can resist a gumball machine full of voodoo dolls?? I ended up going home with this cute li’l guy in my pocket:

I took a close look at it and thought, “hey, I could make one of these!” (This is especially true in light of my massive yarn stash that never seems to shrink no matter how many hats I crochet.) I came up with this version:

Project estimate:

Yarn, on hand or $1 and up

Buttons, on hand

Small foam balls, $1

Glue, on hand

Total: $1 and up

Glue the end of the yarn to a small foam ball. (Mine came in a variety pack of sizes that I found at Dollar Tree.)

Wrap yarn around the ball until it is completely covered. Use a dab of glue to secure the end.

Figure out the length you want your arms/torso/legs pieces to be. Loop a piece of yarn to that length several times. (Mine are about 5 inches long.)

Starting at one end, wrap the yarn around the looped lengths tightly until you reach the other end. Glue the end of the yarn to secure. Repeat to make a second piece the same length.

Cut several lengths of yarn and tie them securely around the yarn-wrapped ball.

Lay out the pieces as shown, with the long pieces bent to create the arms and legs and the ends of the yarn wrapped around the head going through what wikll become the torso.

Tie around the armpit area tightly with a long piece of yarn. Create the torso by wrapping down toward the feet, then wrap back up to where you started to make a double layer of wrapping.

Make the last couple of wraps in an “X” shape, passing the yarn between the arm and head. Glue the end of the yarn in place on the back of the doll to secure.

To make eyes, find a pair of smal buttons that each have 4 holes. Use black thread or embroidery floss to make an X on each button. Glue the buttons to the doll’s head.

Voodoo dolls make great gifts for:

a friend with a particularly cruel boss at work.

anyone going through a nasty divorce.

people who have a morbidly offbeat sense of humor.

You can give the voodoo doll by itself, or you can:

place it in a box with a package of straight pins and a lighter to make a complete kit.

glue a pin to the back side of its torso to make a wacky brooch.

attach a string to the top of its head to turn it into an ornament.

What else could you do with a voodoo doll?