How to Make a Wooden Peg Doll: DIY Little Mermaid

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I didn’t even know that wooden peg dolls were a “thing” until I discovered this Little Mermaid peg doll.

It turns out that these peg dolls are a toy used in Montessori and Waldorf schools for pretend play, color matching, and other activities.

They can be as simple as painting the “body” a solid color, then giving them 2 dots for eyes, as you can see in this photo.

Some people like to attach some yarn for hair, and others even use fabric to give the dolls clothing.

In other words, peg doll can be as simple or as creative as you want them to be.

For example, here’s are some cute Harry Potter peg dolls.

Since unfinished peg dolls come in packs, doing a bunch of them at once, assembly-style, would be a smart way to go. If you get a couple of friends and/or older kids to work on them with you, even better!

These dolls make adorable stocking stuffers and would make a great service project for a group to make and donate to an organization that helps kids in need.

Now that you know all about peg dolls, let’s look specifically at how to make a doll that looks like Ariel, The Little Mermaid.

Supplies/Materials for Little Mermaid Peg Doll

Detail Paint Brushes Set Matte Finish Acrylic Craft Paint Set Plastic Paint Tray Palette Natural Unfinished Wooden Peg Doll Bodies

5-6 Paint Brushes
Acrylic Craft Paint in these colors:
- Dark Teal
- Aqua
- White
- Black
- Red
- Dark Purple
- Light Purple
- Peach
Paint Tray Palette (or just a paper plate)
Peg Doll

DIY Peg Doll Directions

Start by painting the face, and part of the head of the doll in a peach colored paint.
Make sure to get all the areas around the neck, as those areas sometimes absorb more paint than the rest of the doll.

Continue painting the upper front of the body the same color, and stop about halfway down the doll. (The bottom will be painted with aqua scales later.)

Use the dark purple paint to make two seashells as the bikini bathing suit top for the doll.

Paint the entire bottom half of the doll dark teal, stopping just under the “waist line”, and making a slight “V” shape just below the waist.

Use the aqua paint to outline just the top of the “V” shape.

Use the aqua paint to begin painting the scales onto the dark teal Start directly below the peak of the “V” and paint a drooping half oval, with each one connecting as you go around the doll.
Once one row is complete, start the next row off-center, so that the half oval starts in the middle point of the row above it.

Continue until you have four rows of scales all the way to the bottom of the doll.

To paint the tail fins, first paint the shape of the fins in the dark teal.
Once that dries, outline the fins with the black paint.

Then use the aqua paint to make a few lines on top of the dark teal and add some texture and detail to the fins.

Use the light purple paint to outline the outside of the dark purple bikini top.
Make a little light purple dot between the two shells, and then draw three lines across the shells to create detail.