Headband Socks for Mapalo

After finding shoes for 18-inch Mapalo, who arrived with bare feet, I set out to make a pair of socks for her.   The next series of photos with captions illustrate how the socks were made:

Sold in a 3-pack, I used the yellow 1-3/16-inch-wide, stretch headband to make Mapalo's socks.

First, I cut along the right side of the headband seam, leaving the seam intact (the cutaway side is on the right above).

Next, to measure the approximate sock length, I placed the stitched end of the headband alongside Mapalo's foot, flattening out the portion that would be the bottom of her foot.  

The cut length is about 4 inches.

To create a pair, 4 inches of the remaining piece of the headband was cut next.

The unstitched piece was turned inside out and one end sewn closed using a gathered stitch.  The gathered stitches were taken from left to right then right to left, closing in any gaps.  (The above photo is blurry, but the stitched end at the bottom can be faintly seen.)

The stitched sock, on the left, was turned outside out to hide the stitched toe area.  Both "socks" were placed on Mapalo's feet and the top portion turned down to create a cuff with raw edges tucked under.  Because the texture of the headband material is different on the inside, the prestitched "sock" was not flipped to hide the stitches.  Her shoes will cover these anyway.

With socks and shoes on, Mapalo's feet "feel" so much better.

The socks and shoes complete her look and the socks provide an extra pop of color.

This sock-making method can be used for similar-sized dolls.  Wider headbands can be used to make socks for much larger dolls, such as 23-inch My Twinn dolls, which would probably require 2-inch wide headbands for sock making.  Likewise, smaller headbands can be used to make socks for 10- to 14-inch dolls.

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