For seniors: Heartwarming and cozy. Recommended handmade Hina dolls
Hinamatsuri is an event filled with the wish for girls to grow up healthy and happy.
On March 3rd, many families traditionally display Hina dolls and celebrate.
In this article, we introduce handmade Hina doll ideas especially for seniors.
One-of-a-kind handmade Hina dolls have a warm, charming feel, don’t they?
The Hina dolls featured here are all easy to make using familiar, readily available materials, so please feel free to use them as inspiration.
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[For Seniors] Heartwarming and Cozy. Recommended Handmade Hina Dolls (11–20)
Just cut and paste: felt Hina dollsNEW!
These are cute Hina dolls you can make using only items from a 100-yen shop.
Since they use spherical Styrofoam, the finished pieces have a plump, rounded look.
You’ll use chirimen fabric with adhesive on one side, and felt with double-sided tape applied.
Because there’s no sewing involved, it should be easy for older adults to try this craft as well.
If you make both the Emperor and Empress dolls, you’ll have a splendid Hina display.
It’s also lovely to decorate them by making a base from an empty box, for example.
Seeing the decorations might even help older adults recall Hinamatsuri celebrations spent with their families.
Three-dimensional wall-mounted Hina doll displayNEW!
The three-dimensional wall-hanging Hina doll decoration is an origami piece that, while adorably stylized, still conveys the essence of traditional Hina dolls.
You cut and glue the origami paper for each part to create the faces and kimonos.
A key point is shaping the sleeves into rings to give them a soft, voluminous finish.
By mounting the pieces on construction paper, you can hang the work directly on the wall, adding festive depth and color to the space as a seasonal decoration.
With thoughtful choices of expressions and colors, the impression changes, making it a subtle yet striking origami idea you can enjoy as a work with presence.
Three-dimensional Hina dolls made of paperNEW!
These Hina dolls are striking for their beaming smiles.
Although they’re three-dimensional, you can make them using tissue paper and construction paper.
Create the Emperor and Empress’s faces and the ornaments above their heads with construction paper.
Draw the facial features with a pen, or make them from construction paper or origami.
Form the base with strips of construction paper and crumpled tissue paper, then attach the face pieces to finish.
Since this craft uses lots of fine hand movements, it’s a fun activity for seniors that also exercises the fingertips and may offer brain-training benefits.
No-Sew Easy Hina Doll DecorationsNEW!
It looks like an easy project to make by applying chirimen fabric to craft bands that are even sold at 100-yen shops.
Wrap the craft bands with two types of chirimen fabric—patterned and solid-colored.
Since you attach them with glue, it’s a recommended project even for those who aren’t good at sewing.
Tie the craft bands covered with chirimen fabric together.
Add the face and hair, and it’s complete.
Some older adults may feel that handicrafts using needles or sewing machines are difficult.
With this project, many seniors might find it easier to try.
Origami Hina DollsNEW!
Let’s make the parts for the kimono, face, hair, hair ornament, and fan, and complete the Hina doll.
Use Japanese-pattern origami paper for the kimono.
Cut out a triangle at the center, attach the collar on the back, then fold it into a triangle.
Fold up both corners, then fold them back parallel.
Open the origami once and refold so that the bottom corner splits into two layers.
Fold the top of these two layers upward toward the back and pass it through the triangular opening to form the neck.
Next, fold in the left and right sides to make the sleeves, and fold the remaining bottom corner up to the back to finish the kimono! Make the remaining parts and complete your Hina doll.
Yarn-Wrapped Hina Doll Decoration
Handmade Hina dolls warm the heart and are soothing just to look at, aren’t they? This video introduces Hina dolls made with yarn and cardboard.
It’s great that you can make them easily with materials you have on hand.
Start by wrapping yarn around a piece of cardboard cut into a human shape.
If you cut small slits at the bottom of the cardboard to create grooves, the yarn won’t slip and the finish will look neater.
Once you’ve finished wrapping the yarn, draw the faces and attach items like crowns and scepters to complete them.
This project is perfect for finger and wrist training, making it an ideal craft activity for seniors.
[For Seniors] Heartwarming and Cozy: Recommended Handmade Hina Dolls (21–30)
Okiagari-koboshi Hina dolls
These are cute, round roly-poly Hina dolls you can make with items from a 100-yen shop.
Inflate a balloon into a round shape, then attach torn shoji paper and hanshi paper with glue.
Make sure there are no gaps; once covered, brush glue over the paper surface as well and let it dry.
When dry, pop the balloon inside and remove it to create the paper body.
Glue a marble to the inside bottom as a weight, then apply crepe fabric and patterned colored paper on the outside and trim the excess.
Using different colors for the Emperor and Empress will make the set even cuter when displayed together.
Use adhesive fabric for the hair, stickers for the eyes, and add the headpieces, a fan, and a shaku to finish.
When you nudge them, they gently roll and return upright—so charming! Give it a try for inspiration.