The Armed Viking Doll

Part of valuing a culture is finding creative ways to work through it. Culture is not a tradition so much as a philosophy that continually wraps its head around new situations, new practices, and new people. This is why it can be so interesting to rediscover a culture through the arts and crafts. Here’s a fun project you can do to get acquainted (or reacquainted) with the Viking period.

Supplies needed:
Cardboard or heavy stock paper
Scissors
Paper fasteners (2)
Colored pens or pencils
Embroidery thread
Embroidery needle
Bead or button

Begin by drawing a figure of a Viking on a heavy sheet of cardboard or stock paper. Draw the figure first, then the arms seperately. On this drawing, I’ve chosen to give my Viking an embroidered tunic with fur-lined cape, a sword, and birkebeiner footwear that ties just below the knee.

Carefully cut out your figure and the two arms. Now you’ll need to fasten the arms to the body of the figure with your two paper fasteners, poking a hole first on each side of the chest area and then through each arm. Watch out so that you don’t poke your holes too close to the top of the arm, as the cardboard may tear.

Now you’ll need to turn your figure over and secure the paper fasteners loosely so that the arms are joined but can still swing freely. This done, take your threaded embroidery needle and pierce a hole in each arm above the paper-fastener. Allowing the arms to hang straight down, tie the embroidery thread tightly across the back.

With the rest of the thread that is hanging down, attach a lightweight bead or button at the end to serve as a pulley for your paper doll. When you pull down on the thread, the arms should go up. If your pulley is too heavy, it may tear the paper or weight the arms in a permanent “up” position.

If you want your doll to hang on a nail somewhere, use your embroidery thread to create a loop just above the doll’s hairline. Then you can hold it, spin it, even hang it on a Christmas tree if you like.

Now that you’ve got the hang of making your “armed” Viking doll, try doing this project with other characters from Norway’s history and folklore. It’s a fun reason to do some research on Norwegian culture and a great way to get your kids reading!

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