Skip to main content

Waldorf dolls

Waldorf-style doll made by Linda Theil.

In the 1970s the United Methodist Women of Dutilh United Methodist Church in Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania sponsored a holiday project to dress baby-dolls for children in need. The UMW provided cute-but-inexpensive, naked, plastic dolls to anyone who wished to dress the dolls. The dressed dolls were returned to the church and distributed to children for the holidays. I participated in the project and got a lot of pleasure and satisfaction from making the baby-dolls look beautiful in clothes I made from commercial patterns.

 I have been hoping to replicate that enjoyment by making my grand-daughter a baby-doll, but I wanted a soft doll for her, so I checked out the doll patterns on the Web and discovered the Waldorf-style doll would be exactly what I wanted.

I bought Maricristin Sealey's Making Waldorf Dolls (Hawthorn Press, 2005) and watched many of the myriad Waldorf doll-making videos on YouTube. 

 I studied the information, and it looked so daunting, I decided I'd see if I could find a doll-pattern from one of the pattern companies that might make the process a little more accessible to me. I purchased Simplicity pattern #2809 for a 15-inch cloth baby-doll and gave it a try.
Cloth doll made with Simplicity pattern #2809

Making the Simplicity doll wasn't very easy. This doll is supposed to have ears! Putting the head on the body was very challenging. The results weren't spectacular, so I thought I might as well give the Waldorf doll a try.

 I didn't want to handicap my efforts by not having the proper tools, so I purchased $50 worth of materials and equipment from Weir Crafts, an online site that specializes in Waldorf doll-making supplies. I bought:

  • a beautiful fine, cotton-knit, doll-skin fabric,
  • wool stuffing that is de rigueur for Waldorf dolls (no fiberfill for these babies!),
  • cotton gauze tubing for making the head,
  • a set of doll-making needles (very handy!)
  • some ball-point needles for my sewing machine
  • and patterns for making the dolls and clothes.

Even though I had the Sealey book that also has patterns in it, I thought the Weir patterns might be useful; I was looking for the key bit of information that would crack the doll code for me.

 The key to the Waldorf doll is the method for attaching the head -- which includes stuffing the head and creating a "muff" that will fill the doll torso, before attaching the head and muff to the body. For me, this method worked better than stuffing after the head is attached that was featured in the Simplicity pattern.
Close-up view of Linda Theil's Waldorf doll.

Emerson tucked her new dolls and her old bear in for their nap.

Here's a Kathe Kruse video "How Waldorf Dolls are Made" from Guerilla Fluff that shows the doll-making process. There are other videos available on YouTube that demonstrate how to make a Waldorf doll at home.
Kathe Kruse video, "How Waldorf Dolls are Made"

Resources:
http://www.hawthornpress.com/books/crafts-and-family-activities/making-waldorf-dolls/
http://www.weircrafts.com/
http://www.simplicity.com/p-1733-crafts.aspx
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4QWhmj51ZM
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Notes on Purl Soho Cross-back Apron pattern

Purl Soho Cross-back Apron, regular sized,  front view Purl Soho Cross-back Apron, regular sized,   back view by Linda Theil This is the Purl Soho Cross-back Apron featured on their website at  https://www.purlsoho.com/create/2015/11/20/cross-back-apron . Their page includes complete directions for making this one-size-fits-most apron with large, side-pockets and cross-back straps. This retro apron is so nicely made and looks so much like the apron my grandma wore in the Nineteen-fifties that I had to make one for my friend who appreciates the nostalgia and the beauty of this design. Although this apron pattern, as published, can adjust to several sizes from 2-10; I also made a larger option, adjusting the width of the pattern pieces to accommodate up to size 16 and up. Size adjustment may also be made by varying the length of the straps. These notes are a record of my experience with the pattern, and should only be viewed as...
13 comments
Read more

Notebook cover from Arabesque

by Linda Theil I just finished making the "Crafted Life Companion" notebook-cover designed by Australian Ali Phillips of Arabesque Scissors . I've made several of Phillips' patterns and have come to experience Phillips as creating at the same stratospheric level as English designer Diane Spencer Ogg for brilliant design innovation and attention to minute specificity in their patterns. Both creators are also highly professional and skilled presenters in their step-by-step demonstration videos for every design. Please see Phillips' video at the end of this post. The Arabesque notebook cover is designed to fit an A5 notebook size, and includes a sleeve for notepads up to 4 x 8-inches. Other pocket options are included in the pattern -- most of which I left out in my first version. I did take advantage of a marvelously useful innovation Phillips provided: a beautifully designed "coloring page" that helped enormously to keep all my pattern pieces organized....
Post a Comment
Read more

Free gift bag pattern from Spencer-Ogg

by Linda Theil This quick-as-a-wink "DIY Gift and Goody Bag" pattern is available at no charge on the Spencer-Ogg website ; and a video tutorial can be viewed on the Spencer-Ogg YouTube channel . This pattern generated so much enthusiasm among Spencer-Ogg afficionados this holiday season that Diane Spencer-Ogg released a  "MORE sizes for the DIY Gift and Goody Bag"  auxiliary pattern with an extra-small, and a large addition to the  small and medium sizes available in the initial release. This raw-edge design can be made in a wide variety of materials. My sample shown above is the size small, measuring about three-inches-square when finished. The material I used is from a Cricut brand sampler of pebbled, faux leather that is made from polyurethane. I pulled this product from a stashed package that may no longer be available in this format or design. Be aware that your material will need to be cut almost three times the width of your finished project. In other words,...
Post a Comment
Read more