A Waldorf Doll In The Making

Today, I received the supplies to make a beautiful Waldorf Doll for Lautaro. He loves Malena’s Baby Doreengee that I made for her third Christmas, so it is time for one for him. Baby Doreengee will have a little brother. Oh, Malena derived Baby Doreengee’s name from my Aunt Doreen.

I ordered the doll making supplies from Weir Dolls. For Malena’s doll, I ordered one of their kits with a pre-made doll head, pre-sewn body and crocheted cap for the hair base. I worried that if I did the doll completely from scratch, it would look a bit non-human. The Weir Doll kit is wonderful with simple, easy-to-follow instructions. All the items necessary to make a beautiful doll are included and packaged nicely. No machine sewing is required if you buy the kit and select the pre-sewn body. I like buying the pre-made head, because I questioned my ability to create a realistic-shaped head using only wool, cotton tubing and embroidery floss.

Making Malena’s doll, I quickly understood, why an already-made Waldorf doll is so expensive. It takes a lot of love and time! It is a simple, yet time-consuming process. It is such a wonderful feeling and experience to be able to make your child’s first doll. I know that this is a doll that my child will treasure forever and be able to give their children. I believe that all the love put into creating the doll shows in the doll’s personality.

I would rather my child have one special, high-quality doll than many plastic dolls. Many people complain about the price of wooden toys, Waldorf dolls or play silks. If you buy less, yet high quality toys it probably equates to the amount one would spend on plastic toys that break and need to be replaced. Not too mention one of my favorite reasons for fewer toys – less clutter. Plus, if a wooden stacking toy is left on the living room floor, it doesn’t look as obnoxious as a plastic Dora the Explorer plaything.

Oh, if you are feeling really brave and crafty, like my friend Maria at MamaPlum you can check out this blog entry about making dolls from scratch. Darling and inspiring!