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We have finally done it! My daughter and I have made our own Waldorf doll from a Magic Cabin Doll Kit. The Magic Cabin Doll Kit comes complete with mohair yarn for hair, wool for stuffing the body, embroidery floss for eyes and mouth, and skin stretch fabric. The best part about our new doll is that it is handmade with love of all natural materials.

Before making our own doll, we had searched for an affordable, natural doll when our second child was born. I spent countless hours searching the Internet for the perfect, natural baby doll. I wanted a doll that was about the size of a newborn baby, in order that it could share clothes with the real baby in our family. Eventually, we ordered a doll from a local doll maker. The doll was very expensive. When it arrived, we were sorely disappointed. The doll was only about eight inches long and had strange hair. The face was very strange looking too. We returned the doll to the doll maker, and the search began again. I found a doll maker on the east coast who made beautiful dolls. When I contacted her, she was no longer able to make dolls due to arthritis.

Making your own doll takes between 6 to 12 hours, depending on your skills and your child’s involvement. Our doll took about 7 hours to make, including the dress. My six-year old daughter’s participation was limited to stuffing the wool into the body and winding the hair around a book, but she was attentive and watched me sew (and bounced around in excitement) during the whole process. Going to the fabric store to pick out the dress was also a fun experience for us, and Grandmother has made additional clothes for the doll.

The directions included in the Magic Cabin Doll Kit are very clear. I was never confused, although I do have lots of quilting and sewing experience; I have never made a doll before this experience. The most difficult part was feeding the elastic through the casing on the dress collar, but other than that, I was surprised at how smoothly the process was for our doll. The Magic Cabin Doll Kit does come with patterns to make five different articles of clothing.

Waldorf dolls typically are very simple, allowing your child’s imagination to fill in the details. The natural materials and soft wool stuffing make this doll far superior to plastic ones. My daughter really appreciates this doll, and it has become her favorite one, replacing a plastic doll she was given as a gift. She is old enough to appreciate the doll is handmade with love, and she showered me with compliments when I was sewing. She was amazed her mommy could create such a lovable toy.

[tags]kids, parents, a little greener, Waldorf doll, Magic Cabin Doll Kit, home, activity, activities, teaching, skills, crafts[/tags]
Photo graciously provided by the author, through a Creative Commons license, some rights reserved