Making a Waldorf-Style Doll: Tips & Techniques

2005, Kathryn Sheehan. The Silver Penny, Cape Elizabeth, Maine For personal use only. Please do not duplicate without written permission. Web Address: http://www.thesilverpenny.com

Included in this free project worksheet are tips and directions for creating a Waldorf-style doll, although any dollmaker will find the suggestions helpful. The origin of the Waldorf doll is believed to come from Germany in the 1920s. The distinct features are that the doll is handmade from natural materials, such as cotton and wool and its facial features are minimal, so the child can imagine the mood or feelings of the doll depending on the situation.

Part 1: Forming the Head

Directions for Creating a Doll's Head for 11" tall doll. Pattern can be adjusted, reduced or enlarged for other size dolls.
1.) Take a 12 length of 2" wide tubular gauze and, with heavy craft thread, sew a running stitch 1/2 from one short end. Pull tightly to gather and close the end. Secure with a knot. Turn inside-out to hide the stitching. It will look like a tube sock. Set aside. 2.) Cleaned and carded wool fleece will tear easily in one direction. Tear several strips that are 2 wide and about 15 long. Tear another strip that is 6 wide and 9 long; set this one aside. 3.) Next, you will form the inner ball for the head. This must be very firm or your dolls head will be too soft and lack dimension. Take one of the 2 strips and begin forming a small, tight ball on one short end. Roll and fold the wool to make the ball bigger, always keeping it as firm as possible and round. You will notice the wool sticks to itself as you go, making this process easier as the ball grows. Continue rolling and wrapping until the ball measures 8-5/8 (22 cm.) around. Measure it in several directions to assure that your ball is indeed round. 4.) Lay the ball on the 6x 9 piece of wool, allowing 1/4 of the ball to extend above the wool strip (see following photo). Roll up in jelly roll fashion. (Now you have a tube of wool with the head at one end and a roll of excess wool on the other. This excess roll of wool is necessary to form a sturdy neck. Without it, your dolls head would be floppy.) Take this and push it into the tubular gauze sock, head first. Take a 16 piece of cotton string and tie tightly under the ball to create the neck. The wool hanging below will eventually form the body (or trunk) of your doll. But, for now, just leave it hanging loose and open. 5.) To give your dolls head some natural curves, use strong cotton string to make an eyeline. Wrap a 24 piece of cotton string twice around the exact middle of the head (see Eyeline Placement diagram at left). Tie with an overhand (or square) knot, pulling moderately to create an indentation. This is the eyeline, with the knot at the back of the head. 6.) Take another 24 piece of cotton string and wrap it twice around from the top of the head, under the chin and back to the top. Secure with an overhand (or square) knot on the top of the head, although do not tie this string as tightly as the eyeline. This string will help create the cheeks of your doll. (see diagram at right)

Making a Waldorf-style Doll ~ 2 ~ 7.) With needle and heavy-duty craft thread, secure the points where the two strings cross over each other on the sides of the head by sewing an X over them. Dig down into the wool with each stitch for greater security. (see Cheek Line Placement Diagram on previous page) 8.) Finish shaping the head by pulling the string at the back of the head down toward the back of the neck. If you have difficulty, this can be done easily with the aide of a small crochet hook. Stop about 1/4 above the neck string. Secure it in place by zigzagging back and forth a few times with needle and thread from this string to the cheek string (which is running down the side of the head under the X, see the photo at left). 9.) To make a nose, very lightly draw a 3/8 (1 cm.) circle with a water erasable marker or pencil in the center of the face directly under the eyeline (see photos and diagram below). With heavy-duty craft thread, take small stitches back and forth across from each other in a circular pattern. Think of the circle as a clock and start at 3:00, take a stitch under the wool and come out at 9:00, pull gently. Move to 10:00, take a stitch under the wool and come out at 4:00, pull gently. Move to 5:00, take a stitch under the wool and come out at 11:00, pull gently. Move to 12:00 and so on, continuing in this pattern until you come out at 3:00 again. Pull your thread and the wool will draw up into a tight, little ball. Spread a very thin layer of glue on the nose to protect its shape. Allow to dry. Now your head sculpting is complete!

10.) Take a piece of cotton knit skin fabric and fold in half, with the stretch going across. Place the body pattern provided on the fold (as indicated) and draw the shape onto the fabric with a water erasable marker. Sew on this line and cut 1/8 away from the seam and turn to right side. 11.) Pull the skintone fabric onto the dolls head with the seam centered on the back of the head. The top opening should fall just in front of the top center of the head. 12.) Close the Top Opening: With needle and thread, sew a running stitch 1/8 from the cut edge of the top opening. Push the raw edges into the opening and pull the thread to gather and close. Secure with a small knot. This gathered closure will eventually be hidden by the hair and provides a smooth, seamless forehead. 13.) Take a 10 length of the heavy-duty craft thread and tie tightly around the neck, making sure to keep the dolls chin and cheeks smooth and as wrinkle-free as possible. (There may be a few small wrinkles, not to worry. But any large ones, push to the back of the head and neck. Later these can be hidden under the hair.)

Making a Waldorf-style Doll ~ 3 ~ 14.) Before embroidering the eyes and mouth, take three ball-headed straight pins and, using your dolls head like a pincushion, place them where youd like the eyes and mouth to be. The pins should form an equilateral triangle, with the points of the triangle approximately 1 (2.5 cm.) away from each other. The eye pins should be placed on the eyeline and the mouth should be directly under the nose (see the Pin Placement Diagram below).

15.) Cut a 24 (61 cm) length of eye color cotton embroidery thread and divide into 4 and 2 strands. Using the one with 4 threads, thread it onto a dollmaking needle. From the back of the head, come out 1/16 to the right of the right eye pin (#1 in the eye stitch diagram above) leaving a thread tail hanging from the back of the head. Take a stitch approximately 1/8 (3 mm) across, go into #2 and come out again on the right, directly under the stitch you just made (#3 in the diagram). Take a second smaller stitch, go into #4, coming out on the right again above the longer stitch at #5. Finally, take a third small stitch above the longer center stitch, going into #6 and coming out at the back of the head. Do not pull the thread tightly or the stitches will sink into the fabric. Instead, allow the stitches to float on top of the fabric with even, but light tension. Repeat with second eye, coming out at the back of the head near the entry thread tail. Tie the two thread tails together in a loose square knot to secure. 16.) For the mouth, cut an 18 length of pink embroidery thread and divide into 3 and 3 strands. Thread one group of three threads onto your dollmaking needle. Starting from the back of the head, come out 1/8 to the right of the mouth pin (#1 in Mouth Stitching diagram above). Take a 1/4 stitch, go into #2 in diagram and come out at #3, under the stitch you just made. The lower stitch should be shorter than the upper stitch. Finally, finish by pushing the needle into #4 on the diagram, through the head and out the back, coming out next to the entry thread tail. Make a loose square knot to secure. Your head is now completed and ready to be added to the doll's body.

Making a Waldorf-style Doll ~ 4 ~

Part 2: Creating the Torso and Inserting the Head

Part 2 will take you through the final steps of sewing and stuffing a Waldorf-style button jointed doll. Because there are so many excellent books and patterns available elsewhere, I do not provide an exact template for the doll's torso, arms or legs because I do not want to infringe on anyone's copyrighted pattern. Instead I suggest you create your own using the pictures and directions below, or purchase a book or pattern. A self-made pattern is easy to create because the shapes are so simple. But no matter how you go about getting or creating a pattern, you will find these tips and techniques helpful. Note about Body Size: Regarding the overall size of your doll, if it is a baby doll, the head should be 1/4 of the entire length. If it is a doll meant to represent an older child, the head should be 1/5th the overall length. As an example, if the finished baby doll is 16" tall, the head should be 4" from the top of the head to the chin. The rest of the body will be 12" in length when completed. As you can see from the picture below, the torso is slightly more than half of the body length (so about 6-7") and the legs comprise the rest of the length (about 5-6"). The arms should land about hip level, so again about 6" long.

Figure 1

Figure 2

17.) The doll's torso pictured above began as an oval (slightly tapered and left open at the top where it joins the neck). I made the doll's head, sewed and stuffed the body, then inserted the head and sewed a gathering stitch around the open neck and cinched it shut and secured it with stitches around the neck. 18.) A tip about inserting the head: When you form the head, you should have stuffing coming out of the bottom under the neck when it is completed. This is called the "muff." (see photo at right) You can close up the muff or leave it open, it doesn't really matter because when you stuff the body cavity, the muff is stuffed in along with the fill for the body. (Which means the trunk of the body should be open at the neck.) This technique makes a very sturdy joint; no floppy head and it can't fall off, even if the doll is carried by the head. 19.) After the body is stuffed and the head inserted, sew the body closed around the neck. If this becomes unsightly, you can always cover it up with a band of

Making a Waldorf-style Doll ~ 5 ~ fabric. In the photo below you can see the neck band that covers up the joint. It is only sewn together where it overlaps in the back.

Example of neck band

Figure 3

20.) To make a bottom & belly button: After your doll's head and torso are sewn and stuffed, you can create a little bottom and belly button at the same time by doing a little sculpting with thread. Thread a long dollmaking needle with some heavy-duty craft thread or another option is dental floss. Start at the top of the bottom line and sew a gathering stitch down to the base of the doll along the bottom line, insert your needle at the bottom of the line and come out where you started at the top of the line, pull tight to create the indentation. Reinsert your needle very close to the place where the thread comes out at the top of the bottom line (do not put it in the same exact hole) and come out in front of the torso to create the belly button (see Fig. 1). Pull tightly and the thread tension will create more "cheeky" dimension in the bottom and, while the thread is still taut, take a little back stitch or two to hold that tension between the back & front torso. Reinsert your needle and thread in the belly button and come out at the top of the bottom line again in the back of the torso and pull slightly to make the belly button draw in a bit. Knot off and your bottom & belly button are done! (see Figure 1 on page 4 & Figure 3 above) 21.) Button joint and stuffing your doll: You can probably deduce from the photos of the little boy doll above what the shape of the arms and legs should look like (see Figures 1, 2 & 3). Sew and stuff them, but leave an opening in the upper-outer arm area (for the arms) and in the upper-outer thigh area (for the legs). First, thread your long dollmaking needle with the heavy-duty craft thread, bring the ends of your thread together and make a secure knot. Insert your needle and thread through the bottom of a twohole button, immediately bring the thread down through the second hole and direct your needle through the loop of thread hanging below the button and pull to create a slip knot. This secures your needle and thread to the button. 22.) Insert the two-hole button in the opening of the stuffed arm (or leg), position the arm next to the torso (the button should be inside the stuffed arm and next to the torso) and draw your needle and thread through the arm fabric, through the torso and out the other side of the torso where the other arm will be attached. While holding another two-hole button inside the remaining stuffed arm, insert the needle and thread through one of the button holes and draw on the thread until both arms are pulled closely to the torso. Insert the needle & thread through the remaining button hole, through the torso, through the arm fabric, into one of the holes of the button and pull to secure arms firmly next to the torso. Repeat procedure for extra strength and security. Knot off your thread well before closing up the openings in both arms (addition stuffing may need to be added to fill the arms firmly). The button-joint of the legs is created in the same manner. 23.) Hair Style: The very last thing to be done is to attach hair to your doll's head. There are many techniques for doing this, such as crocheting a wig (like a little cap) made from mohair yarn or any fuzzy

Making a Waldorf-style Doll ~ 6 ~ type yarn and sewing it in place or you may needle felt mohair yarn or wool roving directly into the doll's head. There are many dollmaking books available that explain the techniques for doing this. I would like to suggest the following: Making Dolls by Sunnhild Reinckens. Floris Books, ISBN 0-86315-415-8. Describes how to make 17 different kinds of Waldorf-style dolls. (This book is currently out of print, but if you can find a used one on ebay or amazon.com, its worth it.) Making Waldorf Dolls by Maricristin Sealey. Hawthorn Press, ISBN 1-903458-58-7. Ten different designs from basic to jointed dolls. Toymaking with Children by Freya Jaffke. Floris Books, ISBN 0-86315-367-4. Learn the secrets of how to make some Waldorf favorites, such as the Tumbling Gnome doll, Waldorf dolls, dollhouse dolls and puppets. Sewing Dolls by Karin Neuschultz. Floris Books, ISBN: 0-86315-719-X. In this book, the author demonstrates new methods for sewing Waldorf-style dolls, including the use of a felting needle. The variety of adorable dolls is extensive and the photos will inspire!

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Text, photos & pattern 2005 by Kathryn Sheehan of The Silver Penny Cape Elizabeth, Maine, USA

Web Address: www.thesilverpenny.com