I have a number of different dolls on my site but most of the ones I make myself are Waldorf inspired dolls. Waldorf dolls are made from all natural materials, usually cotton knit fabric and stuffed with
sheep's wool. Their hair is often made from mohair, although any mixture of wool and mohair is quite normal. I found some wonderfully soft Alpaca wool for one of my latest dolls.
The idea of a Waldorf doll is that, because of the natural materials and wool stuffing, it is soft to cuddle and will absorb the heat from the child, becoming warm like a real baby. The faces are very simple so the child can easily project which ever feeling they want onto the doll. If a doll already has a smile and open eyes it is more difficult to imagine it crying, for instance. Some dolls have little noses, some not. I like to make mine with a little nose, but it is easy to leave it without if a customer prefers. Because they have well rounded heads just about any sort of hair style is possible. Hair embroidered flat onto the head is great for babies at there is nothing to pull at, and long hair is wonderful for older children who will love styling and playing with it. I offer a number of different hair styles on my
Cherish Dolls and all colours too including white and grey for a Granny or Grandpa doll or perhaps an old gnome. My custom made Cherish Dolls can be fully personalised so you could choose to have one made to look like your child. Skin, hair and eye colours can all be chosen as well as the hair style and type of clothes. And if there is something you would like that is not on the website I am more than happy to chat with you and source something different to create the doll you wish for. I make my doll's clothes from
Fair trade certified organic cotton.
I have recently added some
Ready Made Cherish Dolls to the site. This is one Oriental boy that I made recently with a funky endearing hair style. I was very happy with his cross over kimono style top as I made the pattern up myself and got it right on the second go. It fastens with
Velcro as this is much the easiest for little fingers to manage. We have some doll's clothes that fasten with buttons or clasps and my children are always asking me to help them.
I will go into the making of Waldorf dolls in another post as I always wondered how they were made before I started making them myself. They do take quite a long time to make and the head is the most tricky, but they look great in the end, and there is a real sense of achievement when one is finished.
In addition to my Cherish Dolls I have
Cuddle Dolls, organic and non organic, which are perfect for a toddler as there are no fiddly clothes to take off. My toddlers were always taking the clothes off, but never seemed to be bothered about putting them back on again, so they were often traipsing around with a naked dolly in tow! I also sew a bell into the hat which children love.
My
Comforter Dolls are the perfect baby comforter. They also have a bell sewn securely inside the hat and little knotted hands which are great to chew on. And they are small enough to stuff away in a pocket when you are out and about. If you choose one of these for a new baby then the mother can carry it around with her or have it in bed with her before the baby is born so that the doll absorbs her scent to give familiar comfort to the newborn.
