Dolls

[Mama Bee]

I've been looking around for a really neat, natural-fiber doll for my son. I LOVE the look of Waldorf dolls but they are sooo expensive. Why are they so expensive? Anyone out there make Waldorf-type dolls and don't charge $70+ for them? I realize that a lot of time & effort and creativity go into them... that's why they are so special. This isn't meant in criticism.... I was just trying to imagine buying only handmade Waldorf-type dolls for my growing family and can't imagine investing that much $$ into dolls. I HATE the plastic faces, arms, bodies on dolls at toys stores & discount stores but I don't know if I'll ever be able to afford a doll that is anything else. I considered making one but I don't think I have the skills necessary- I know, I know... this is why they cost so much. Anyway, are there any doll-making Mama's out there that can help me understand the doll-making process so maybe I can understand why they cost so much??? Thanks in advance for understanding (not being offended by my questions) and thanks, too, for offering information!

[Mama Bee]

So, was my question offensive or are the answers just not available? I really, really did not mean to offend... promise!

[samuelsmom]

I just started looking into them a while back, too. I decided to try to make my own, using the book "Kinderdolls." It's a great resource and starts you out with easy projects. But, honestly, I can now understand why they are so expensive. The natural materials that go into them are not cheap! The skin fabric alone could cost a small fortune, not to mention the clothing, time-consuming hairstyles, and the wool stuffing. It's been a really slow process for me, even to just get started. There are a couple of web sites that sell kits and stuff to make them, which might help you to understand the costs. Here they are:

Weir Dolls Magic Cabin

Hope that helps!

[moss]

free instructions on Lala's site as well

http://www.sleepingbean.com/page.asp?ContentID=3

[Kerrie]

I didn't really question the prices either way - I just realized that I couldn't afford a doll so I got one of the kits for a magic cabin doll from - you guessed it! magic cabin. After spending countless hours I now understand how they are so expensive. It must have taken me almost an hour to get the eyes so that I was almost satisfied with them. I don't think that I'll ever be satisfied - oh well! I can tell you that I had absolutly NO doll making experience and I did it. I'm sure that it took me hours longer than an experienced person but I look at DD playing with it and I know that I made that. DS also seems to enjoy it so I think I'll end up making him one too. Good luck with whatever you choose.

[mamaMAMAma]

I would second getting a kit. Weir dolls is great to deal with. I actually carry custom made waldorf dolls on my website. My dollmaker charges(wholesale) close to the amount you quoted so I think it would be hard for you find a doll for less than that. Good luck! I made a 20" doll for dd for X'mas and it was a lot of fun (and a lot of work, especially the hair).

[Queen Gwen]

I, too, survived dollmaking...I used a kit. You don't want to know how long it took me. Suffice to say that it really, really helps to have a real doll to look at, so you can realize that you just stitched the arms on upside down. But, dd loves it. And it's a very satisfying feeling to do it yourself! Plus, occasionally dolls need repairs, and if you made it yourself you understand the construction better. Listen, if I can do it, you can too!

I think one of the Waldorf-toy premises is that your child gets ONE doll, not 3 dozen (like they do with the plastic baby dolls and Barbies). So, really, it can end up costing about the same in the long run.

[Red]

Try getting a cheap kit and substituting wool for the poly. The wool makes the dolls feel warm and life-like, unlike poly. I made 2 dolls from kits years ago, they took awhile, but they were worth it.

Also, Hearthsong sells a book on making felt dolls. Not baby dolls, more like doll house dolls. I liked them so much I started selling them on my site. I wrap mine in wool for that soft, 'real' feel.

The kiddos aren't going to know if it's a 'Waldorf' doll or not, so relax and buy what you can afford.

[LaLa]

it costs me about $30 to make one doll in materials!
(if i use all natural)

But there are some wahms with waldorf dolls for under $40

silverpenny has some, ebay, and elliebelly!

check them out

[mattjule]

I think it really depends on your skill level as a seamstress.

I made a prototype to test my pattern out of polyfill, an old t-shirt, and non pill fleece with acrylic hair. It cost me about $8 total (I only bought the yarn and fleece, I had the other stuff already). I like the warmth and softness of the fleece and I think it works well as skin. The polyfill was easy to stuff too tight b/c it compresses so much, then springs back so the arms stick straight out and the head doesn't have the nice feel that wool gives it. Also b/c it compresses so much, the neck is wobbly, so you definitely have to be able to adjust measurements, etc when substituting stuff. The t-shirt was definitely more time consuming than gauze and you have 2 seams down the back of the head instead of one (doesn't really matter, just FYI). Overall, had I only made ones like this, I would have been happy with them, but I did purchase wool batting and knit skin fabric and gauze and I definitely like that route better.

Thing is, you definitely pay for the quality of the product. The skin fabric is really expensive, but at least in my area, I couldn't find knit in flesh tones at all and the knit available was definitely not as soft and stretchy as the knit I bought at magic cabin. The gauze was also definitely worth it-another thing I couldn't find at all locally and made the project so much easier. I used a free pattern I found online. I already have embroidery floss and lots of scrap fabric to make clothes from. I plan on fiddling around with some ugly/castoff fabric until I find a way to make clothing, then I will use my nicer scrap fabric for the finished product. It is definitely more trial and error, but so far I'll have spent about $20 per doll and I am making 4 (actually I have spent $60, but I still need hair).

So I think there are ways to make them affordably. It also depends on whether you enjoy a project with a challenge liek altering a pattern or figuring out the clothing without a pattern at all or whether you find it frustrating. I personally really enjoy that kind of stuff, so this is a great way for me to make them.

PM me if you want any info about the pattern I used/how I altered it, etc.

[OTMomma]

I have been thinking of making a doll for dd, but it seems really intense. Though, last week I saw some doll kits at Michael's Craft store that looked a lot easier. They had some with the body already sewen, you just stuff and go. You could stuff with wool for the organic feel, and make clothes out of whatever you like. I might try one as a starter doll and then work up to a Waldorf. My actual first step was I made a flat doll that was more like a doll shaped pillow- dd is little and she thinks the bright pink velour doll with no hair is cool.

[LaLa]

Adorable Fairy Waldorf Doll
This was just too cute to NOT show someone!
:LOL

[Meiri]

If you can find blank cloth doll bodies, all you have to do is embroider the face and stitch on hair. I haven't seen any online since Rosey Hippos ( www.rosyhippos.com or is it www.roseyhippos.com ?)discontinued carrying them.

My frustration, besides the cost, is the bloody near universal use of wool. That warm feel is very nice I'm sure, unless you're allergic to it!

I wish the catalogs like Hearthsong and Magic Cabin would offer alternatives to wool for those of us with this "handicap."