can you overstuff a doll?

[islandmama1]

Hi,

I'm making my very first Waldorf doll and am busy jamming mounds of wool into the body. It feels quite hard now. I'm wondering if it's possible to put too much stuffing in? I understand it keeps compressing, but I was worried it wouldn't be cozy and that it would be so stiff it wouldn't be able to sit down. (It's not button jointed and I haven't stitched the legs or bottom yet.) Can they normally sort of sit down if you prop them against something? Should they feel sort of soft?

Thanks for the advice.

[E.V. Lowi]

Originally Posted by islandmama1

Hi,

I'm making my very first Waldorf doll and am busy jamming mounds of wool into the body. It feels quite hard now. I'm wondering if it's possible to put too much stuffing in? I understand it keeps compressing, but I was worried it wouldn't be cozy and that it would be so stiff it wouldn't be able to sit down. (It's not button jointed and I haven't stitched the legs or bottom yet.) Can they normally sort of sit down if you prop them against something? Should they feel sort of soft?

Thanks for the advice.

IMHO, the best way to stuff the limbs of a Waldorf doll is to use a chop stick and strips of wool batting, which you wrap around the chopstick and pull tight, so that the wool grabs itself, just like when you are rolling the head. After you get the roll going on the stick, it is easy to slide it off and finish the rolling until it gets to the diameter of the limb you are trying to stuff. Then you can slip it into place in the skin like you are pulling up a sock over it and use the stich to push it down all the way. I usually make a short roll for the foot and then 2 longer rolls for calf and thigh and repeat for the other leg, trying to make all the rolls match the first leg is length and diameter. I repeat this process for the arms, using a flattened ball for each hand and then rolls for the forearm and upper arm.

[melamama]

I think it is possible to put too much wool in.
When I made my first doll I used the technique EV describes--but I kept wrapping until it was veryvery firm and the limbs seemed very solid.
The doll looked great and we love her, but I have to make all her clothes and alter the patterns because she is chubbier than other 18" dolls--for example shirt sleeves/arm holes don't fit right.
I've since made several more dolls and now go much easier on the wool.

Wrapping the wool is important because the limb stays smooth. I imagine over time the wool will get bumpy if it's not in one unified form. When I've made felt animals and just stuffed wool without regard to structure (limbs) they fold over in ways that you don't want.

[crazy_eights]

I think it's better to overstuff a bit and have a "hard" doll initially b/c the wool tends to "settle" with time and the doll will not be so firm. Otherwise you'll find yourself opening up seams to restuff a bit down the road.