my older daughter woke up this morning and saw the dolls....she is half awake here posing with the dolls.
So this week we are going out of state to visit friends for the holiday....my girls convinced me this weekend to make both of them and their two friends (same age) that we are staying with, new waldorf dolls that look like themselves. so here is my 3 hour process this weekend!
This is a display of a level two waldorf doll making...if you get the gist of doll making you will understand what to do here :)
The key to doll making is creating it yourself.....well maybe not the first time....but after you get the general idea it becomes extremely fun to create your own body shape and make your doll the size you want...the shape you want etc. Just think...the arms have a curve....the legs are a little longer then the arms....the body/ torso is about the length of the arms. create your own body!
magic cabin doll patterns and material are CRAP! weir doll material is too stretchy but I love the people there and the patterns are nice and I LOVE their mohair, joy's waldorf dolls are all around bad and she is really mean to small business doll makers. The best place to get material is Murcurius http://www.mercurius-usa.com/index-372_381-textil_and_felt.htmlbut you have to mordant the material to get it to be strong enough not to stretch when you stuff it.
Really if you get a chance to go to the Netherlands or to the famous online waldorf store based in the Netherlands...they have the best material. $25 per yard! its the same material used for the professional Kathy Kruis dolls. http://www.waldorf-toys.com/english.php
Fairywool dolls is the best place for material and patterns.http://www.fairywooldolls.com/store/WsDefault.asp?Cat=DollMakingsupplies but you need to email her what you want
I took a doll making workshop from this woman in Florida (fairywool dolls) and it changed the entire way I make dolls. I also got material from her and this aswell has changed EVERYTHING! I could never go back to stretchy thin interlock from magic cabin now that I have seen what the Netherlands can offer!
You will have to email fairywool dolls if you want pre-sewn bodies or want to buy a yard of her material.
I love Joy's Waldorf Doll making supplies, she has always been supper helpful to me and Weir Dolls have great clothes patterns. I have found it hard to always get good service from mercurius if you are just buying small quantity. Maybe it is different for you b/c you are buying larger quantity.
ReplyDeletei haven't dealt with magic cabin or joy's, but i did get my patterns and some of the materials from dancing rain dolls. i am a first time doll maker and i have to say they are wonderful there. the patterns are pdf's and my computer crashed. i bought the actual patterns 3 years ago but never made the dolls....when i emailed her my situation, she sent me patterns no questions asked! and has been extremely helpful while i've been going through the process..:)
ReplyDeletei have heard magic cabin is no good...the few things i've gotten from them haven't been what i expected, so i never ordered again....
thanks for the heads up and the mini tutorial!
Thank you for this post. I've never tried making my own dolls because I didn't know where I wanted to get supplies from. I also was sure about the start to finish. This helped me to clarify some things. Thanks again!
ReplyDeleteHi, do you mind posting the name of the online Waldorf store in the Netherlands? Thank you!
ReplyDeleteAdorable dolls! I've always used the Magic Cabin material because I couldn't find any better (I totally agree about Weir dolls, for everything else I love them!!) I'll check out the link but can you explain what you mean by "mordant the material"? Have you tried wool interlock? I haven't yet but I hear it's great. Thanks!
ReplyDeletedo you mean de witte engel for the Netherlands shop?
ReplyDeleteCute dolls!!! i can't wait to make Fin a doll some day soon!!
Thanks for such a beautiful and inspirational blog. I have made many Waldorf dolls, but never with tush and belly button. Can you tell me how to do that? Thanks
ReplyDeleteI have wondered, how well does a Waldorf doll hold up to ordinary child's play? Especially, can a wool stuffed doll be washed? Does the light colored cotton skin look very dirty after being carried around a lot? I am not talking about seams popping. If a child loves and sleeps with one primary toy it will get very dirty!
ReplyDeleteI've made many dolls, both Joy's and Magic Cabin (but mostly Joy's). If you are not ordering from a school forget about Mercurius - their customer service is terrible. I'm interested to hear what people think about Dancing Rain dolls. I like their website and have ordered a couple of their patterns. I'm about to teach doll making to a group of 6th and 7th graders and then next months to a group of adults. I'd love to hear advice for either.
ReplyDelete