I shall
still be making bears; however increasingly, I can see the dolls pulling me in
a different direction much of the time. Mind you, that will depend on whether I
can get the hang of it and improve a lot.
This
little girl isn’t too bad for a first attempt, but I see lots to improve on. The
eyes could be a bit bigger; and the hair!! Well, what about that hair ………. it’s
a big ball of frizz! It’s a crocheted wig cap using a brushable mohair wool and
designed for this purpose. And to be fair to myself, others who make this type
of wig for their dolls do end up with a bit of frizz, but mine seems so much worse
somehow – as I say, much to learn yet. These dolls are very time intensive
(more so than the bears) and there is a very particular method to constructing
the face, so you have to take your time.
My
inspiration are ladies such as Jenny at Little Jenny Wren Dolls, Astrid at LittleDoll House, Fabio at Fig and Me and Anouk at Mon Pilou – check out their
totally gorgeous dolls!!
I made
my doll as part of a Facebook MAL (make along!) run by Astrid (above), who runs
occasional ‘makes’ based on her two 13-inch and 18-inch Waldorf style dolls,
including clothes for them. A very talented lady! My little girl is dressed in Halloween
theme clothing seeing as that’s the next season to celebrate. The hooded coat
is also one of Astrid’s.
Here
are a few more photos; and I hope I won’t offend anyone with a bit of
nakedness, but I want to show you her cute little belly button and bum as well :0)
I’m
not expecting any great compliments, because as I said earlier, she’s not in
any way perfect (compared to ladies mentioned above anyway), but as a first
attempt, I think she’s turned out not too bad. I just wanted to showcase her
for the record.
For
anyone not familiar with Waldorf Dolls, they originate from a principal of
education called Steiner – developed by Rudolf Steiner around 1919. Its approach endeavours to develop
pupils' intellectual, artistic, and practical skills in a holistic way; promoting
their imagination through creative play. A traditional Waldorf doll is made of
natural materials, generally filled with pure wool stuffing and the hair and
clothing materials are also made from natural fibres. The dolls face is
intentionally simple in order to allow the child to use its imagination. By giving
the doll a face with little or no particular expression, the child will give
the doll a personality through imaginative play. These days however, the
original doll has been developed by very talented people into a craft and
create beautiful dolls with beautiful faces (which is what I want to do!).
There are Steiner schools all over the globe.
