Now that we have made a waldorf doll head, gotten all of our supplies ready, and printed out and sewn the pattern, it is time to put it all together!
Step 1: Filling the limbs
You will start by using your wool and firmly stuffing the limbs. I only stuff the legs and the arms at this point. The arms will be stuffed until they are almost full with approximately 1″ of space at the end open.
Step 2: Attaching the arms
You will start by attaching the arm to the back of the muff of the doll. This makes the dolls arms more secure and holds them in place for you to get the body together.
Sew both arms on at an equal height, and distance. You can hold the arms or pin them when you do this, whichever is easier for you. It doesn’t have to be pretty, but does have to be secure.
Step 3: Attaching the body
You will now want to get your body ready to attach! Start by folding the top of the front of the body piece down 1/2-3/4 of an inch.
Then place this fold at the neck of the doll. Center it so that the legs are going to be centered when it is sewn (you can pull the arms out of the way to do this).
You will now need to use a ladder stitch to attach your body piece to the lower neck (right above the string you tied). Here is a great tutorial on how to make a nice clean ladder stitch!
Starting at one side of the neck, go around it to attach the body, using even ladder stitches. You will go around the entire neck two or three times (folding the back down, once you reach that part)
Go around two more times (for a total of three complete times around the head) to ensure the neck is firmly attached!
Step 4: Stuffing the body and closing the arms
Now you will take your wool, and stuff the remainder of the body until it is firm. You will do this by poking wool through the gaps at the arms using your fingers or a chopstick. Make sure you stuff very firmly, as the dolls will soften with time. One of the things that new doll makers tend to do is under stuff. You truly want them firm.
Once you have enough wool stuffed into your doll, you can fold the edges of the arms in slightly so you can begin stitching them closed.
Using your ladder stitch again, go around the arm (two to three times) and go up the shoulder to close it.
Repeat for the other arm!
Perfect! You now have a blank doll and are ready to begin finishing it!
Come back soon for the next part of my tutorial that will teach you how to embroider the eyes and the rest of the face. Perhaps you want to check out my Brambles & Blossoms facebook page for ideas! Until then, if you have any questions with this part of the tutorial (or previous parts) please feel free to comment on this blog post or head over to Faith & String on facebook and send me a message!
Happy Creating!
Cathy
Jackie says
March 9, 2016 at 5:25 pmA great tutorial thank you!
Annette says
March 11, 2016 at 1:41 amYEAH!!!!
We are done with this part to, my daughter and me..
But now….
When will your next tutorial come online??
Hugs from the Netherlands.. we are big fan!!!!
I’m a mother of 2, have my hands full, and you have 7.. hihihi
Also how do you learn so many kids ate the same time making this doll, with only such a young age.. My daughter often had a to hard to sewing, so i did must o the sewing, but she tryed it every time.
faithandstring says
March 11, 2016 at 2:27 pmHello Annette! I am working on taking photos as I do the next part this afternoon! Hopefully perhaps even this evening I will have the next part ready! When teaching multiple children, I try to do it in stages, slowly teaching them the steps and then helping each as they have difficulty. Sometimes I have the children take turns, and each has 20 minutes of time with me while the others do something else. When we have a large group of children (I have had up to 17 at a time!) I try to have the older children (ages 10+) take on a buddy or two, and help them as I work to get to help each child. It takes a lot of patience but it is worth it!
Krista says
March 11, 2016 at 5:53 pmThis is so awesome of you. I have wanted to make a waldorf style doll for some years now and your tutorials have finally made me purchase the materials. I can’t wait to start. Thank you!!
Margaret says
March 13, 2016 at 3:43 pmHi, thanks for the tutorials. I’m so glad I came across this site. Would love to read your blogs.
Angela says
July 18, 2016 at 10:03 amI love this blog and am excited to make a Waldorf style doll for my 19-month old daughter; I just know she will love it! My question is how much of the materials do I need to buy in order to complete the doll. I visited your friend’s website, but other than the tubing for the inner head, I don’t see any suggestions about how much fabric, stuffing, hair, etc. I will need to order to complete a doll. This is my first attempt, so any guidance/advice is greatly welcomed.
Analisa Parrish says
August 30, 2016 at 3:14 pmI can’t figure out how to see part 2 and 3 ?
faithandstring says
August 30, 2016 at 4:21 pmHere is a link to all the tutorial parts! http://faithandstring.com/category/doll-making/
Jess says
January 21, 2017 at 12:20 pmHi, greetings from Germany. You are absolutely awesome. I love all of the tutorials just simple and easy to understand. Now I can make one for my daughter! Thanks a lot you are the best.
Tatyana says
February 13, 2017 at 4:49 amКуколка очень миленькая! Спасибо огромное за мастер класс. Обязательно буду творить такую миленькую кукляшку. Спасибо за выкройку!
Bint Alfonso says
September 9, 2017 at 3:39 amHello,
Thank you so much for sharing these with us, like someone said up thread I’ve been wanting to try to make one of these dolls for years. I wanted to ask if it is feasible to fill the doll (perhaps part of it) with wheat grains? so to be able to do comfort doll/heat bag?
Again thank you.