A Doll in a Day - Steiner/Waldorf Doll Making In Action

Chicken 1 sprained her ankle and stayed home from school to rest it. We sat in the morning sun working on kindergarten tables. She was finishing her Farming poem with sweet illustrations. I started looking at my Child Study for my Steiner teacher training course. Steiner stressed the importance of doing child studies, and particularly within the college of teachers (teaching staff at the school). A child is chosen, and the teachers observe the child on a physical level first, noting absolutely everything they can. Things like how they walk upon the earth, their gaze voice, teeth, fingers, nails, hand dominance. The study moves onto intuitive observations. Steiner said the mere fact that all the teachers are contemplating this child is very beneficial for the child, and recommended every child have at least one study done on them in their school life.

As for the afternoon, we decided to make a baggy doll for a dear little friend who ended up in hospital on the weekend and is needing cheering up! We felted a handful of op shop jumpers in the hot washing machine, and chicken 1 tried her hand at making a real Waldorf/Steiner formed head. We always use Maricristin Sealy's divine book, Kinder Dolls (now published as Making Waldorf Dolls). I love this book, but always tend to adapt, or mix and match the different aspects of different dolls in the book. I have some in depth photos of the sewing of the eyes and mouth. My girl added the embroidery at the end, oh, and we threw in some lavender from my recently relocated and dead Lavender plant...boo hoo.


Stuffing the tube made from an old t-shirt, and tied with linen thread at the end and turned inside out.

Stuff it well, and you get a firm egg. You then have to tie it in the middle again firmly and that is the neck.

You have to halve the head by tying an eye line in the centre with the same linen thread.

You sew an outer skin layer and pull it on like a sock. Tie it at the neck and there is you head.


Pin out the eyes and mouth and start stitching from the back. Careful not to ever tug!











I decided to crochet a wig and sew it on, using a nice fuzzy mohair, which doesn't show up my random crochet effort.



Another sausage like shape for the arms, which stitch onto the ball under the head.
I used some felted jumper for the baggy body, cutting out one piece, stitching, turning inside out and stuffing. A small opening cut at the neck allows the arms and head to squeeze in and some sewing onto body.

A bit of loving embroidery to finish. Yummy little Steiner dolly to cuddle, smelling all lavendery!