Customer Reviews

Kinder Dolls: A Waldorf Doll-Making Handbook

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Although this book has a Waldorf slant to it, it is really for anyone interested in making soft dolls for children. The dolls are not difficult to make and some can be made within a couple hours. Patterns range from a tiny little 2 inch baby to larger, dressable dolls with all sizes in between. There are patterns for dolls suitable for infants, toddlers, and older children. There is even a pattern for dollhouse dolls! There are no photos, but lots of line drawings and full-sized patterns for both dolls and clothing. In addition, from the basic ideas/patterns given by the author I have been able to develop my own dolls and clothes. Every child I've made a doll for has loved it--and none of those children has ever been in a Waldorf school! The dolls are soft and huggable and adorable. Some of the materials used to make the dolls, such as tubular gauze and wool stuffing are difficult to find but the author includes a list of mailorder/internet sources. In the US, one source of these materials is the Magic Cabin Dolls catalog/internet site.

Even after having made Waldorf-inspired dolls from kits, I found that the instructions in _Kinder Dolls_ to be clear and direct and quite useful. The books contains instructions for making every sort of soft Waldorf doll imaginable, from the wee dollhouse dolls to a child's first formless knot doll to a cuddly sack doll to the full sized (16 inches or so tall) "Waldorf doll" that many are familiar with. In addition, patterns are included for many sorts of clothes, with lots of ideas for various ethnic multi-cultural permutations. I found that the instructions were easy to follow and easy to adapt. I highly recommend this book for Waldorf parents or anyone wanting to make a beautiful natural-fiber doll for their child.

This book is a wonderful resource for cloth doll making. As a newbie, I found the book full of complete instructions and options for personalizing. In fact, it was hard to decide where to start!

One thing -- it would be nice if the book used photographs -- I haven't touched a Waldorf doll before and felt like I was working "without a net" sometimes. But, the dolls I've made are beautiful and loved by my children.

I own and use this book. It is very well-written and helpful. I was a complete novice before reading it, but am now working on my fourth Waldorf doll. The author gives very clear, easy to follow instructions. I highly recommend her suggested method of starting with easier dolls first while learning techniques, then working your way up to a large, difficult doll.

Maricristin Sealey has a new book out now, Making Waldorf Dolls, which has much the same content without the markup the used resellers are trying to charge for this version.