Classic Waldorf Doll "Wood Sprite"

Expecting a stretch of really hot weather in early July (which amazingly didn’t materialize), I took some time off from quilting to make 3 Waldorf dolls.

I’ve been wanting some type of a fanciful doll but not a gnome. I decided to make a Wood Sprite. And here he is! He’s a medium size (13 inch) classic Waldorf doll, based on the pattern in Maricristin Sealey’s book Making Waldorf Dolls.

Because he’s a sprite, I needed to give him real ears. That was a first for me. I rather like how they turned out. And he has a cowlick at the back of his head that just won’t stay down!

Look! He’s got ears!

I gave him “pinched” knees and elbows and rouged them up a bit since I’m sure his knees get a lot of friction from his hiking and climbing in the woods! (See my previous post for instructions on pinching limbs to create knees and elbows).

His socks are recycled SmartWool® socks which I’d worn until the heels were threadbare. But there was still a lot of usable sock left. I got both his socks out of one of mine! And I gave him hiking boots, which he definitely needs! He has a special arboreal seat which is growth on this oak’s trunk. When he climbed up to sit in his seat, he took his boots off to show you his socks.

He also took me to his favorite place to pick low bush wild blueberries to see how they are coming along. This was the second week in July. It’s still a couple weeks too early to pick any blueberries. if you look very closely, you can see a cluster of immature green blueberries and one just starting to purple up. The blueberry season was just about perfect about 2weeks ago now that it’s the middle of August.

As he showed me around his woods, he started peeling off the “extra” clothes he was wearing. Such a boy! At least he kept his shirt and shorts on! He thought he wanted to climb this rock in his bare feet but then decided to just sit and enjoy the dappled sunlight.

Two more photos, closer to my home. He wanted to be sure you got to see the gingham bunny shirt I made him. He’s starting to outgrow it. The paper airplane shirt I just made is a bit larger so it should fit him for a long time!

My Waldorf Wood Sprite is a one-off, and a keeper. He’s staying with me so you maybe you’ll see him again some other time!

Classical Waldorf Dolls in Two sizes

Classic Waldorf Dolls. They have simple bodies--a trunk and legs together without clearly defined feet, arms at reach out and a head. They typically stand up better than they sit down, but if stitched carefully at the top of the legs, they can sit.

I only recently started making Classic Waldorf Dolls. I have to say, they are fun to sew and they have charming character. I use the patterns in the book Making Waldorf Dolls by Maricristin Sealey.

I made Douglas, shown above, simply because I have been collecting fun doll clothes made by Bamboletta for a for a while now. I was planning to purchase one of their 15 inch Sitting Friend dolls but boys that size have been few and far between. So I decided to make a doll myself. Douglas is wearing all Bamboletta clothes except for his shoes (and undies)!

I was reading about hair styling in the book mentioned above. It said you can create curls by knitting yarn, dampen the knitting and let it air dry and then undo it. That sounded like fun!
 

I decided to just use straight yarn on the lower two layers of the hair and put the knitted curls on just on the outer third layer.  It gives Douglas a cute, sort of un-tidy, free-spirited boy look!

Here he is sitting. I managed to sew in decent leg folds on this doll.  He's wearing clothes made by the Bamboletta Sewing Mamas! (I made the shoes). 

NOTE:  Notice the difference in his hair in these two photos. The first humid day we had, Douglas lost most of his curls!  I used merino superwash yarn and it just relaxed in the humidity. Next time I think I'll use yarn that felts and smaller needles than the #10 US needles I chose this time!

Douglas in the crab apple tree wearing the red overall shorts and firefighter T shirt I made for him

Clementine is the another Classic Waldorf Doll I recently made. She is smaller at 11 inches.  If you have never made a Classic Waldorf type doll, 11 inches is a great size to start with.  it is easier hold and sew a smaller doll. And the finished doll is a great size for a child to take places.

11 inch Classic Waldorf

I used heavy weight loose mohair boucle yarn by De Witte Engle for her curly hair.  Unlike most of my dolls, I only used one type of yarn for her hair. I love how it turned out!

Here area a couple more photos of Douglas in his Bamboletta made clothes taken at the beginning of May when it was still chilly.  He is one super cute little dude!!