In order to help prepare Charlie for the impending arrival of baby #2, I decided he needed a baby doll. Being a boy, he doesn’t really have a lot of those, and therefore has no chance to practice being quiet, gentle and nurturing to his toys. A plethora of cars, trucks, and trains don’t exactly encourage that kind of play. 

So in my search for the perfect baby doll to be Charlie’s very own, I came upon Waldorf dolls. This is a particular style of doll that is used in Waldorf early childhood education. They are stuffed dolls, making them more cuddly than the average plastic-limbed doll. They typically have simple neutral expressions on their faces, meant to suit a variety of imaginary play situations. Waldorf dolls are usually handmade from high quality (and often organic) materials. All of these things are good. But the thing I love most about these dolls is the HAIR. 

The doll makers I’ve looked at get incredibly creative with the hair on these dolls. It makes me want to get dreads and dye my hair in a multitude of colors. Could I pull that off?

All the dolls I’m sharing in this post come from a doll shop called Bambolleta Dolls. They release a limited number of new dolls each week and they seem to sell out quickly. I didn’t end up getting Charlie’s doll from here because they are pretty pricey and don’t make many boy dolls, but I LOVE to look at them.

 

I was so inspired by the hair that I wanted to try to make my own head of doll hair. So one evening I sewed together a quick sock doll and followed this tutorial on making a doll wig. I used a variety of yarn that I just had around the house and was able to complete the head of hair in just a couple evenings. 

I know. Seeing my little attempt at a doll next to the professional ones is almost cringe-worthy. But it was fun to try a new craft. And you’ve got to start somewhere, right?