Monday, January 24, 2011

Welcome to the Doll Couch



Dolls have been quite popular around here for the last month, especially celebrating doll's birthdays, complete with presents, songs and games.
Clara has not been a "doll girl" before. But this changed with Esmeralda, or Esmi as she is mostly called, the Waldorf doll she got for her fourth birthday.



Esmeralda comes from my hands, actually I forgot to mention her in my One Year of Sewing post. I wanted to make a Waldorf doll for over a year and was surprised how quickly the doll came together using this book. Great step-by-step instructions and photos, with a whole lot of clothes to sew and knit. I think sewing the dress and knitting Esmi's cardigan and shoes took much longer than making her.


(using the same vintage fabric for the fifth time...)

I was not sure whether Clara would be playing with the doll. And I am so happy now seeing how much the doll is loved and cared for. This totally convinces me of the Waldorf doll concept. They are made from natural materials, soft, great for cuddling, lightweight, often made for a special child in mind. Clara saw me making the doll in the beginning when it still looked quite "raw", so she knows where it comes from. I let her decide on the hair colour and hairstyle, there is a whole hairdo section in the book. The finishing touches were a secret, of course, when the doll came together as a whole and suddenly got her own character and look.

This weekend Clara said to me: "Look, mama, it is still so cold outside. Esmi needs a hat and a scarf." Said, done.



I used some yarn (from a never ending skein) I knitted Clara' socks and my yoga socks with last January.



The bonnet pattern comes from the book. I love how it is knitted in one piece with no seams.



And the scarf is the easiest knitting object I ever made: cast on 10 stitches, knit every row to desired length, cast off.



Dressed like this, Esmeralda was very well prepared for our Sunday bicycle trip downtown to meet a young mama, a baby and two cats.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

simplemente hermosa :)