Below are a few of our handmade dolls, including three we made a few days ago (I’ll post on that adventure in a day or two). We didn’t make all of these, but they are all lovingly handmade, and somehow I think that children can tell when a toy is handmade – they can feel that love sewn or knitted into every stitch. Â
Their great aunt made the Raggedy Anns just like my mom made mine. Very special, and very played-with.
 
The handmade doll has something special – she has quirks and imperfections that make her a unique little personality.  Â
 
My girls do have some factory made toys from their aunties and grandmas, but the handmade dolls hold a special place in their play. These are the dolls they choose to take to homeschool group for show and tell, these are the dolls they sleep with and tuck into their dolly slings for trips to the park. These are the dolls they will pass on to their daughters.
It is really neat to see your handmade toys. I have been toying with the idea of what can I make this year for my kids. I’m not very confident in that area, so it is nice to see what other people do.
The hand made dolls are the favorites at my house as well. There are some very sweet looking dolls in those photos.
Absolutely! I think it is important for children to have an opportunity to see some of the process that goes into making things, to learn that items don’t ‘magically appear’ on shop shelves and as you say, love is in every single stitch.
I’m not a great sewer, I have to admit (so Jennifer do take heart!), but my children love my attempts just the same. I do enjoy knitting and crochet and have found I can adapt many ‘sewn’ ideas to these crafts instead.
Thank you for mentioning my blog with regards to wooden animals, I really appreciate it and am so happy you like the figures on my site (although I do need to get some more stock in due to the sale I ran recently).
Handmade toys are so important to me and a reason why I include the various articles that I do on making toys for children, yes it may appear to conflict with the fact that I sell toys, but I strongly believe that *if* you have the skills to do so than it is wonderful if you have the time to make atleast some toys for your children (or others). We can’t all be proficient in everything, so for me, the ability to buy a wooden horse for a handmade doll to ride on is wonderful, and wooden fruit and veg sits well with a handmade sewn egg or knitted carrot 🙂
This is so neat…I just stumbled upon it! I am making my girls dolls for Christmas! I have a Raggedy Ann pattern but was going to put different hair on for each girl. I am interested to see you description of making your dolls!
my sister and i spent many happy hours making doll clothes, teddy bear clothes, doll blankets & quilts & pillows, and little stuffed dolls on my great-grandmother’s pedal singer .. my mom still has the sewing machine, and today my son and i were sewing freestyle stuffed mice — such good memories! :^)