| Unique Hand Crafted Waldorf Dolls and Clothes |
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Dancing Rain Dolls
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Copyright 2006 Dancing Rain Dolls. All Rights Reserved.
MADE IN THE USA
How to weight a Doll?
One of the wonderful things about making your own dolls is all of the possibilities that you
have open to you. I am often asked how to weight a doll? It is so very easy and just adding
a little bit can really give the doll a "real" feeling for your children.
Making dolls out of wool adds some weight verses a synthetic fill, but sometimes you just
want more. I like to use renewable, natural sources, so I use little pouches filled with sand.
I purchase aquarium sand that is all natural, non toxic and sterilized from the pet store.
One bag can do many dolls, but it really depends on how much weight you want to add.
The Nitty Gritty details
For a 16" doll I sew a pouch out of scrap tricot, an old t-shirt would also work, if it has a
pretty tight weave. I use a stretch stitch on my machine and a very small stitch length. Go
around twice to make sure that the sand stays in the pouch. Fill with sand to the desired
weight and double stitch across the top to close the pouch. I do not recommend sewing
these pouches by hand, most hand work is to loose to keep the sand inside the pouch. If
you do not have a scale to measure the weight of the sand being placed in each limb, use
a measuring cup. You want each side to be about the same.
The pouch for the arms is 1 1/2" wide and 3" long. For the legs I make a tube that is about
2" wide by about 3-4" long. The tummy is a oval shape. The bulk of the weight can be
added in the tummy, if you want to make the doll a few pounds. To give an all over
balanced feeling to the doll don't forget to weight the head. Make a 2" square that is the
center and starting place for wrapping your ball of your head.
If your doll is 16" or larger consider using a extra thickness of tricot on the body. When
adding extra weight to the doll you want to make sure that the fabric is best supported as it
can be. I know that adding a second skin can be a bit more of a cost, but when you spend
hours making something really special for your child you want it to last, what is another
$5.00 in the big picture. When I make my weighted dolls with double tricot I just layer all 4
layers on top of each other and sew as normal.
I know that many of the original dolls were weighted with grains like millet, but I am always
concerned about the longevity of a doll, and for my family that would never work. My girls
are always trying to give their dolls baths. If a millet filled doll was immersed in water it
would be ruined. I have a friend that has a lavender farm and she had placed lavender in
her daughters doll, just for a little aroma therapy. Her daughter washed her doll without her
mama knowing and left it to dry. The lavender molded and ruined the whole doll.
Idea's
Rather than put actual lavender in the doll, a few drops of lavender essential oil on the
wool would last for a long time. Wool absorbs the scents around it, so it would hold onto
the smell of the oils for a long time. Also if you wanted to make a sachet pillow for the doll
to sleep on that would release enough smell to have a light smell of the lavender with out
anything internally.
Good Luck, Have fun and if you still have questions please let me know.
One of the wonderful things about making your own dolls is all of the possibilities that you
have open to you. I am often asked how to weight a doll? It is so very easy and just adding
a little bit can really give the doll a "real" feeling for your children.
Making dolls out of wool adds some weight verses a synthetic fill, but sometimes you just
want more. I like to use renewable, natural sources, so I use little pouches filled with sand.
I purchase aquarium sand that is all natural, non toxic and sterilized from the pet store.
One bag can do many dolls, but it really depends on how much weight you want to add.
The Nitty Gritty details
For a 16" doll I sew a pouch out of scrap tricot, an old t-shirt would also work, if it has a
pretty tight weave. I use a stretch stitch on my machine and a very small stitch length. Go
around twice to make sure that the sand stays in the pouch. Fill with sand to the desired
weight and double stitch across the top to close the pouch. I do not recommend sewing
these pouches by hand, most hand work is to loose to keep the sand inside the pouch. If
you do not have a scale to measure the weight of the sand being placed in each limb, use
a measuring cup. You want each side to be about the same.
The pouch for the arms is 1 1/2" wide and 3" long. For the legs I make a tube that is about
2" wide by about 3-4" long. The tummy is a oval shape. The bulk of the weight can be
added in the tummy, if you want to make the doll a few pounds. To give an all over
balanced feeling to the doll don't forget to weight the head. Make a 2" square that is the
center and starting place for wrapping your ball of your head.
If your doll is 16" or larger consider using a extra thickness of tricot on the body. When
adding extra weight to the doll you want to make sure that the fabric is best supported as it
can be. I know that adding a second skin can be a bit more of a cost, but when you spend
hours making something really special for your child you want it to last, what is another
$5.00 in the big picture. When I make my weighted dolls with double tricot I just layer all 4
layers on top of each other and sew as normal.
I know that many of the original dolls were weighted with grains like millet, but I am always
concerned about the longevity of a doll, and for my family that would never work. My girls
are always trying to give their dolls baths. If a millet filled doll was immersed in water it
would be ruined. I have a friend that has a lavender farm and she had placed lavender in
her daughters doll, just for a little aroma therapy. Her daughter washed her doll without her
mama knowing and left it to dry. The lavender molded and ruined the whole doll.
Idea's
Rather than put actual lavender in the doll, a few drops of lavender essential oil on the
wool would last for a long time. Wool absorbs the scents around it, so it would hold onto
the smell of the oils for a long time. Also if you wanted to make a sachet pillow for the doll
to sleep on that would release enough smell to have a light smell of the lavender with out
anything internally.
Good Luck, Have fun and if you still have questions please let me know.
