Do you want to make a doll from natural materials? Have you heard of Sun Child dolls or Steiner dolls but don't know exactly what they are yet? In part 1 of Doll Making for Beginners: "what is a solar child doll?" we will help you get started!
Steiner dolls, also called Zonnekind dolls, are dolls that originated from the ideas of Rudolph Steiner, the founder of anthroposophy and free education.
These dolls are made of special cotton jersey, for example our De Witte Engel Doll Jersey, and are filled with 100% wool.
The dolls are made for children of different age groups. The younger the child, the less details the doll has.
The doll for the youngest age group is often a head with a soft flannel cloth on it.
The tradition and knowledge of the Sun Child dolls is upheld by the Sun child dolls guild!
Properties of sun child dolls
Because Zonnekind dolls are filled with wool, they feel warm and soft. If a child takes the doll to bed, the doll will take on the temperature and smell of the child. The doll becomes, as it were, part of the child itself.
In the design process, the details and facial expression of the doll are kept as minimal as possible. This allows the child to project their own feelings onto the doll. If the child is happy, the doll is happy too. The same goes for the child's other emotions.
Materials and inspiration
What we find very important when making sun child dolls, but actually with every product for children, is that the materials are sustainable, natural and above all safe. We also want the materials used to be responsibly produced so that making a doll contributes to building a better world for our little ones!
This is us Doll Jersey doll jersey and our filling wool Ökotex certified and let's produce it in Europe. Ours too wooden parts such as teething rings are PEFC and FSC certified and come from Europe.
Meaningful Crafts sells all materials as well make packages for making dolls for the different developmental stages of children. For example it sweetheart, It bitch or the big one lisepop.
In the following parts we will discuss:
The philosophy behind the doll
The materials we use to make dolls
The (basic) techniques for making dolls
