Doodad was the first doll I ever made.
At 2
1/2 Sage told me what he wanted in a doll (curly blonde hair and blue
eyes, like Sage at the time, and dark brown skin).
Before the doll was even done Sage carried him everywhere in his sling. It took me weeks to get that doll away from him to put on his crazy blonde hair.
I love Doodad.
When Sage had outgrown his doll he gave him to Lupine. But he never got much love from Lupine. Lupine loves fancy. And Doodad, quite simply, was not fancy.
He was even given away to a young friend and after some time came home again.
And then Lupine decided that Doodad was a girl. Named Rose.
And he started wearing dresses and coming to tea parties.
But the hair.
The hair really bothered Lupine. I thought it was fabulous and actually dreaded replacing it. (No pun intended, since those blond locks had long ago turned into dreads.)
Last week we were clearing out a few unloved playthings and I held up Doodad/Rose.
"Can we let her go?" I asked.
"NO! She needs new hair. Long, straight, black hair."
And so I went for it. Right then and there.
First we chose some soft llama yarn from my stash and I got to work. When I say soft, take the softest yarn you've ever felt. It's even softer.
First (and yes, with a heavy heart), I cut away Doodad's old hair.
Next I crocheted a little wig from black yarn.
I don't know how to crochet so my technique is terrible, but since the wig would be hidden beneath the longer hair it didn't matter.
(That was my plug for shaking off your inner perfectionist!)
Using a crochet hook I began looping hair latch-hook style through the foundational wig. Lupine kept making off with her during the process declaring that she was "already the most beautiful doll in the world" and that she couldn't bear to let me finish.
Every few hours I'd wrangle her away and put on a few more strands.
While I'd like to add a bit more hair, I'm calling her done.
Doodad (perhaps the world's first trans-gender Waldorf doll) is a completely different doll.
She is very much a girl, and renamed "Sapphire Rose". An elegant name for our most elegant doll.
As for Lupine she is completely smitten by this doll. She hasn't left my girl's side since I looped in the last strand of hair.
As for me, I'm rather smitten by her as well. To create something completely new out of something old? That's what it's all about.
Success!
I love this story 🙂 This is a magical, wonderful story!!
That is the most precious lovely story. That is the most loved doll with lots of love to share.
Having just finished by very first Waldorf doll- Tallulah (a.k.a Tallie) for my 2-year old’s Christmas present…I am loving your story! Tallie, like my Wren, has incredibly wild brownish, blondish, reddish wild hair…did I say wild? And it was quite an experience, first to find the right combination of yarns to create that wonderful-ness and then to “install” it. I used Meg McElwee’s tutorial on making a braided cap instead of crochet http://sewliberated.typepad.com/sew_liberated/dollhair.html, and then the crochet hooking began. Truly a labor of love! It is so good to know that your sweet creation lives on!
A beautiful story… Thank you for sharing it.
i love this story! that doll looks like me in doll form – the dark chocolate skin and the yarn looks my dreadlocs, my nose is a little bigger, though;-) why is it called a waldorf doll?
Your doll is so lovely! She looks like my African daughter with and without her braided hair extensions (it takes a whole day to unbraid them and +/- 3 hours to put in new braid extensions).
http://astorminsidemyhead.blogspot.com/2010/11/hair.html
http://astorminsidemyhead.blogspot.com/2011/07/hair.html
“Léif Gréiss” from Luxembourg,
Natacha
http://astorminsidemyhead.blogspot.com/2010/05/look-at-this-piece-of-art-my-daughter.html
We loves Doodad and were dogmas he lived with us for a spell, but E just couldn’t get past the hair either. Sapphire Rose is a beauty. Lupine definitely had some vision with that one!!
Eek. Autocorrect. Loved, not loves. So glad, not dogmas:)
That is phenomenal – both the story and the doll. xo
I’m smitten with her too! She’s gorgeous! Lupine is a very lucky girl. I made my 17 month old a swaddled Waldorf style baby for Christmas and she wants nothing to do with it; breaks my heart. Maybe she just needs some eyes added. I’d love to attempt a real one some day though. You’re such an inspiration!
I love this story! Equal parts sweet and funny.
Braided! I love it. Thanks for sharing the link.
Hooray! Im so happy that you see yourself in her. 🙂 A Waldorf doll is made in the Waldorf education tradition of few details. The childs imagination creates the mood of the doll (notice how her mouth is just a straight line? No smile.) No fingers, toes, belly button, and traditionally no nose of any size! (Though my later dolls all have noses because I love them on Waldorf dolls.)
Such a beauty! Do show her our doll and share that shes the most lovely of many in our home. <3
I though you’d appreciate the transformation!
Here is a suggestion from a Waldorf kindergarten teacher friend. Adopt that doll yourself. Hold her and rock her and sing to her and talk to her. Bring her to the kitchen to watch you cook and love her all up. In no time your daughter will see the soul in that doll and love her as you do. xo
LOVE that doll! And the story behind it!!!! Thank you for sharing!
What a makeover! I had to do that as well for my daughters doll. I put on some orange mohair to mimic a story book character she liked and it eventually turned to matted horribleness. So we went to the yarn shop together and picked out some chunky hot pink yarn and replaced the hair. Now she is soooo much more fun!
Ooh! Pink. Youre just breaking all the rules. 🙂
transgendered waldorf doll – made me smile (smile)
My mother sewed a Waldorf doll for my son that looks like him (well close anyways). I shared this link and her response was “I hope he never wants to change the hair!”. Heh.
My daughter just reassigned her doll’s gender – also MtF! But she wouldn’t change the hair because “girls can have short hair too mama”. I love your blog – thanks for leaving a link at pioneer woman!