We recently welcomed some new little friends to our home, and I thought I would introduce them to you. They are special little dolls who live in a magical pouch underneath Mason's pillow, and though they have only been with us a few days, they have already brought much joy and peace of mind to one little boy (and one mama as well).
For the last couple of months Mason has begun sharing his "worries" with me at night when we are cuddled in bed. There is something about the dark of night that allows our fears and worries to creep up to the surface. As a part of our night-time routine I always try to provide Mason with a safe, comfortable and consistent space where he can talk about anything that bothered him during his day, and anything that may be on his mind in general. He loves this, and though we are together all day every day with many opportunities to talk, he will often choose to wait until the darkness of bedtime to ask the deep questions and talk about things that are bothering him.
Out of respect to my sweet boy I will keep his worries and questions private, but I will say that he is a sensitive soul, and lately some of our night-time talks involve some pretty heavy topics of which he has recently become aware and is quite worried about. They are pretty normal things for a child of his age to begin to wonder about, and talking out loud about them really seems to help.
As these night-time talks became more regular, sometimes lengthy, and sometimes with tears, I wanted to find a way to honor his process while taking away some of the worry.
Enter: Worry dolls for Mason, Waldorf-style. I have always loved the tiny little Guatemalan worry dolls that you tell your worries to at night and place under your pillow to take those worries away while you sleep. I decided to create something similar for Mason, and this is what I came up with...
Five little worry dolls, Waldorf-style, with a sparkly little pouch to sleep in.
Two nights ago we went through bed-time routine as normal, and when we closed our book for the night I reached under the pillow and pulled out this little bag. Mason opened the bag and took out the little dolls and we looked at them. I explained the tradition of worry dolls and said that I thought we might like some to live with us. I told him that they are very special dolls with a magical ability. If you tell them your worries, they take them from you so you can let them go and sleep peacefully.
The boy got a huge smile on his face and started giggling. He immediately took one doll and said, "Worry doll, I'm worried that...."
And then "Mama, it's working already!"
He told each doll a worry, put them back in their little pouch and put the pouch under the bed. He then went straight to sleep with a smile on his face.
I could not believe it. I mean, I had hoped they would be helpful...but wow.
The next night Mason could not wait to talk to his dolls, and the same thing happened.
I should say, just to clarify, that I do not intend for the worry dolls to take the place of our talks, but to support him in letting go of those thoughts and worries causing him fear and discomfort.
I had a lot of fun making these dolls, and even more fun watching the joy that they bring my sweet boy. In the hopes that these little worry dolls might be useful for other small beings in the world, I'm offering up a tutorial for how I made them. Enjoy!
Waldorf-style Worry Dolls Tutorial
You will need:
cotton gauze tubing or old thin sock
stockinette doll skin fabric or knit fabric in skin color
wool for stuffing
felt pieces and scraps
colorful wool roving for hair
strong button thread, regular sewing thread and embroidery floss
As with all Waldorf-style dolls, these worry dolls begin with a head. This is basically a much-simplified version of a Waldorf doll head...in miniature.
Begin with a piece of stretchy knit fabric for the head. I use this cotton gauze tubing, but if you're not a doll maker and don't have any lying around, a thin stretchy sock will work fine.
I cut a piece of tubing about 4 inches long, and then cut in down one side to form a square, roughly 4 x 4 inches.
Next I took a bit of wool and placed it in the center of my tubing, bring the edges of the tubing together to make a round head and stuffing more wool in the center until it was firm. My finished head was about 1 inch from the top of the head to the neck. When you're happy with the size of the head, tie it securely using strong thread (I use button thread). I forgot to get a photo of this step, but you basically want the head to look like a little ball, tied as close as possible to the wool. Unlike with a Waldorf doll, we're not worried about forming a neck here or shaping the head.
Next you'll need a little square of stockinette fabric in the skin color of your choice. I used little scraps from my doll-making, but if you don't have doll skin fabric on hand you can use an old knit shirt or other piece of skin-colored fabric. My squares were about 2 1/2 inches square.
Next I laid the head on the skin fabric and pulled the fabric snug around to get an idea of where my seam allowance should be. This will vary a little based on your head size. It does not need to be perfect. Once you have an idea of your seam allowance, stitch the sides of the stockinette square together to form a tube, careful to make sure the stretch of the fabric is across the head.
Turn the tube right-side-out and slip it over the head. Tie off the neck securely, and gather the fabric at the top with running stitches, pulling tight and stitching in place.
Here are several completed (mostly) heads:
Next up: the body! I just free-handed a little body until I was happy with it. Since the purpose of these dolls was to spend most of their existence tucked inside a pouch under a pillow, I did not want to mess around with tiny hands and feet. I made the body one complete piece from felt. Your welcome to use my pattern (see the photo below) as a guide or make your own. You could also make a bunting-style dolls with no legs. Once you've made your pattern you'll need to cut out two pieces from your felt.
Warning: This next part can get a little fussy. Sewing small felt pieces and turning them right-side out is a little tricky...but it's worth it!
Pin together your felt pieces and sew them together, leaving an opening at the neck wide enough to turn the it right-side out. For me, this was the area between these pins, though if in doubt leave more room. You can always hand sew it later. Note: the photos below are from several different dolls, because I kept forgetting to photograph a step and remembering it on the next doll...
Turn your doll body right-side out. This will require a little patience, and possibly a glass of wine. I find a turning tool helpful, usually the closest thing in reach that seems like it will work. In this case I used a pencil with a broken tip. Take care not to use anything to pointy or you are likely to poke it right through the felt. I have done this, and it is no fun.
Now take a little more wool and lightly stuff the body. I found my trusty broken-tipped pencil very usefel in stuffing wool into those tiny arms and legs. Leave enough room to insert the head (really the neck) into the body.
Position the head on the body, stuffing the gathered edges of the tubing into the body. Now stitch the head to the body around the neck opening, stitching up the extra space at the shoulders as you go. I did not get a good photo of this, but you should see what I mean in some of the others pics later on.
Now it's time for hair and a hat! I did not put faces on these little dolls (as you can see) and think that they are better that way, but if you want, now would be the time to embroider eyes and a mouth.
There are several ways to do the hair. I find that the easiest way for these little dolls is to needle-felt it on. I made some with short hair and some with long hair. Since we are adding a hat, it does not need to completely cover the head.
Now for the hat! I measured around the head and added a little for seam allowance, and then made up a little pattern. I cut one piece on the fold, and then stitched it up the back.
Turn the hat right-side out and sew it on the head. I used embroidery floss and big stitches to attach the hat, but do it anyway you like.
And that's it! Now, make a few more and you're ready to help your child ease their worries away into the night.
Now all you need is a little bag to keep them in. I'll show you how I made a super-simple draw string pouch next post.
If you do make your own Waldorf-style worry dolls I would love to see pics!
