Waldorf Doll Body Pattern FREE
Come with me as I walk you through this tutorial with a downloadable PDF Waldorf doll body pattern. This pattern is for a medium sized waldorf doll, about 12″ tall.
Today I will be showing you how to make a waldorf doll body! It includes a free printable pattern and everything!
Want more free printable Waldorf Doll patterns? I’ve designed others, too, and have linked them at the bottom of this post!
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Supplies Needed:
- Free PDF waldorf doll body pattern (see below)
- Cotton Interlock Fabric
- Wool
- Sewing Needle
- Thread (in same color as fabric)
- Sewing machine (not required, but definitely recommended. side note, I LOVE my sewing machine!)
- Chalk pencil
- Pins
- Head Tutorial/supplies needed for head
Step 1: Trace Waldorf Doll Body Pattern onto Fabric
The first thing you will want to do is print your pattern for the body.
You can download and print your pattern below. It’ll be sent right to your email inbox!
Next, cut out your pattern.
Then, lay your pattern on the fabric.
You will want to make sure that the stretch on the fabric is stretching horizontally, not vertically.
See the little lines and “v’s” in the fabric? You want those running up and down.
You want the stretch of the fabric to go WIDER on the body of the doll.
Keeping the direction of the stretch in mind, lay two layers of your fabric down on a flat surface such as a table.
Lay your pattern pieces down on the 2 layers of fabric.
Using a chalk pencil, trace the pattern pieces on the fabric. You’ll want to trace one body piece, and two arm pieces.
Step 2: Cut Fabric around the Waldorf Doll Body
Next you will want to cut out your fabric pieces.
If you’ve done sewing projects before, you’ll know that typically you cut right on the lines of the pattern.
However, this is not the case with waldorf dolls!
With waldorf dolls, you’ll want to cut a square around the traced pattern. Stay far away from your traced lines!
Be sure to cut through 2 layers of fabric for each piece.
Next, you may want to pin around the edges of your fabric.
By doing this, you will keep your fabric straight while you are sewing.
Step 3: Sew!
Now, we will begin sewing our body pieces and arm pieces!
Be sure to leave the short flat edge of each arm OPEN so that you can fill it with wool later on.
Use a backstitch on your sewing machine to create a knot.
Then, stitch carefully right on the line you traced on the fabric.
Alternatively, you could hand sew if you don’t have a machine. However, your stitches will have to be very strong and tiny, because waldorf dolls are TIGHT. They are TIGHTLY stuffed with wool! You wouldn’t want your doll falling apart with loose stitches.
Next, we will sew the body.
An important note about the body: DO NOT START AT THE TOP OF THE BODY!
You need to leave about 1 1/2 inches – 2 inches un-stitched at the top of the dolls body on each side.
Start sewing about 1 1/2 inches – 2 inches down from the top of the body.
Likewise, end sewing about 1 1/2 inches – 2 inches from the top of the body.
This opening is for attaching the arms later on.
You will also want to keep the entire straight edge at the top of the bottom open.
This will allow you to stuff the legs and torso, and attach the head later on.
In the above images, you can see what the stitched body pieces look like.
Note where the openings (un-stitched parts) are!
Step 4: Cut out the body pieces
Next, cut off the excess fabric around your stitches.
You will want to cut in the shape of each body piece.
Leave about 1/4″ – 1/2″ of fabric around the stitches.
When you get to the middle of the legs, just cut a straight line up. There’s no need to trim off fabric here. Just separate the legs.
Leave an extra long piece of fabric (about an inch) at the top of the body. This way you’ll be sure you have enough fabric to play around with when attaching the head and arms!
Next, turn everything right side out!
Smooth out all of your edges. Make sure there are no “pockets” around your stitches!
In the last photo above, you can see how the arms will attach.
Getting closer!!
Step 5: Stuff with Fluff
Now, it’s time to firmly stuff your waldorf doll with wool.
Take some time to play around with how much wool you put in the body.
Squish and manipulate movement in your doll.
Observe how the wool behaves in the body.
Adjust, and add or take out wool until you like your product.
Step 6: Make Head
Next, you will want to make your waldorf doll’s head.
I have a free tutorial on how to do this — and this tutorial is specifically made for this sized doll!
You’ll have a perfect fit!
Make your waldorf doll head HERE, and then come back to this tutorial to finish your waldorf doll body.
The next step will be attaching the arms and head to the body!
Step 7: Attach arms and head
First, place your waldorf doll’s head into the body.
Line the head up exactly how you want it to be attached to your doll.
Next, place the arms inside the body.
Again, align the arms just how you want them to look.
I like my arms to curve towards the body, not away.
Fold the body fabric at both corners so there are no raw edges showing.
Now, with a sharp needle and a matching thread color, sew the arms on the body.
Use tiny but strong stitches. The arms of a doll are perhaps the most heavily played with part of a toy, so be sure those arms won’t fall off during play!
Grab as much of the arms as possible with your needle and thread. If you sew too closely to the edge of the arm, your doll will be less durable.
Now that the arms have been sewed on, it’s time to attach the head.
In the same manner as with the arms, attach the head to the body.
Stick your needle in the front of the neck, then let your needle come out all the way through the back.
Doing long stitches this way will help reinforce the strength of the head.
Again, keep in mind that dolls are meant to be played with! You wouldn’t want your doll to fall apart!
Your waldorf doll’s body is complete!
Give them a face, some hair (or a hat!), and some clothes. You’re good to go!
What waldorf pattern would you like to see next? Leave a comment to let me know!
(Below: Another variation I’ve made using this pattern!)
Want more free waldorf doll patterns and tutorials? Grab them below!
Here’s a fun 18″ doll I designed — made with a wool dryer ball and an old sock! The pattern for this doll is free, too, so grab it HERE! (check out her picture below!)
Perhaps my favorite is this gnome doll I made! Grab your free printable pattern here! (pic below!)
Check out my free pattern for this sweet little doll! (pictured below!)
Next up, I have a little baby doll! This pattern is free and printable, too! You can find it HERE. (picture below!)
Lastly, for those of you have even the most basic of knitting skills, a soft snuggly waldorf bunting doll can be found HERE. Like the others, this pattern is FREE! (see photo below to preview!)
