The Waldorf Inspired Butterfly Baby is such a sweet little treasure to soothe the soul. With so much intensity happening in the world, these little babies seem to have come to bring some comfort... both to the maker and to the receiver.They are also a beautiful little project to welcome the beginning of spring or summer. These little butterfly babies make treasured gifts, and can be made into a brooch to attach to a bag, or perhaps bedroom curtains! You may like to add some dried lavender when stuffing your baby for a little more magic.

Elizabeth Bennet is a custom fiber art doll inspired by the character in Pride and Prejudice written by Jane Austen; she is made with love and care by Fabs, from Fig&Me as a one-of-a-kind art doll.

In creating my puppets, I had planned to refer to several books on my shelf; I own a small library of books on the topic of building puppets and also a couple of books on making Waldorf dolls, but none of my books offered much help when it came to creating a glove-puppet with a Waldorf style doll-head. When making a glove-puppet, it is usual to have space inside the head for the fingers of the puppeteer; however, on a traditional Waldorf doll-head, it would be very difficult to create a space inside the head. This left me with a bit of a problem - I now had to design a pattern for a glove-puppet from scratch. I sewed test patterns from muslin and then proceeded to cut up precious pieces of vintage velvet which had been hoarded for many years in my fabric-stash, only to discover that my patterns were flawed. Back to the drawing board, and on to using revised patterns to cut the next series of puppet-bodies from some lovely brown velour... only to discover that my pattern was still not quite right! Luckily, I was able to buy more brown velour to use when I finally perfected the pattern! In this tutorial, I will give you guidelines for creating your own pattern, however, I strongly recommend that you create puppet bodies from muslin (or some other scrap fabric such as an old t-shirt) to test your pattern before you cut your puppet-body pieces from fine cloth. MAKING THE HEAD There are several good books on making Waldorf doll heads, including one titled Making Waldorf Dolls published by Hawthorn Press. Additionally, you can find excellent instructions on the blog Doing Without. Below, I offer a very basic outline of instructions, however, if you've never made a Waldorf doll-head, I suggest you refer to secondary resources for more specific information. Most Waldorf doll-making instructions tell you to start off with tubular gauze. In the United States, tubular gauze is only available via mail-order; not having any on hand, and wanting better control over the size of my doll-head anyhow, I sewed a tube using fabric from an old, cotton t-shirt. Knowing I wanted my head to be about 4 1/2 cm wide and approx. 5 1/2 or 6 cm high, I cut the width of my fabric about 13 1/2 cm wide, folded it and sewed it into a tube. Then I made a tight gather at the top, turned it inside-out, stuffed it firmly (so the height was approx. 6 cm), and tied it off at the bottom. To create the eyeline, I took heavy cotton thread, wrapped it a few times horizontally around the center of the head, made a few vertical wraps and then tied off the string. To secure the string, I sewed an "X" where the horizontal and vertical wrappings crossed on both sides, then pulled down the horizontal crossing at the back to get the correct shape to the head. To make a nose, I stitched round and round, just beneath the eyeline, catching bits of stuffing as I went along, pulling tight until I had a small raised area. To firm-up the nose of my puppet-head, I smeared on a good layer of white-glue and allowed it to dry. Many years ago, I bought two yards of mini-ribbed cotton fabric and dyed it a rosy-tan color. I was glad to have it in my stash and used this bounty to cover my puppet-heads. Before I sewed on the face, I decided on eye and mouth placement by inserting pins into the head (the eyes go right on the eyeline.) Then, inspired to try something new, I also created a Mother Earth puppet with a head from felt. You will notice, in the pattern I drew, that the neck is quite wide; I had planned to construct the puppet so that my fingers could fit up inside the head, but changed my mind; The neck on my puppet head is narrower and accommodates my fingers going up behind the head inside a pocket, as you will see below when I describe construction of the puppet bodies. Anyhow, to create this type of head from felt, you will need to draw a head with a face in profile and cut 2 pieces. You will also need to cut one gusset-piece to go up the back of the head. I do not show it in a photo, however, I sewed a test pattern from scrap-felt to make sure the size and shape of the head was correct. My first version was too small, so I enlarged the pattern slightly and then proceeded to use the corrected version of my pattern to cut my peach-colored wool felt. Here you can see the top of the head where the gusset meets the side-pieces. I have also embroidered eyes and a mouth. The cheeks are made pink by applying red wax crayon. MAKING THE BODY Here is a drawing of the basic pattern I created for my puppets (both the Root Children and Mother Earth.) You will need to cut two of these. There is a 1/2 cm seam allowance built into the pattern -- and, please know that the whole thing is sized generously. I have given measurements, however, this is not rocket-science... if your pattern does not exactly match mine, don't worry. Just keep in mind that it's always better to cut a little larger than you will need. If your puppet-body is too small, it might not fit, however, if it's too large, you can always make it a bit smaller. Measurements: The portion at the top, extending up from the neck, will form a pocket at the back of the puppet's head to accommodate your fingers. It is 7 1/2 cm wide. At the widest point, the arms measure 21 1/2 cm. The widest point of the body should measure approx. 19 1/2 cm. The height of the entire pattern should measure approx. 30 1/2 cm (or taller.) After I cut two body pattern pieces, I took one of the pieces and removed the tall portion from above the neck (this is marked by a dotted line in the pattern photo.) This tall portion above the neck is needed to form a pocket at the back of the head (to accommodate the fingers of the puppeteer); however, this flap of fabric is not needed on the front of the puppet! Next, I pulled out my stash of knit cotton (which I had used to cover the puppet head) and cut 4 hand pieces per puppet. To make a pattern for the hand pieces, I matched the width of the hand-pattern to the width of the arm opening of the body. My hand patterns are approx. 4 cm wide and 4 1/2 cm tall. You will also notice, in the photo above, that I finished off the puppet head by removing most of the fabric which had been hanging off the bottom of the head. I left approx. 2-3 cm of fabric, folded it toward the back and carefully sewed it down. Then I pinned the hands onto the right-sides of puppet body pieces and sewed them in place. Next, I matched up the hands, front to back, pinned the sides of the bodies together (front to back) and sewed down each side from the neck, around the hand and down to the bottom edge. Note: I left 1/2 cm at the top of the neck unsewn. This allowed me to roll the fabric under when I pinned & sewed the front of the body to the head. For me, attaching the head of the puppet to the body is always the best part, because, after this is done, I can put my hand inside and make the puppet wave hello. That first hello is always very sweet and magical. This is what I love most about glove puppets -- their expressiveness -- their ability to wave hello, nod their heads, play peek-a-boo, clap their hands and then take a bow... To attach the head, I pinned the front of the neck (where I had removed the tall flap of fabric) beneath the face and then sewed the pocket-flap to the back of the head. The pocket flap is not intended to be sewn down flat against the head. It should be raised in the back to form a roomy pocket for your finger(s). I had intended it to fit 2 fingers, however, I actually find it most comfortable to control this puppet with my index finger up behind the head, my thumb controlling one of the hands and my middle finger controlling the other hand. Note: I did not sew down the top of the pocket at the back of the head. Leaving the top of the pocket open left a little more room for my finger(s), and, because I have covered the heads of my Root Child puppets with stretchy knit hats, this works out just fine. According to your preferences, you may or may not want to sew the top of the pocket shut. COSTUMING THE PUPPETS The Root Children, newly awoken, dressed in their brown, root gowns Now for the fun part -- costuming the puppets! There are so many choices to make... I added grey, looped braids beneath the cap of my Mother Earth puppet, and added hair only on the front of my Root Child puppets because I couldn't figure out how to add hair over the pocket at the back of the head... Root Child glove-puppet by Melissa However, my clever friend Melissa figured out how to add hair to the entire head (front and back) of her Root Child puppet! To create hair, she crocheted a cap for her puppet using a loop-stitch, and it looks so wonderful that I'm a bit in awe. I also stitched up flower-petal pinafores from wool felt to garb my Root Children for their Spring and Summertime festivities. I hope you have fun, too, coming up with your own original costuming ideas and designs. Mother Earth glove-puppet by Melissa RESOURCES FOR PURCHASING SUPPLIES U.S.A Child's Dream Come True Magic Cabin Canada Maplerose Bear Dance Crafts Australia Morning Star Winterwood Toys Mother Earth glove-puppet by Jen of SEWNnatural Finally, I'd like to share with you this link to the Ballard Institute at the University of Connecticut which shows several hand positions you can use to control your puppet. For this particular set of puppets, I am finding it most comfortable to use my index finger to control the head, with my thumb inside one puppet-arm and my middle finger inside the other arm; however, this link will show you a few other options. Tiptoes Lightly marionette by Rhonda of Joy Grows Mother Earth glove-puppet with a knit body by Melissa And now, dear Readers, a public service announcement: Did you know that, even if you "Like" we bloom here and/or Making Peg Dolls on Facebook, you may not be seeing updates and messages from me in your Facebook feed? Did you know that you might be missing tutorials for lovely, quick-to-whip-up gifts? Missing information about the upcoming blog tour? About book give-aways, and other give-aways? Here's what you can do so you don't miss anything: once you’ve liked the we bloom here and/or the Making Peg Dolls page (thank you!), use the dropdown menu right under the “liked” button to select “get notifications.” This lets Facebook know, going forward, that you really do want to know when I've posted a new tutorial, give-away, and other assorted nonsense. Another way you can hear from me is to have a look at the right-hand sidebar of this blog, and find the widget which allows you to "follow by email." Once you've typed in your email, you will get notifications delivered directly to your inbox. I don't have access to information about who signs up for email through my blog, so there is no way I could add you to some list and send you junk-mail (not that I would ever consider doing such an annoying thing anyhow, I promise). Thanks for visiting! Please say "hi" any time -- I love hearing from you. xo mb

www.etsy.com/shop/danielapetrova?ref=hdr_shop_menu

Learn to needle felt a doll face, with the proportions of a Young Child. Online Class by Fig and Me.

Teaching the Whole Human Being: Body, Soul & Spirit. Rudolf Steiner lectures his first teachers about the three aspects of the human being.

Here are 7 easy steps for making music come alive for children & teaching Waldorf-inspired music lessons in your homeschool.

(Please feel free to add the above Discovering Waldorf button to your blog. You can do this by saving the above image to your desktop and th...

Welcome to the Sew Magical Tea Party- a Waldorf inspired tea party! It's the perfect project to encourage imaginative play! Coupled with some little tea cups or wooden bowls, some scraps of wool (my children loved to use this as “milk”)... these make such a lovely addition to the play kitchen.

After almost one moth of break from new posts, returning with, I hope, lovable gift to you all. New crochet addition to all Waldorf admirers. Simple testing the head for this pattern has taken our li

Waldorf dolls are expensive. A new handmade doll will run you between $60 and $100. If you are looking for a way to make your own, check out these instructions. This doll was made almost entirely from recycled and trash materials. I use mostly old clothing for my projects. . This is a very heavy…

I am so pleased to introduce Angela Mobley to Discovering Waldorf today. Angela has been a handwork teacher at the Waldorf School of Louisville for the past 8 years. She is a mother of 4, married to a Rolfer and loves to explore the sustainably creative life. Her topic for todays discussion is Waldorf handwork… […]

These Waldorf Inspired Wool Felt French Macarons are such a wonderful first project to experiment with a few different techniques such as gathering fabric & felt.A magical little make to encourage imaginative play. Set out with some fabric (to use as a table cloth), some little cups and plates to make a little Parisian style cafe from your play kitchen!

updated: please go to https://www.facebook.com/knittingwithchildren/?ref=bookmarks to stay abreast of a new website, coming soon, that will give you everything you need to know to teach children to knit, and support you and your children in a developmental, imaginative, gentle way. Patterns and stories included. When teaching children to cast on, I usually tell a story the day or two before about a boy with a ship. Then, I retell the story, adding instruction and supplies. I give each student a rolled ball of white yarn and one knitting needle. There was a boy who found a treasure map one day. The treasure map had a curious inscription: If you would climb Thumb Mountain, then over to Pointer Mountain soar, Scoop up the gold , under vines, back home, then treasure will be yours. This boy, when he read those words, knew exactly where to find thumb mountain. It was an easy journey for him, and he knew it well. He had a ship, and he knew just how to sail it. This is your ship. Put your slip knot on the knitting needle, with pads of fingers touching the shaft. I tell the students to hold their needles 'birds on a wire' so their fingers are a bit looser. Some want to grip the needle in a fist...help them hold their fingers over the needle like so: Now you can sail your ship up, down, and through waves. The boy knew he was getting close because he could see the beach. He then set out to anchor his ship by grabbing the line hanging from it. Then, he split the line so the boat would be steady while he was gone. At this point in the story, the tip of the knitting needle becomes the boy. Now it was time for the ship to rest and for the boy to go to the island to find treasure. He landed on the beach. The knitting needle comes forward and down. The "mountains" stand strong. Now the boy crept up Thumb Mountain, under the vines, all the way to the top, and he never fell off. He remembered the writing: If you would climb Thumb Mountain, then over to Pointer Mountain soar, Scoop up the gold , under vines, back home, then treasure will be yours. From the top of Thumb Mountain, he could see Pointer Mountain. He flew over, because he was a very special boy and could do things like that. You will notice my hand has turned to the side here. The boy is on top of Pointer Mountain. Now he sees the gold and scoops it up, and flies back to the top of Thumb Mountain. The yarn coming from Pointer has been scooped and is on its way to Thumb. Now the boy is on Thumb mountain and is ready to go home. He slides down Thumb Mountain, under the vines with his treasure, and lands on the beach. He is back home on the beach! Now take your whole hand out and pull one of the strings to close the loop. You will have two stitches on the needle now. Congratulations! A continental cast-on. Start the whole process again to cast on the rest of the stitches (there's more gold in those hills!) Eventually, instead of taking out your whole hand, you can simply sweep your thumb across to close the last loop. See knittinghelp.com for a video of the Continental Cast-On.

waldorfmama :: mushrooms by etsy's haddy2dogs

After searching for the right handmade Waldorf doll and then waiting eons to receive it, now you have a sweet (or several) little wool-stuffed creature in your hands. Although he or she came fully dressed, in a thoughtful and suitable outfit that complements their personality and local weather, n

Take a little peak at some of my favourite Waldorf Inspired Spring Crafts from The Sewing Circle....Springtime SnailsThese little springtime snails are

A guardian angle to watch over us.. Excitement is brewing as we look ahead to Martinmas, little by little every day. Each afternoon before lunch, I informally introduce the children to a different style of lantern; simply placing it on the table, lighting it, and letting them comment and wonder. By Martinmas on Nov. 11th, our table will be glowing! We are telling the familiar story of St. Martin, along with an adapted version of "St. Martin and his Light" from the Tiptoes Lightly series, The Festival of Stones. I love this storybook! Beautiful paper lantern created by my friend, Tanya A few new details to playschool include a mini Autumn scene above the new baskets where the children store their mittens, hats, scarves, etc. Our "baby tea" is a staple in our day.. (chamomille and mint; very inexpensive to buy in bulk) My fantastic helper, Monica, and I have been especially looking forward to it after lunch time. We've been clinking mugs and exclaiming, "cheers!"... Another day has flown by, and they're just getting better, smoother, and so enjoyable. I value her assistance and rapport with the children and myself so much; it's hard for me to express this gratitude. More about her in another post.. Speaking of gratitude, I am incredibly thankful for the tolerance of the playschool children with W as of late. They are modeling kindness and patience day in and day out. It took some time, but we are there. Every morning, I've been stripping the bed for the children to jump upon... Some may cringe at me allowing this, but I'm happy for them to work out some of their early morning energy! Hmmm...some connection with W not wanting to nap? Most likely, but since my last post, he's been going down so, so easily and quickly. Thank you for all of your advice and related stories. I have discovered that allowing for even more time outdoors has helped him become tired enough to give in to sleep! Since the snowstorm, the weather has been mild and sunny. We've been enjoying our late morning snack outside at the neighborhood Rose Garden... Hello, pinecone phone! Yes, we are well and warm here, and life is good. Have I overdone it with the positivity and gooey sweet feelings? That's alright. It's my truth:)

Nothing connects hands, heart, and head quite like the Waldorf practice of handwork. Its importance is woven into the very fabric of the Waldorf curriculum and is a practice that nurtures not just skills, but the development of well-rounded individuals. The fact that through making beautiful and enduring objects, children are at the same time learning math skills, spatial understanding, developing their dexterity, all while problem solving, makes handwork one of the most important parts of Waldorf education and one that children will use for their entire lives. Benefits of Waldorf Handwork Through knitting a scarf or crafting a wooden toy, students learn to channel their creativity into tangible forms. This hands-on approach allows them to explore colors, textures, and shapes, developing a keen aesthetic sense while gaining confidence in their ability to bring their visions to life. In a world filled with distractions, Waldorf handwork instills the values of focus and patience. The rhythmic movements involved in crafting require a child's full attention, teaching them the art of concentration. Whether it's threading a needle or carving a piece of wood, the process itself fosters a sense of calm and mindfulness. Children also learn to correct their mistakes, value hard work and develop patience. As children complete increasingly difficult tasks following small steps, they begin to feel the joy of accomplishment which creates the self-confidence needed to tackle much bigger and more complicated tasks as they progress through life. As if those overarching benefits weren’t enough, there are still more! Handwork allows a connection to the environment and helps children develop a sense of gratitude for the earth as they craft with natural materials like wool, plant dyes, wood, and cotton. Children also develop appreciation and an understanding of how to care for and use tools safely, from knitting needles to tapestry frames to early woodworking tools. And finally the big ones in the Waldorf philosophy, handwork helps children develop a sense of reverence and wonder and builds their “sense of life,” an inherent component of becoming a whole-hearted and integrated human being. Simple Ways to Introduce Handwork to Young Children With all of those big benefits, handwork is surprisingly simple to introduce at home. For young children, handwork encompasses a wide range of simple everyday activities that get children working with their hands, both through doing practical activities and more artistic ones. Examples include: kneading bread, playing in sand or mud, modeling with beeswax, drawing, wet on wet watercolor painting, and introducing seasonal crafts. Adding fiber work into handwork play, also called “soft handwork” is another way to engage little hands while promoting sensory learning. Simple ways to introduce soft handwork to young children are helping them learn how to roll balls of wool, making pompoms, learning how to finger knit, and rolling beeswax candles. As they grow and develop more dexterity you can introduce simple sewing projects, nature weaving and simple potholder loom weaving, and wet felting. Keeping a variety of handwork materials available will allow children to incorporate them into their play and continue to develop their skills. As they begin to master these early handwork skills, they are then introduced to more advanced and complicated crafts like knitting, woodworking, crochet, and candle making. Why Knitting is More Important than Handwork Every child learns to knit in a Waldorf school and they are taught to knit even before they learn the alphabet. Knitting perfects fine motor skills, has been said to improve memory, works both sides of the brain, and prepares children to be better readers when they are ready for that important step. The rhythmic repetition of knitting and crocheting enhances a child’s concentration and develops hand-eye coordination. Knitting can also help enhance math skills through counting rows and stitches, measuring out patterns, and through making three-dimensional items. As children pick out their yarn and plan their knitting projects, they develop a relationship to each color and they learn to “play” with each color and learn about contrast, tone, and shades. And when they have finished their first hat, scarf, or mittens, nothing is more joyful than the feeling of accomplishment and knowing they can work through hard things to get to the end. This simple act gives children the confidence to achieve even more challenging projects as they grow up. At Bella Luna Toys, we celebrate the deep impact that handwork makes on children. Our curated selection of handcrafting materials and kits reflects our commitment to providing tools that inspire creativity and support the holistic development of every child. From all of us at the Bella Luna Toys Team, we hope you have many days filled with crafts, love, and fresh cups of tea! Tag us in your handwork adventures @bellalunatoys for a chance to be featured!

Elizabeth Bennet is a custom fiber art doll inspired by the character in Pride and Prejudice written by Jane Austen; she is made with love and care by Fabs, from Fig&Me as a one-of-a-kind art doll.

I typed up a routine/rhythm based on the way our days flow. The white band is the new main lesson block from our new Waldorf curriculum. We already started with the stories and forms and it is goi…

I have the honor of introducing Nicole, from Frontier Dreams, today. When I asked Nicole to write a post for Discovering Waldorf, the first ...

Here is a small window into my final week at the Fiber craft studio A wonderfully full week! Thank you Three Fold learning center, Green Meadow Waldorf School,. Sunbridge and the Fiber craft Studio for such a wonderful four years of training! we displayed a very small amount of our work for the graduation. I was the student speaker in the graduation. Imagine that!

Free download of Antropos Font. Released in 2002 by Lutz Baar and licensed for personal and commercial-use. Click now to create a custom image with your own words that you can download.

(Please feel free to add the above Discovering Waldorf button to your blog. You can do this by saving the above image ...

Learn the technique that helped me achieve ultra smooth doll limbs, superb firmness and high quality on my Waldorf inspired and natural fiber art dolls. Step by step tutorial by Fig and me.

Waldorf education is an alternative educational approach, founded by Rudolf Steiner, so you may also see it referred to Steiner education. Steiner , an Austrian philosopher, founded his first school in 1919 aiming to promote a deep and positive change in society. The Steiner approach then contraste

We’re excited to share the third and final guest post from author, educator, and all around amazing human, Elizabeth Seward! Elizabeth brings decades of experience, and is sharing her insights into Waldorf handwork.

Continuing my series on the temperaments, here are my thoughts on the melancholic child. When considering the temperaments, many people have a difficult time identifying their primary, dominant temperament. This isn’t really a bad thing. The goal, after all, is to be balanced in your temperament and to be able to call upon the different […]

One of the ways we are finding comfort and connection within our community is by sharing our favorite holiday traditions with you and appreciating each one shared with us. Today we’ve gathered a few traditions we love from Bella Luna Toys customers and friends. We invite you to read how each Waldorf family makes the holiday season special through traditions, old and new.

This is a guest post written by Barbara Dewey of Waldorf Without Walls in which she describes learning to read the Waldorf way.

The goldenrod dye we made for our Shooting Stars was still quite strong so we saved it to dye a silk. In celebration of Michaelmas, we are using this silk as a cape and calling it the Cape of Light just like the golden cloak that Michael wears. (Inspired by this Michaelmas article.) Take a plain silk playcloth, soak it in mordant (2 - 3 Tbs.alum dissolved into a 1/2 gallon of water), immerse it in the dye, hang to dry, wear with pride. There is not much to this project....the magic is really in the details: telling Michael stories and singing songs; being in the outdoors working together, gathering dyestuffs and preparing the dye; watching the simple transformation when flower blossoms turn a white silk into a golden one; letting the imagination run when the cape is ready to be worn and paraded about!