A rag doll is a children's toy. It is a cloth figure, a doll traditionally home-made from (and stuffed with) spare scraps of material. They are one of the oldest children's toys in existence. Today, many rag dolls are commercially produced to mimic aspects of the original home-made dolls, such as simple features, soft cloth bodies, and patchwork clothing.
Traditionally home-made from (and stuffed with) spare scraps of material, they are one of the oldest children's toys in existence. The British Museum has a Roman rag doll, found in a child's grave dating from the 1st to 5th century AD. [1] Historically, rag dolls have been used as comfort objects, and to teach young children nurturing skills. They were often used to teach children how to sew, as the children could practice sewing clothes for the doll and make some simple dolls themselves. [2] In America, from the colonial era up to the early 20th century, children of various statuses would play with dolls made from rags or cornhusks. [3] Mass production of rag dolls began around 1830, when fabric color printing was first developed. [4]
Amish dolls are a type of traditional American rag dolls which originated as children's toys among the Old Order Amish people. These dolls commonly have no facial features.
Motanka dolls (Polish motanka, Ukrainian мо́танка, from motać/мотати - to tangle/spool/wind) are a type of traditional amulet dolls made in Poland, Ukraine, Belarus and Russia. [5] [6] They were a part of folk culture (Vasilisa the Beautiful) and its magical beliefs, made and tied without the use of a needle or other sharp objects, to "not poke/hurt the fate" and traditionally had no facial features, sometimes with a cross instead. [5] Motanka dolls were made with specific intentions and wishes/tasks for them to grant, of various sorts, such as guarding the family or a prosperous marriage. Nowadays motanka dolls are coming back to popularity as a part of interest in Slavic cultures of the past, often as an educational device during educational and ethnographic workshops, or as a work of folk artists. [5] [7]
Today, many rag dolls are commercially produced to mimic aspects of the original home-made dolls, such as simple features, soft cloth bodies, and patchwork clothing. One prominent example of a commercially produced ragdoll is the Raggedy Ann doll. Raggedy Ann first appeared in 1918 as the main character of a series of children's stories by Johnny Gruelle. Raggedy Andy, her brother, was introduced in 1920. [8]
In their earlier forms, rag dolls were made out of cloth scraps or cornhusks. [2] In the 19th and 20th century, rag dolls were made out of stockinette, felt, or velvet. [4]
Quilting is the term given to the process of joining a minimum of three layers of fabric together either through stitching manually using a needle and thread, or mechanically with a sewing machine or specialised longarm quilting system. An array of stitches is passed through all layers of the fabric to create a three-dimensional padded surface. The three layers are typically referred to as the top fabric or quilt top, batting or insulating material, and the backing.
Patchwork or "pieced work" is a form of needlework that involves sewing together pieces of fabric into a larger design. The larger design is usually based on repeating patterns built up with different fabric shapes. These shapes are carefully measured and cut, basic geometric shapes making them easy to piece together.
A quilt is a multi-layered textile, traditionally composed of two or more layers of fabric or fiber. Commonly three layers are used with a filler material. These layers traditionally include a woven cloth top, a layer of batting or wadding, and a woven back combined using the techniques of quilting. This is the process of sewing on the face of the fabric, and not just the edges, to combine the three layers together to reinforce the material. Stitching patterns can be a decorative element. A single piece of fabric can be used for the top of a quilt, but in many cases the top is created from smaller fabric pieces joined, or patchwork. The pattern and color of these pieces creates the design.
A doll is a model typically of a human or humanoid character, often used as a toy for children. Dolls have also been used in traditional religious rituals throughout the world. Traditional dolls made of materials such as clay and wood are found in the Americas, Asia, Africa and Europe. The earliest documented dolls go back to the ancient civilizations of Egypt, Greece, and Rome. They have been made as crude, rudimentary playthings as well as elaborate art. Modern doll manufacturing has its roots in Germany, from the 15th century. With industrialization and new materials such as porcelain and plastic, dolls were increasingly mass-produced. During the 20th century, dolls became increasingly popular as collectibles.
A stuffed toy is a toy doll with an outer fabric sewn from a textile and stuffed with flexible material. They are known by many names, such as plush toys, plushies, stuffed animals, and stuffies; in Britain and Australia, they may also be called soft toys or cuddly toys. The stuffed toy originated from the Steiff company of Germany in the late 19th century and gained popularity following the creation of the teddy bear in the United States in 1903. At the same time, German toy inventor Richard Steiff designed a similar bear. In 1903, Peter Rabbit was the first fictional character to be made into a patented stuffed toy. In 1921, Christopher Robin's stuffed toy, given to him by his father, A. A. Milne, would inspire the creation of Winnie-the-Pooh. In the 1970s, London-based Hamleys, the world's oldest toy store, bought the rights to Paddington Bear stuffed toys. In the 1990s, Ty Warner created Beanie Babies, a series of animals stuffed with plastic pellets that were popular as collector's items.
Japanese dolls are one of the traditional Japanese crafts.
A patchwork quilt is a quilt in which the top layer may consist of pieces of fabric sewn together to form a design. Originally, this was to make full use of leftover scraps of fabric, but now fabric is often bought specially for a specific design. Fabrics are now often sold in quarter meters. A "fat quarter" is one square meter folded into four and cut along the folds, thus giving a relatively square piece of fabric 50 cm on a side, as opposed to buying a quarter of a meter off the roll, resulting in a long thin piece that is only 25 cm wide.
The Patchwork Girl is a character from the fantasy Oz Book series by L. Frank Baum. She first appeared in The Patchwork Girl of Oz.
Raggedy Ann is a character created by American writer Johnny Gruelle (1880–1938) that appeared in a series of books he wrote and illustrated for young children. Raggedy Ann is a rag doll with red yarn for hair and a triangle nose. Gruelle received US Patent D47789 for his Raggedy Ann doll on September 7, 1915. The character was created in 1915, as a doll, and was introduced to the public in the 1918 book Raggedy Ann Stories. When a doll was marketed with the book, the concept had great success. A sequel, Raggedy Andy Stories (1920), introduced the character of her brother, Raggedy Andy. Further characters such as Beloved Belindy, a black mammy doll, were featured as dolls and characters in books.
John Barton Gruelle was an American artist, political cartoonist, children's book and comics author, illustrator, and storyteller. He is best known as the creator of Raggedy Ann and Raggedy Andy dolls and as the author/illustrator of dozens of books. He also created the Beloved Belindy doll. Gruelle also contributed cartoons and illustrations to at least ten newspapers, four major news syndicates, and more than a dozen national magazines. He was the son of Hoosier Group painter Richard Gruelle.
Peg wooden dolls, also known as Dutch dolls, are a type of wooden doll from South Tyrol. They originated as simple lathe-turned dolls from the Val Gardena in the Alps. The name Pennywoods is also used for dolls of this type, in particular those made in the United States. These dolls were sold undressed. Children would then make their clothing from scraps of fabric.
The history of quilting, the stitching together of layers of padding and fabric, may date back as far as 3400 BCE. For much of its history, quilting was primarily a practical technique to provide physical protection and insulation. However, decorative elements were often also present, and many quilts are now primarily art pieces.
Raggedy Ann & Andy: A Musical Adventure is a 1977 live-action/animated musical fantasy film loosely adapted from the 1924 novel Raggedy Ann and Andy and the Camel with the Wrinkled Knees. It was directed by Richard Williams, produced by the Bobbs-Merrill Company, and released theatrically by 20th Century-Fox. A 1941 short film had previously featured the Raggedy Ann and Andy characters created by Johnny Gruelle. It was the first feature-length animated musical comedy film produced in the United States. In the film, Raggedy Ann and Andy, along with other toys, live in Marcella's nursery. During Marcella's seventh birthday, Babette, a doll from France, is introduced as the new doll from a large package. Meanwhile, Captain Contagious kidnaps Babette in the pirate ship and escapes from the nursery. Raggedy Ann and Andy have to explore and find Babette in the Deep Deep Woods to save her.
Toy advertising is the promotion of toys through a variety of media. Advertising campaigns for toys have been criticized for trading on children's naivete and for turning children into premature consumers. Advertising to children is usually regulated to ensure that it meets defined standards of honesty and decency. These rules vary from country to country, with some going as far as banning all advertisements that are directed at children.
Amish dolls are a type of rag doll and a popular form of American folk art, which originated as children's toys among the Old Order Amish people. While some Amish dolls have faces, the majority of them do not, to emphasize the fact that all are alike in the eyes of God.
Ana Karen Allende is a Mexican artisan from the Mexico City borough of Coyoacán, who specializes in creating rag dolls and soft fabric animals. The tradition of making rag dolls in Mexico extends back to the pre-Hispanic period with the making of rag dolls reaching its peak in the 19th century. Allende's first doll was made when her sister was about to turn fifteen. For quinceañera celebrations in Xochimilco, it is customary to give the girl her “last doll” as a means of marking her transition from child to adult. Allende decided to make this doll herself, using sewing skills taught to her by her grandmother. Soon after, she began to make dolls for her friends and family, and the attention they received prompted her to think of selling them.
Traditional Mexican handcrafted toys are those made by artisans rather than manufactured in factories. The history of Mexican toys extends as far back as the Mesoamerican era, but many of the toys date to the colonial period. Many of these were introduced as teaching tools by evangelists, and were associated with certain festivals and holidays. These toys vary widely, including cup and ball, lotería, dolls, miniature people, animals and objects, tops and more—made of many materials, including wood, metal, cloth, corn husks, ceramic, and glass. These toys remained popular throughout Mexico until the mid-20th century, when commercially made, mostly plastic toys became widely available. Because of the advertising commercial toys receive and because they are cheaper, most traditional toys that are sold as handcrafts, principally to tourists and collectors.
Raggedy Ann: The Musical Adventure is a musical with book by William Gibson and songs by Joe Raposo. It is based on the children's stories by Johnny Gruelle and the 1977 feature film Raggedy Ann & Andy: A Musical Adventure. The story centers on Marcella, a dying young girl whose toys come to life and take her on a magical adventure to meet The Doll Doctor, in hopes that he can mend her broken heart. Though the show failed on Broadway, it developed a cult following through bootleg recordings.
A hōko is a kind of soft-bodied doll given to young women of age and especially to pregnant women in Japan to protect both mother and unborn child. Traditionally, hōko dolls were made of silk and human hair, and stuffed with cotton. The dolls could be made for both boys and girls. Boys' dolls would be given up and "consecrated" at a shrine when boys came of age at 15 years old, while girls would give up their dolls at marriage. The dolls were given to children either at birth, or on special days shortly after birth. Pregnant woman would be given new ones, so as to protect her and her unborn child together, for the duration of the pregnancy.
Baijiayi, also known as baijiapao and sometimes referred as One hundred families robe, Hundred-Families robe, or One hundred families clothing in English, is a form of Chinese patchwork jacket, particular for male children. The baijiayi is used as a protective talisman for children. It is a traditional Han Chinese custom garment, which has been passed down for centuries.
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