A rag doll is the most common as well as the most popular one among the children’s toys. People of past centuries used to make handmade rag dolls in order to make an income. It is made of cloth. The rag dolls are usually handmade and are considered in the category of stuffed toys.
Stuff toys are known by various names in different countries such as plush toys, plushies, and stuffies. In the UK and Australia, they are also known as soft toys or cuddly toys. Ragdolls are the oldest children’s toys.
In this modern age of the 21st century, rag dolls are produced commercially to look like handmade stuffed dolls. These rag dolls usually have simple features, patchwork clothing, and soft fabric bodies.
Facts about ragdolls:
Traditionally, they are handmade stuffed dolls made with spare scraps of materials.
The rag dolls are used as comfort objects.
Historically, rag dolls have been used to teach young children nurturing skills.
Ragdolls were often used to teach children how to sew, so the child could practice sewing or make some simple doll itself.
In most of the European countries, from the traditional era up to the early 20th, children of different states love to play with rag dolls.
Production of rag dolls:
The production of rag dolls began around the 18th century, in 1830 when the technique of fabric color printing was first developed.
Production of rag dolls at the Commercial level:
In this century, rag dolls are made commercially because of their great demand when it comes to the category of stuffed toys for buying. Ragdolls are produced commercially to stimulate simple features like the original handmade rag dolls such as patchwork clothing, soft cloth bodies, and simple features.
However, the first and most prominent commercially produced rag doll is the Raggedy Ann doll. This rag doll first appeared in 1918 as the lead character of a children's storybook by an English author named Johnny Gruelle. Later in 1920, the brother of Raggedy Ann named Raggedy Andy was introduced.
Types of Ragdolls:
The two most common and popular types of rag dolls are:
Amish dolls (American rag dolls)
Mexican rag dolls
Amish dolls:
Amish dolls are the best dolls of American traditional art rag dolls.
It was originated by the Ancient Order Amish people as children’s toys.
Amish dolls usually have faced while some of them don’t have faces, to justify the statement that everybody is the same in the eyes of GOD.
There are various origins of faceless dolls that Amish children used. Some of the Amish children used to wrap the blanket around little logs and pretended they had rag dolls.
Mexican rag dolls:
The Mexican rag dolls originated from Mexico City.
Mexican rag dolls are produced to enhance income opportunities for the people of Mexico City.
Mexico has a huge history of making handmade rag dolls for sale but the most popular town in Mexico, which was famous back in the 1970s for making the rag dolls, is Amealco.
The making of rag dolls in Amealco is not limited. It has spread the production of rag dolls into various states, with variations in their appearance and dress but always keeping the braided hairs with wide faces.
Various types of rag dolls have been made in Mexico. The making of handmade rag dolls for sale from old patches of clothes is still common among Mexico’s populations.
Advantages of rag dolls:
Various advantages of handmade rag dolls are listed below:
Easily available materials used in making rag dolls at economical rates.
Easy to make even at home.
Simple
Soft
No sharp edges
Increases sale
Materials:
The material used in making rag dolls is quite cheaper and can easily be available at any store. Anyone can purchase the cloth and threads at very economical rates and make handmade rag dolls at home. The material required to make rag dolls can also be found at homes.
Easy to make:
The scarp pieces of cloth and woolen thread are required to make handmade rag dolls. The different patched pieces of cloth make the ragdolls more attractive and beautiful. No tool is required to make a cloth doll. You can also make it if you only have the cloth as costume material for making rag dolls.
Simple:
The simpler look of the ragdoll makes it more beautiful. It is simple to make a doll by using cloth. Cloth dolls look like real ones because of their charm and simplicity.
Soft:
From a child’s perspective, no toy feels as good to handle as rag dolls. It is not hard like other toys.
No sharp edges:
Ragdolls are the safest to play with. As the rag doll does not have any sharp edges like the wooden or plastic dolls. Thus, it is the safest toy a child can play with.
Increases the ragdoll business:
If a person is making handmade rag dolls for sale doing a business of selling rag dolls, he will definitely get some profit in his business as it is the most lovable toy by the children and also very economical, anyone can buy it easily rather than wasting too much money on plastic dolls, which don’t have any warranty of lasting in its original shape if consistently used for a month.
In various regions of the world, people celebrate these doll festivals every year. These handmade rag dolls are also presented for promotion of the folk art of the specific region in which the events are being organized.
However, rag dolls can also be educational if we taught our students about traditional textiles and traditional costumes through these rag dolls or puppet plays.
As handmade rag dolls are in great demand by the children, selling handmade rag dolls can also be a great source of income. Especially in this crucial time of Covid-19, people can make an easy way of living by using handmade rag dolls.
