Wikipeadia have the following definition of a rag doll:
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 most ancient children's toys in existence; the British Museum has a Roman rag doll, found in a child's grave dating from 300 BC.
Rag dolls have featured in a number of children's stories, most notably Raggedy Ann in the 1918 book by John Barton Gruelle and the British children's television series Bagpuss and Rag dolly Anna.
Today, many rag dolls are commercially produced to simulate the features of the original home-made dolls, such as simple features, soft cloth bodies, and patchwork clothing.
History of the Rag Doll
(http://www.clothdollcreations.co.uk/history.html)
Rag/Cloth Dolls forever hold a strong affection in our hearts and minds having been created & recreated many times over the centuries.
The fact that they were unbreakable and inexpensive resulted in them getting more wear and tear than other more costly toys which would have been handled with more care and respect and thus there are fewer examples of antique rag dolls in museums and homes today.
Those that do survive reflect the fashions and culture of the times. Traditionally dolls and particularly cloth dolls have been a way of passing cultural norms on to children.
Over the years, cloth dolls were stuffed with straw, sawdust, leaves, feathers, fabric scraps, left-over thread and yarn, cotton batting, wood-wool, Kapok, foam chips and nylon stockings and more recently Polyester filling.
Doll clothing was made from fabric scraps left over from the family sewing basket. The clothes would have reflected the clothes of people during the time the dolls were made, including underwear, petticoats, long dress, pinafore, apron and bonnet. Doll shoes and stockings might have been sewn or painted on.
Facial features were embroidered or painted with ink or stained with natural dyes: berries, flowers, leaves, tea. In some cases, e.g. primitive dolls, the dolls might have no face or perhaps given eyes only. Early dolls were often made from all sorts of materials, such as animal skin, corn husks, cotton fabric and other soft materials.
Despite being of a perishable nature, some examples of cloth/linen dolls, which can be traced right back to ROMAN, EARLY GREEK and EARLY CHRISTIAN times survive in museum collections today. The British Museum has a Roman rag doll, found in a child's grave dating back to 300 B.C.
Naturally Simple Rag Dolls
Naturally Simple have had some rag dolls especially designed and handmade exclusively to our website – www.naturallysimple.co.uk
They are extremely well made and would make any child proud to be an owner of one. Each rag doll is unique and whichever doll you purchase is one of a kind! Although there may be similarities, because each item is handmade, no two are alike. Each rag doll is made using locally sourced fabrics where possible and the stuffing is hypo-allergenic and all the toys are machine washable.
Being handmade each toy is unique with its own character.
We decided not to name our rag dolls. We came to this conclusion because it limits the market of each one. We find with our other rag dolls that people usually buy them because they are the same name of the little person they are buying the gift for.
These rag dolls are absolutely gorgeous and are really popular with both children and adults alike. They are beautifully made by hand CE marked and suitable for 3 years and above.
We have two sizes of dolls and are either 50 cm or 35 cm and should suit any budget and is supplied with free post and packing to mainland UK.
The main things to remember when buying a Naturally Simple Rag Doll:
- Our unique handmade rag dolls are all one of a kind.
- We have not named our rag dolls so that you can name your special doll yourself.
- Free post and packing to mainland UK.
- Tested to CE standards.
- Recommended age of 3 years and above.
- Locally sourced fabrics where possible are used and the stuffing is hypo-allergenic and all the toys are machine washable.
- We have two sized dolls 50cm and 35 cm tall.
