Making A Simple Cloth Doll from a Kit: A Review of Miss Poppet from Historical Folk Toys

If your family does not believe in plastic dolls like Barbie or Bratz, or if you just want something different, you may be interested in making a more traditional doll like the Miss Poppet doll.  Poppets or puppet dolls were a common item in the Colonial American household. These dolls were homemade and pieced together from scraps of available cloth.

The Henry Ford Museum, who provided the doll kit to us for review, is famous for their Greenfield Village, a part of the museum that specializes in exploring the realities of life in Colonial America. This doll kit is a perfect extension of the learning promoted by The Henry Ford Museum, but if you do not get a chance to go to the museum in Dearborn, Michigan you can access this and many other crafts on the Henry Ford website.

Making the Poppet Doll

The Miss Poppet kit comes with everything you need to make a traditional poppet doll.  This “rag doll” consists of a cloth head and trunk area stuffed with batting.  Arms can be sewn on, if you desire. Over the trunk goes a simple dress made of two pieces of cloth sewn together. The original early American Poppet doll did not have hair, but this kit includes that option. The hair is made from lengths of braided yarn which is then sewn to the head and covered with a simple scarf.

From start to finish, barring interruptions, the construction of the poppet doll took me about 2 hours. It was simple enough that, with guidance, a child as young as 4 years old could help with putting the doll together. I did sew the fabric and do the hems with a sewing machine rather than by hand, but it can be done either way.

What You Should Know Before Making the Poppet Doll

The poppet doll is really quite a simple project. The instructions were clear and easy to follow. Making the doll without arms is a bit simpler than making it with the attached arms, but neither is overly taxing. The sewing required is minimal and can be done either by hand or with a sewing machine.

The only drawback I found with this doll is that the finished product is not quite sturdy enough for my 20-month-old daughter. The dress attaches to the body only with a string through a casing around the neck, and because of this it can come off very easily.  Though this doll will be given to my daughter for Christmas, I did let her try it out briefly to set what her reaction was. Since this was her first experience with a doll (other than stuffed animals), she was unsure what to make of it at first.  She immediately tried to rip the dress off and almost succeeded.

The good news is that even if the dress comes off, it is easy to put back on, and there are no parts that will be a choking hazard even if a child is rough with it. Based on my daughter’s reaction to the toy, however, I would recommend that it would be appropriate for children two years of age and up.  I am still going to use this doll in combination with a doll quilt as a Christmas present for my daughter, and she will be just under two years old.

How to Get the Miss Poppet Kit

The Miss Poppet Kit was supplied by the Henry Ford Museum and is available in the museum gift shop and will be in their online store soon. At $14.99, the kit is a good value. There are also other doll kits, like the Rag Doll Kit.  Both of these doll kits are made by Historical Folk Toys, a wholesaler that specializes in supplying museums with high-quality toys and crafts at a low price.

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