I wrote this article, about the knitted Waldorf Toy a little while ago for Donni from The Magic Onions and I have always wanted to share it here in this space...
The Knitted Waldorf Toy:
The knitted toy plays a large role within the area of the child's play experience in Waldorf philosophy. There are so many knitted toys out there that are wonderfully made, but I think that the knitted toys that gravitate towards Waldorf families have certain subtle elements that encourage people to have these particular toys in favour of others.
The knitted Waldorf toy is beautiful in its simplicity and it is
this simplicity that draws this type of toy into the consciousness of the child's play. When we look at other toys that are available for children to play with, some are plastic and have loud sounds emanating from them. These toys might hold the attention of a child for a short while but they soon become bored with this kind of toy, as it usually only has one purpose and when this has been fulfilled, it is no longer as attractive to the child as all play possibilities have been exhausted.
A knitted Waldorf toy is not shiny and noisy, it has no sharp edges and has an almost organic sense to it. It is soft and natural, usually has a very simplified shape and appearance and I believe this is what causes it to resonate with the heart of any child, encouraging them to want to experience this toy and hold it close. The knitted toy is open ended lending itself to so many play possibilities, this is what makes it attractive to children as an item for many different play scenarios.
The majority of toys have just one facial expression, usually a happy, smiling face, with large eyes. Knitted toys that are considered Waldorf, may have a very slight expression on their faces, two eyes and a mouth that is neither smiling or sad and others that have no facial features at all. This allows the toy to exhibit whichever emotion the child may wish the toy to portray at that particular moment. The child's imagination is free to change the toy's emotions as the moment takes them. However, with a fixed expression of a smiling face, how could the toy ever be anything else...
Every part of the knitted Waldorf toy is natural in its creation - pure wool or yarn is used, even the stuffing to create the shape is wool fleece and the result of this is a wonderful soft treasure that warms to the touch as it has been handmade from these natural materials. Another reason that makes these knitted toys amazing is that in years to come they will not be accumulating in landfills as they are completely biodegradable and revert back to the earth, how wonderful...
The materials that are used are a gift from the sheep. This transformation of fiber into yarn and then a knitted toy is a wonderful journey that is travelled. The wool from the sheep is sheared and cleaned, it is usually very soiled and greasy at this stage, the grease is a substance called Lanolin, which has many uses. After the wool has been cleaned it can either be hand carded to make it easier to work with, removing all the knots or it can be sent to a mill to convert all this lovely wool into roving that can easily be spun into yarn on a spinning wheel. If one would like to add a dye to the wool, it can either be dyed as a roving or as yarn after the yarn has been spun. The yarn is still in a skein at this point and is then wound into a ball that is ready to be knitted into a beautiful treasure for a child to play with... A wonderful story that you could read to your child is
'Pelle's New Suit' by Elsa Beskow... it follows the story of wool from the sheep to a completed item of clothing or
A New Coat for Anna.
These are my musings as a Waldorf knitted toy maker, I am in no way an expert and I am sure there are many different thoughts on knitted Waldorf toys...
Here are some wonderful books for knitted Waldorf toys:
A First Book of Knitting by Bonnie Gosse and Jill Allerton
Knitting for Childern A Second Book by Bonnie Gosse and Jill Allerton
Happy Thursday
xo
Linda
