Crochet Rag Doll – The Story Behind the Doll

There’s something special about a rag doll.  She’s always smiling.  She’s there for you.  You can hold her by the hand and drag her around on a great adventure.  She’s floppy and yet built for rough and tumble play.  She’s not fussy or demanding.  Yet she’s all girl.  

She’s the best kind of friend..cute..fun..ready to go..and she is a fantastic listener!  So it’s no surprise at all that one of my most favorite things in the world to crochet is a doll.  And a crochet rag doll is especially fun!

Welcome to a series that I’m calling “Back Stage”.  Back Stage will give you the behind the design story of my patterns.  You can read other Back Stage stories here.  

Meet Dressy Bessy… my first rag doll and one of my 2 favorite childhood dolls.  She’s the only one of the 2 that I still own.  First, I have to say..that I was surprised at how beat up Miss Bessy looks.  My memory of her is a bit different… in my childhood memory, her eyes are straight and she’s in pristine condition.  But I suppose I’ve aged a bit over the years too!  I love how rag dolls come together.  See how her arms and legs come right out of her body?  This is exactly the look I wanted when designing my crochet rag dolls.  Dressy Bessy and other sewn rag dolls were the inspiration for Gracie and Delia.

I designed my crochet rag dolls so that you crochet the legs first, then incorporate them into the body, working up to the arms, where you join them in on up to the neck.  I feel this makes them nice with just the right amount of floppiness.

Plus I love a pattern that goes together well and is a joy to crochet. I think this crochet rag doll fits the bill.

As far as names go, my intentions were to name the rag dolls in honor of my husband’s family.  “Delia” was his grandmother’s name.  And then along came Gracie with her wild hair and well.. she didn’t seem to fit any of the relative names.  She and I had a talk about it and she seemed to be a Gracie, so that’s what she is.  Sometimes dolls are like that.

I’d love to hear if you like the Back Stage stories.

You can find both rag doll patterns in my shop:  Grace (in red on the left) and Delia (the auburn beauty on the right).

MORE AMIGURUMI PATTERNS

If you love my rag doll patterns, you might also like to check out these free patterns in the Tamingo Series:

1. Rachel  //   2. Bernadette the Bunny //   3. Sami the Witch

I love seeing your finished projects! If you enjoyed making any of my patterns, I’d love to see yours on Instagram, be sure to tag me @crochet365knittoo.  If you are on Facebook, stop over to the Crochet 365 Knit Too Facebook page or pop over to the Crochet365KnitToo Club and share a photo!  I’d love to see your work!