Cloth or rag dolls are dolls made from fabric — traditionally hand-stitched from cotton, silk, or wool, and stuffed with cotton wool, rags, kapok, or straw. Faces are embroidered or painted, and dolls are usually dressed in miniature versions of local traditional clothing. Cloth is soft, safe, and forgiving — cloth dolls are often a child's first doll, and often stay with the family for years.
Because fabric is universally available and the technique needs no special tools beyond needle and thread, every folk tradition in the world has its own cloth-doll form. Traditional cloth dolls are often made at home by mothers or grandmothers for a specific child, rather than by professional workshops — which gives each doll a personal, one-of-a-kind character.
Explore this craft by country
Each country page describes how this tradition is practised there — its own names, materials, workshops and living makers.