Amish Dolls
What is an Amish Doll?

In recent years, a cottage industry  has sprung up within the Amish community,  where the dolls have been shipped to museums and outlets throughout America.

As most people know, Amish children played with faceless dolls that we know today as traditional Amish style rag dolls. Whilst there are religious explanations for the lack of a face being to do with the dolls not being made as graven images (the making of which was strictly forbidden according to the Book of Deuteronomy); others believe this was simply a custom followed by the Amish people, perhaps because the task of embroidering or drawing faces was seen as frivolous and therefore discouraged. 

It is reported that a short story called 'Suzie,' published in a leading national magazine in 1937 was the catalyst for the traditional view of why Amish dolls have no faces. The story described an Amish girl who received a doll from her teacher as a Christmas gift; whereupon her father removed its head and replaced it with a stuffed stocking because 'only God can make people.' It has also been stated that today it is common for the Amish to buy or make dolls with faces and there are apparently examples of Amish dolls with sewn or drawn faces dating back to 1900. 

As well as being faceless, Amish Dolls also have very distinctive clothing. Fabrics used being off-cuts of those that the people themselves would have worn in black with bold, unpatterened, monochromatic colours in cottons, linens and wools, without frills or embellishment, reflecting the unassuming nature of the people. 

Dolls from the late 19th Century were usually 22” - 24” tall and made using both machine and hand-stitching. When a doll became too dirty or worn out, it would be completely covered with a new piece of recycled muslin cloth, resulting in dolls being found that have several layers of cloth over the head and body.  A tightly stuffed cotton filling or old rags were usual for most dolls , whilst straw was only very occasionally used. Polyester filling indicates a much more modern doll. Sticks inside the body were also used to make the bodies rigid and stitching at the elbow and knee joints also allowed for greater flexibility of movement. 

Both boy and girl dolls were made, since an Amish household had very few toys, boys and girls alike would play with the dolls.  Also, since very young Amish boys often wore dresses, their dolls were dressed likewise. Those boy dolls that were made wearing trousers were also given black jackets and brimmed hats.

Made by me in February 2000, from designs by Pellman and Steffy, 
they have a full set of clothes with petticoat and under bonnet for the girl doll.  

Lizzie Lapp Doll

These rag dolls have been made by Amish women for their children over many generations. Lizzie Lapp is one of the few that actually became known by name. She lived near Bird-in-Hand Pennsylvania from 1860 to 1932. Having a severe speech impediment, she produced dolls for her own community as well as for sale to tourists, even shipping her dolls to California in the early 1920’s.

Lizzie Lapp Dolls dolls are best recognized by the hourglass shape of their bodies and were constructed in three basic units:  The head, trunk and arms were one section with a stick inside, buried in the stuffing to keep the neck rigid.  The legs and feet were part of the second section and were attached separately to enable the doll to sit. The final section combined the hands, which were attached to the arms in a glove-like fashion. The hands and feet were usually made of denim, as was the back of the head presumably to denote hair, since the dolls wore Amish dresses, but no bonnets.