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Woman in Malang makes Christmas-themed sock dolls, empowers stay-at-home mothers
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Christmas-themed sock dolls are hand-made by Sri Kurnia Mahiruni in Malang, East Java. (JP/Aman Rochman)
T
he birth of her second child in 2015 inspired Sri Kurnia “Nia” Mahiruni, 35, to make dolls from socks in between tending to her new-born baby. After three months, Nia had numerous sock dolls and friends who visited her showed interest in them.
“In the beginning, I made the sock dolls from scraps of fabrics and cotton from unused mattresses. I made it for myself but other people like the dolls too,” Nia told The Jakarta Post in Malang, East Java.
Almost four years since making her first sock doll, Nia has loyal buyers. Every month, Nia makes approximately 250 15-centimeter dolls and 50 33-cm dolls.
But during the holiday season, bigger Christmas-themed dolls are in high demand. Nia now stuffs her dolls with dacron and said the main challenge is to find new socks with typical Christmas motifs, such as Santa Claus, strawberries, reindeer and red and white colors.
The making of a doll starts with finding different colored socks. A doll requires three to five different socks; Nia makes the legs from one sock, sews the edges and then fills them with dacron. To make the body and head of the doll, different socks are used.
The nose and eyes of each doll have to be hand-stitched, and finally, each doll is packed. Experienced sock doll makers only need an hour to complete one piece.
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“When I first started taking orders for Christmas-themed dolls, my firstborn who was in the fifth grade, was criticized because we are Muslims. I explained it in a way that children could understand – about our [country’s] diversity in religions, tribes and languages. We have to respect and tolerate our brothers and sisters of different faiths,” said Nia.
The home-industry sock dolls are marketed through online media and are already Indonesia National Standard (SNI) certified under the brand Dafayu. They are displayed in a number of hotels in Malang and cost between Rp 80,000 (US$ 5.49) and Rp 140,000 per piece.
Now, apart from making dolls based on orders, Nia also gives workshops for housewives. She empowers stay-at-home mothers with skills that can help them earn an income. (mut)
