Cabbage Patch Doll

Q: I have a Cabbage Patch doll that was given to me by a neighbor when she moved to an assisted living facility. She has since died. I’ve heard of a Cabbage Patch collection somewhere in the United States. Can you tell me where this doll might join her sisters?

A: You might be thinking of BabyLand General Hospital in Cleveland, Ga., where the dolls have been made since the late 1970s. Xavier Roberts created soft sculpture dolls with “needle molded” cloth faces in 1977. The dolls, called Little People Originals, were said to have been born in a cabbage patch. The story that new babies are found under a cabbage leaf is an old one. Coleco bought licensing rights to the dolls in 1982 and called them Cabbage Patch Kids. Their Cabbage Patch Kids are slightly smaller than the original dolls and have vinyl faces instead of cloth faces. Several other manufacturers have made the dolls since then. WCT Toy Co. currently now makes them. A line of “Exclusives” are being made at BabyLand General Hospital and are sold there or the Cabbage Patch Kids website. There is no indication they take old dolls back, however. We don’t know of a place that takes care of old Cabbage Patch dolls but they are welcome donations to many charities, who will find them new “parents.”