This is what happens when a Cabbage Patch Kid lover grows up

If you were a child of the '80s, there's a high probability you owned a Cabbage Patch Kid. Or three.

With their chubby, dimpled cheeks, ropey hair and squishy bodies, they were the dolls that defined a generation and kick-started the maternal instincts of many a little girl (and boy). 

Now, all your dreams of owning a real, living, breathing Cabbage Patch Kid can finally, finally be realised. All you need is:

(i) a human baby aged roughly 8 months,

(ii) a giant cabbage leaf to sit her in, and

(iii) a crocheted wig to pop on her head.

It's really that easy. 

So. Is this idea outrageously cute? Or an example of nostalgia gone too far?

Either way, handmade Cabbage Patch Kids wigs are quickly taking over the internet, and we have mum-to-be and doll enthusiast Amanda Lillie to thank for it. (Thanks, Amanda. What could possibly come next – Baby Born skullcaps? Clip-on Lego hair?)

Lillie, who lives in the US state of Georgia, fused her love of crocheting with her fondness for the '80s toys and is now making a killing on craft website Etsy. 

"I was a huge child of the '80s and I had lots of Cabbage Patch Kids dolls and I just loved them," the 33-year-old told TODAY Moms.

Lillie decided to crochet her own version of the dolls' trademark woollen hair after seeing hats on Pinterest that mimicked the style – but not well enough, in her opinion.

"It had stringy bangs and the pigtails were entirely too short, I knew I could create a much more authentic looking wig".

Lillie dragged out her collection of dolls – the last one purchased when she was 16! – for inspiration, and developed her own pattern with "loopy bangs". Her wigs come in both baby and adult (!) sizes, with each one taking 2-3 hours to complete. 

The wigs took off when Lillie put one on sale at her Etsy shop, The Lillie Pad. They've since received a huge response, particularly in the lead-up to Halloween last year. The response has been so massive, in fact, that she's currently out of stock.  

Who knew people would be willing to pay for their kids to look like dolls – which were, in turn, designed to look like kids? Fascinating.

Amanda and a friend pose in her adult-sized Cabbage Patch wigs.