Who invented The Cabbage Patch Kids dolls?

Xavier Roberts (born October 31, 1955 in Cleveland, Georgia) is an American dollmaker, businessman, and owner of the Cabbage Patch Kids franchise.

Influenced by the quilts that his mother made, Roberts began experimenting with a quilted doll in a process known as soft sculpture. He and a small group of friends began to travel from state to state in the southeastern United States attending various folk art exhibitions. At them, he began selling these handcrafted dolls he called "babies". He copied these dolls from Martha Nelson Thomas. Going into business as Original Appalachian Artworks, Inc., he started producing dolls in a converted medical clinic in his hometown of Cleveland "Babyland General Hospital".

The Little People evolved by 1982 into Cabbage Patch Kids, which quickly became a major toy fad. In 1984 alone, 20 million were bought, and by 1999, 95 million had been sold worldwide.