<P> According to Xavier, as a 21 - year - old art student, he utilized the quilting skills he learned from his mother and the historic technique of "needle molding" to develop his own line of fabric sculptures . He called these hand - stitched, one - of - a-kind, soft fabric sculptures "The Little People". His Little People were not offered for sale, but were "adopted" each with their own individual name and birth certificate . Other soft sculpture dolls dating back to the 19th century were created using similar needle molding techniques . </P> <P> The Little People were first offered at arts and crafts shows, then later at Babyland General Hospital in Cleveland, Georgia . The doll brand went on to become one of the most popular toy fads of the 1980s and one of the longest - running doll franchises in the United States . </P> <P> The name change to Cabbage Patch Kids was made in 1982 when Xavier's company, Original Appalachian Artworks, began to license a smaller version of the handmade creations to a toy manufacturer named Coleco . An abbreviated version of the discovery legend was reproduced on every Cabbage Patch Kids product from 1983 onward . Parker Brothers published the original story retitled "Xavier's Fantastic Discovery" in 1984 and two Albums that went Gold . The characters appeared in many other Cabbage Patch merchandising products ranging from animated cartoons to board games: </P> <P> Xavier Roberts was a ten - year - old boy who discovered the Cabbage Patch Kids by following a BunnyBee behind a waterfall into a magical Cabbage Patch, where he found the Cabbage Patch babies being born . To help them find good homes he built BabyLand General in Cleveland, Georgia where the Cabbage Patch Kids could live and play until they were adopted . </P>

When was the first cabbage patch kid made