Becoming a dollmaker is a slow process, usually it happens to you without you becoming very aware that is happening but there are definite steps you intentionally make and the most important one is: you make dolls. You don’t become a dollmaker by wishing, by looking or dreaming…you become one by making.

Doll clothing for natural fiber art dolls, by fig&me

Over the years that I have been making dolls I have gone through different stages, from denial to slow acceptance. I didn’t consider myself a ‘proper’ dollmaker from the outset because I was truly ignorant of everything to do with dolls, thankfully over the years I learned said techniques and somehow I quietly accepted the title. It gave me a stronger footing.

In this road I am in I have had glimpses of deep joy when I complete a doll or when I find just the right stitch to use, when something finally clicks as I am learning new-to-me software or platforms, when I see one of my students grasp a technique that eluded them.

Natural fiber art doll Blythe, by fig&me

But finishing the dolls is the most satisfying of all the steps, stages, activities or what-have-yous of the dollmaking path. It is both such an elated blessing but also a very strong and hard let down.

How can both be there? How can you feel so euphoric at the sight of your finished doll or dolls, and also so incredibly exhausted (both physically and emotionally) and sad? You get almost numb from these emotions pulling you to each side so strongly. I know I do.

I do recommend it though. Becoming a dollmaker. Because I truly feel if your heart is softly whispering that you would love to make dolls, then there might be something in your heart that will only find its true expression through dollmaking.

So I present you the latest expression of my storytelling heart, created by the kindness of my very small but eager hands, forged through the creativity of my doll dreams.

I hope one of them finds their way to your heart. They all live in mine!

Natural fiber art doll Savannah, by fig&me

I have six dolls here, so I hope you forgive the lack of “prose” to describe each personality in fullness. I will give you a small snippet, leaving the rest for you to find out when and if you meet them in person; I will tell you what they come with and what they are made of. At the bottom of this post there will be an e-form in which to enter your details for the doll you want to bring home, so please read on.

This family has been quite the adventure. They are all made using my figlette pattern, which I downsized for them through lots of experimentation, sketching and testing to get the proportions just right.

I wanted to see a large family from my hands again, but I wanted them all to have the same pattern and have different ages, which posed a conundrum. I work best with big challenges, techniques to learn and mountains to overcome. So while all dolls are made from the exact same pattern, each one is different. One has a longer torso, the other one longer legs, etc. They are all unique, just like way I sculpted their faces.

If you had seen them without the skin and all the embroidery eyes I love to do, you will see how different their sculpt is from each other. This was lots of fun, pushing my hands not to do the same thing again though I was particularly in love with the previous, already completed face. Always having too much fun!

I just wanted to stretch my doll design muscles, using a pattern I know deeply and which was the one I finally took the plunge with calling myself a dollmaker. As most of you must know, the figlette is such a close-to-my-heart pattern because it is based on the body of my youngest daughter when she was 5 years old.

Natural fiber art doll Dakota, by fig&me

Every time I add those knobby knees I remember her at this age. When I sculpt those bellies or add the slender necks, I remember her sitting on our dining room, barely reaching the table, drawing and eating snacks.

As I always say, dollmaking is a way to time travel and also to freeze time.

But let’s get to the dolls, I know you have been waiting so long for them!

We will start with the youngest ones: Blythe and Tao.

Blythe is a little over 14” tall and Tao is 15”. Blythe is made with De Witte Engel (high quality 100% cotton dollmaking interlock) skin fabric, in a peachy colour, her eyes are blue and her long blonde hair is made of lovely British Teeswater locks, wefted by myself. She is stuffed and sculpted in Canadian wool.

Blythe is wearing cotton jersey underpants, wool maryjanes with wooden buttons, a cotton double-gauze dress with lots of rooms for dancing and prancing and twirling. The dress opens partically at back and closes with a sewn-in snap. Blythe also wears a little handknit scrunchy elfish hat, with ties so it stays put.

Tao is made with the same De Witte Engel fabric as Blythe, but in a light brown skin tone. Her eyes are also blue and her hair is very short and curly Suri Alpaca locks, sewn into wefts by me. Tao is stuffed and sculpted in Canadian wool.

Tao wears cotton jersey underpants and a light lilac cotton double-gauze romper, with lots of room to play and climb trees. The romper opens partially at back and closes with a sewn-in snap. The weather started to turn a little bit so I decided to gift Tao a wool/mohair cowl made of repurposed knit. Tao loves it because she said it makes her cheeks warm. As a last item Tao wears tiny maryjanes that close with wooden buttons.

Next in line are Dakota and Graciela. Dakota is 16” tall and Ella (what we call Graciela here at home) is 17” tall.

Dakota is made with heavy-weight jersey made by Laib Yala (very high quality dollmaking fabric from Switzerland) in a medium warm brown skin tone. Her eyes are medium brown and her hair is made with long very dark brown Suri Alpaca locks, wefted by myself. Dakota is stuffed and sculpted with Canadian wool.

She wears cotton jersey underwear and a lovely 100% linen dress with cotton lace at the hem. Her dress opens partially at back and closes with a sewn-in snap. Due to the chilly mornings here I also made Dakota a little cashmere scarf with two wooly pompoms. Dakota loves fashion magazines and is always making big collages based on colours. Can you guess her favourite colour? Her maryjanes are made of wool and close with wooden buttons.

Ella is a freckly girl made with De Witte Engel cotton interlock in a very light pink colour and with deep green eyes. She is stuffed and sculpted with Canadian wool and her hair is made of medium-length, reddish brown, Suri Alpaca locks, wefted by myself. Ella’s freckles are hand-painted with fabric markers and she has them all over her chest, back, shoulders and face.

Ella wears a long sleeved, mint colour, cotton double-gauze dress with elasticized collar and cuffs. The dress opens fully at front and closes with sewn-in snaps and has decorative buttons. Ella wears cotton jersey underpants and wooly (I hand dyed the wool with Goldenrod) maryjanes that close with wooden buttons. Ella loves to bake so we made her a pink apron, lined, trimmed with handmade cotton crochet lace and a ceramic button.

And last but not least, Savannah and Summer. The tallest and eldest girls.

Savannah is 18” tall and Summer is 19,5”. For those new to my work, I measure all my dolls lying flat.

Savannah is made with De Witte Engel cotton interlock in a very light pink colour. Savannah has lovely freckles on her face, which are hand-painted with fabric markers and deep green eyes. She is stuffed and sculpted with Canadian wool and her hair is made wth very unique Appaloosa Alpaca locks, wefted by myself. Her hair has strands of chocolate brown, cream and white.

Savannah wears a long sleeved lilac cotton double-gauze blouse with peter pan collar and two vintage buttons. The blouse opens fully at back and closes with sewn-in snaps. She also wears cotton jersey underpants and wooly slip-on shoes. Savannah has a wide cotton skirt with fitted waist that closes with two sewn-in snaps. Savannah is a gatherer so we had to give her skirt some handy patch pockets made of cashmere, lined with linen and top-stitched with embroidery thread.

Natural fiber art doll Summer, by fig&me

The tallest beauty in the land is my precious Summer, such a joyful child. She is made with the same De Witte Engel cotton interlock as Tao. Her hair is medium-length, light brown Suri Alpaca locks, wefted by myself. Summer has a birthmark in her scalp which makes the hair in that area grow almost white ;-) Summer is stuffed and sculpted in Canadian wool, with very happy brown embroidered eyes.

She wears cotton jersey underpants and wooly mayjanes that close with wooden buttons. Her short-sleeve blouse is made with cotton double-gauze and has a sailor collar made of linen and trimmed with cotton lace and ric-rac. Her blouse opens fully at centre front and closes with sewn-in snaps. It has a cotton twill ribbon bow.

Her skirt is made of linen and it opens fully at centre front, closing with wooden buttons and buttonholes. Summer and I decided to be twinsies so I made a cotton skirt like Summer’s for myself, except mine has large pockets and mother-of-pearl buttons. Ah! the joys of finally dressing like my dolls.

Making natural fiber art dolls, by fig&me

All the dolls are made entirely by me. From rolling the wool to sculpt their faces, needle felting all those features, sewing arms and legs by hand, embroidering eyes galore, wefting hundreds of inches of fiber for their hair, stuffing little knees and bums, sewing cute sleeves and collars, adding buttons and crocheting all those wee shoes.

All dolls are made with natural materials and are recommended for children 12+ or adult collectors. Their hair needs very gentle care and there are buttons and long fibers that pose choking hazards for little ones so please be mindful. All clothing can be handwashed and laid flat to dry. Care instructions are sent as PDF when the doll is shipped your way. It is a lengthy file that tells you how the doll is constructed, how to clean it and take care of her hair.

If you would like to bring one of the girls home, please enter your details in the form below and make a selection.

If you want to enter for more than one, you are warmly welcome to but please know you might end up having to pay for both.

Only serious customers please, who are interested in bringing the dolls personally home. Please do not enter on behalf of someone else.

We will leave the form open until Monday August 31st at 6 PM EST at which point I will draw names randomly to purchase each doll and Paypal requests will be sent, which are due upon receipt.

Shipping is taking around 2 weeks from Canada to the US and within Canada and is calculated at $50 USD with tracking. If your country of residence is different, I can give you different quotes based on available services to your country. We can talk about your options if you are selected to take a girl home.

Prices for the dolls are as follows: Blythe $1180 USD, Tao $1180 USD, Dakota $1280 USD, Ella $1280 USD, Savannah $1380 USD, Summer $1380 USD.

All dolls travel in beautiful floral boxes, wrapped in plastic covers and kraft paper to minimize damage to the box and ensure your doll arrives safely home. I will try my best to ship the dolls the same week, but sometimes I have to spend a few days saying good-bye and they are so many! I thank you for your understanding.

THE FORM HAS BEEN DELETED AND ALL DOLLS HAVE FOUND THEIR HOMES. IF THERE ARE NO HICCUPS WITH THE SALES, THEY SHOULD ALL BE TRAVELING THIS WEEK. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR UNENDING SUPPORT OF THE WORK OF MY HANDS!

Thank you so much for coming to finally see them ready to fly away. It both elates and pains me to see them ready, but I know you understand.

We humans are made of conflict. We encompass contradictions, we don’t always make sense, but beauty speaks to our hearts.

I hope my dolls speak to yours.

Thank you kindly for your support, in bringing one home, in wishing them good luck and in supporting me with your encouraging words whilst I was making them. I simply couldn’t do this without all of you.

I made a small video to record some of the snippets from their creation, I hope you enjoy watching this behind-the-scenes look at my Summer doll collection. Enjoy!