Making a Natural Fiber Art Doll

with fig&me

Let me take you on a journey to discover doll making with cloth and wool.

Let me introduce you to what has been an absolute, all-demanding passion for the last ten years of my life.

Let me teach you advanced skills, time-honoured techniques, my vision when it comes to creating dolls and allow you to see a gentle soul come out from your very hands.

Give yourself the time and opportunity to spend two days letting your creativity soar surrounded by kindred souls with the same passion for doll making.

Nurturing your Creativity is Self Care.

Learn not just the basics

During this intensive 2 day workshop you will learn how to make a natural fibre art doll with sound construction that allows you not only to create a healthy doll body, but one of such pleasing proportions that you will fall madly in love with this new wool being you are creating.

This doll making workshop is best suited for Intermediate Beginner to Advanced doll makers. If you have never made a waldorf-style doll I recommend you start with one of my patterns like the Wee Baby Bunny, the Little Fig or the Baby Fig so that you can experiment first and see whether you are really committed to learn more and to improve your skills.

Natural materials

We will be using one of the highest-quality cotton interlocks, specifically designed for this kind of doll making. This fabric has low-pill action, and it comes certified under the highest European standards. It is manufactured by De Witte Engel in the Netherlands. We will be using pure wool batting for the stuffing, cotton-covered wire to create an inner armature for the doll’s neck and a pre-made wig to which we will add mohair weft. Cotton embroidery floss and red beeswax for blushing all pertinent areas.

Skills you will learn

You will learn needle-felting techniques to sculpt the face and torso of your doll, with a wired neck so your doll can gently tilt her or his head.

You will then use needle sculpting techniques to create knees, elbows, a belly button and a sweet bum.

I will teach you how to sew the doll together, all with hand-sewing so that you can learn the best way to assemble a doll with gentle movement in his/her limbs and high finishing in mind.

Body proportions and size

This doll has the body proportions of a 6 year-old child. Slender limbs, longer torso and a small head will allow us to create the doll in two mere days. I think you will have a lot of fun making clothes for this size of doll, which ends up measuring around 11” to 12" tall, but is of very petite construction.

What's included?

The price for the workshop includes all materials, from the cotton fabric, wool stuffing, sewing and embroidery needles, weft, etc., that you will use to create your doll.

You will have to come to the workshop with some hand tools, like scissors, sewing pins, your preferred needles, etc. You will receive a handy booklet of things to bring, and more importantly: stitches to practice, so that we get right to work during our time together.

You will go home with your doll plus a PDF file of all instruction taught and shared with you.

Please know you are not allowed to use this doll pattern (or modified versions of this pattern) to sell dolls from. You are however highly encouraged to adapt and adopt the techniques taught to you during the workshop into your own body of work.

I hope that my guidance helps further you on your doll making journey and that you go back home ready to create, move forward and fill this world with the softness and tenderness of woolly souls.

Thank you for entrusting me with your time and attention. It is my hope that my outlook on doll making not just teaches you something new, but that it inspires you to dive within and create from a place of love for this most wonderful art medium.

Fabs