Cloth dolls are toys, right?
Well, not in my book they’re not.
I’m Colleen Babcock, cloth doll designer, teacher and writer of the craft blog The Magic Bean and my cloth dolls are much closer to figurative cloth sculpture than toys.
But they are also clocks,
And so much more…
The thing is if you want a cloth doll to have a sculptural quality or even a practical purpose, you have to stuff them properly. In the following video tutorial I share my top tips for stuffing a cloth doll:
If the idea of a little stuffed cloth body that is not only as cute as all get-out, but can also be used a practical object tickles your fancy, why not try cloth doll making at the Creativ Festival with one of my two classes.
In the Green Man class, on Friday October 21 from 5-8pm, we’ll be learning just how easy it is to draw, sculpt and colour a cloth doll face that can then be used as a brooch, ornament or fridge magnet. Even if you’ve made cloth dolls before, this class will give you a different spin on the process because we’ll be making a male face and most cloth doll classes focus on female faces.
Then on Saturday October 22 from 1-3pm I’ll be teaching my Dive Into a Book fairy bookmark class, where we’ll be learning enough tricks for sculpting tiny cloth bare feet to keep you on your toes. We’ll also be learning about colouring on cloth to complete our cloth fairy bookmark. By the time we’ve finished you’ll really think you’ve accidentally squished a fairy between the pages of your book.
These courses have been designed for beginners to get their first taste of cloth doll making or for more experienced doll makers to try something a wee bit different.
There is no kit cost.
All tools and materials are provided for you to use in class.
All you need is a pair of thread snips and a willingness to try something new.
What’s stopping you? Get more information and sign up for the Green Man and Dive Into a Book classes today, by clicking the link.
Visit my blog, the Magic Bean to get free patterns and tutorials for everything from cloth dolls to Christmas ornaments to crafter’s aprons.