Dollmaking for the First Time

by Miriam Gourley

Book Overview

Cloth dolls and wooden dolls; life-size figures and those as small as clothespins; dolls as ornaments and a complete set of dolls-like a miniature family: oh, what a beautiful doll you can make with this well-illustrated guide at your side. As with all the acclaimed For the First Time books, it teaches the basics, from preparing the patterns to painting the face and styling the hair. The techniques unspool in an easy-to-follow question and answer...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1402707266
• ISBN13: 9781402707261
• Release Date: November 2004
• Publisher: Chapelle
• Length: 112 Pages
• Weight: 1.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 8.9" x 10.2"

Customer Reviews

doll making book

Excellent book. Explains all steps clearly. Very good. Would order again as a gift.

Doll making is one of my passions

Doll making has been a creative passion of mine for years. This book gives many examples of different dolls to make. If you love doll making for yourself or for a gift you'll enjoy this book.

Unleash your inner primitive folk artist!

This book is a thorough course in the basics of doll-making. I do think the title is a bit broad, since this covers the folk style of doll-making exclusively. The instructions and color photos are excellent. The Doll Making Basics section is almost a complete course in itself. The techniques are general in nature, and could be used in designing your own dolls. Almost every page has multiple color photos that are very helpful. The directions for making a cloth doll illustrate in detail how to sculpt fingers, toes and faces. Next, the basics of making a wooden doll are shown. Hairdos, clothing, shoes and embellishments round out this section. The crafts skills that you will use the most are sewing (hand and machine) and decorative painting. A big heaping of creativity and personality help out, too. The projects are arranged in order of difficulty, and each doll is designed to teach a different aspect of doll-making -- using patterns, mixing wood & cloth, sculpting faces, adding a beard, making an ornament, painting methods, and more. Due to the clear instructions and photos, and the emphasis on learning new crafts techniques, this is a reference book that you can use again and again. It's a great example of how craft techniques should be taught.

Inspiration for the beginner

This is a beautiful book filled with photos, clear instructions and inspiration for making a personable first doll. Instructions guide one through the basics of making the dolls presented and the skills needed to move beyond. The range of dolls presented provides a jumping-off point for creatively making a doll of your own. I have dipped my fingers into doll-making for a long time but after reading this book, I am ready!