AllCrafts.net Arts & Crafts Book Review - Dollmaking for the First Time


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.
9/03/2005 | Permalink | Email this to a Friend