Cloth Doll Workshop: From the Beginning and Beyond with Doll Masters elinor peace bailey, Patti Medaris Culea, and Barbara Willis [Paperback]

elinor peace bailey (Author), Patti Medaris Culea (Author), Barbara Willis (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 2010 | Series: Doll

Patti Culea, elinor peace bailey, and Barbara Willis are three of the leading doll artists and teachers in the country. They are also friends. Each of these artists has her own distinct approach to the design and development of a cloth figure. In this book, each artist's process will come alive through their choice of fabrics, sketches, simple patterns, and skill-building variations. The book is oriented toward beginning doll makers, but offers unique variations and embellishments to please even more experienced doll designers. Two introductory chapters cover basic materials and techniques. Each artist's chapter includes step by step illustrations, instructions, and patterns to make a complete doll, plus variations that create completely new figures. Readers are treated to full color photography and a look inside of each artist's workspace. A gallery of additional creations by each artist, along with commentary on each work completes the collection. This is a must-have book for any aspiring or experienced doll making.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

elinor peace bailey is a trained artist, and discovered stitchery as she was raising her family. She travels and teaches, has designed fabrics, and has worked as a creative consultant for several companies. She is the author of Mother Plays With Dolls, and The Rag Doll From Plain to Fancy.  She has self published books, quilt patterns, craft projects, and dolls, which she sells online and through quilt shops.

 

Patti Medaris Culea combines her love of silk and dyes by creating extraordinary fairies, mermaids and other one-of-a-kind dolls. She has a full-line of cloth doll patterns and her work has appeared in books, magazines and galleries. In demand as a teacher, she travels throughout the world. She is the author of four books on doll making, all by Quarry Books.

 

Barbara Willis is a doll artist and teaches doll making in many parts of the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and England. Barbara's work has been widely published in magazines and her dolls have been included in special exhibits, galleries, and books. She resides in Northern California in the San Francisco Bay Area. She is the author of Cloth Doll Artistry (Quarry Books, 2009).

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Quarry Books; Original edition (November 1, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1592536212
• ISBN-13: 978-1592536214
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.5 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #73,543 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lovely, Worthwhile Investment, November 16, 2010

By 

Robert E. Fariel - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cloth Doll Workshop: From the Beginning and Beyond with Doll Masters elinor peace bailey, Patti Medaris Culea, and Barbara Willis (Paperback)

Three very different cloth doll artists who also teach and know how to present information. This is well done and inspiring for both beginners and experienced doll makers if not terribly groundbreaking for those who've done patterns by these artists in the past.

Patti Culea, Barbara Willis and Elinor Peace Bailey have been doing doll patterns professionally for quite a while now so they are reliable. And kudos to EPB for improving her game, she was always a force of nature who has helped doll making become more widely popular.

To the new doll makers out there- have fun with the patterns and if you get hung-up on the faces and needle sculpting here's my advice: make several heads and specifically intend to use the first ones as "victims" and just go at it. Often just taking the pressure off yourself helps. And don't throw away the practice pieces... paint over them or make a little mask for them or experiment with paper clay over cloth. :-)

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Grande Dames of the Doll World!!, December 27, 2010

By 

Wendy Bethel (Ohio) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Cloth Doll Workshop: From the Beginning and Beyond with Doll Masters elinor peace bailey, Patti Medaris Culea, and Barbara Willis (Paperback)

When I started making cloth dolls about 25 years ago, there wasn't much out there besides commercial patterns from the big companies. If you were lucky,you might find a pattern or two in a magazine, or maybe included with a quilt pattern. Then came elinor peace bailey, and the world of cloth dollmaking was forever changed. I first found elinor's patterns in a little quilt shop, around 15 years ago. I'd been making dolls for about twelve years by then, and suddenly I felt "THERE ARE OTHERS LIKE ME OUT THERE!!" It was truly a revelation. Through elinor's patterns and her book Mother Plays with Dolls, my eyes were opened to a whole new world of dollmaking. Soon after, someone pointed me to Barbara Willis, whose dolls are delicate and feminine where elinor's are whimsical and bold. It wasn't long before I discovered Patti Culea's dolls, which are feminine, whimsical, bright, and beautiful. I learned so much from each of these amazing artists; and if I could have had this book fifteen years ago, I would have been thrilled. I've taken a lot of classes and tried patterns from almost all the cloth doll designers out there, and these three women are right at the top. Aside from the lovely designs, there is also a wealth of info in the sections about basic dollmaking; such as what fabrics and notions to use, and how to stuff a doll properly. The face painting instructions are also worth the price, because these are three very different methods of doing faces, and having all of them in one book is absolutely amazing.

Even though I'm an advanced dollmaker, I'm still thrilled by this book. I bought it for myself, and even if I don't make the projects in it, to me it is just a wonderful summary of the gifts of three of my favorite artists of all time. And the next time I come across someone just starting out on her cloth doll journey, I'll buy a copy for her (or him!)....and then suggest the other books by these three authors. I believe this book will become a standard in every new dollmaker's library....and probably in lots of not so new ones as well!!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars learn the basics, November 22, 2010

By 

K. Platt "blackplantlady" (Sheffield, England) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Cloth Doll Workshop: From the Beginning and Beyond with Doll Masters elinor peace bailey, Patti Medaris Culea, and Barbara Willis (Paperback)

Three extraordinary doll makers join forces to present masterclasses. Each has her own approach that they share with the reader. This is a good resource for the beginner. Basic materials and techniques are covered along with pattens. Learn how to expand upon the basics and how to personalize your dolls. This review first appeared on Karen Platt's book review website.