Dollmaking for the first time [Hardcover]

Miriam Gourley (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 2004 | Series: For the First Time

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 form—How do I make a simple cloth doll? How do I make a doll with button-on joints?—accompanied by a project. Above all, every page encourages crafters to break the rules, use their imagination, and find ways of making each doll special and personal.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 112 pages
• Publisher: Sterling/Chapelle (November 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1402707266
• ISBN-13: 978-1402707261
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 8.6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,056,505 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Unleash your inner primitive folk artist!, May 11, 2006

By 

AllCrafts Wendy "Arts and Crafts Fun" (NJ USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Dollmaking for the first time (Hardcover)

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.

21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Inspiration for the beginner, January 8, 2005

By 

AlaskaCrafter (Fairbanks, Alaska) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dollmaking for the first time (Hardcover)

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!

19 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Dolls homely, techniques helpful, June 17, 2006

By 

L. M. MACLEAN "If too many books were a crime..." (Massachusetts) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dollmaking for the first time (Hardcover)

These dolls are not my style, but the lessons are good and progressive. I will apply them to other types of dolls. She even shows you how to make your own shoes to fit any dolls. One tip that she gives I disagree with; she makes fingered dolls by placing a folded pipe cleaner in each finger, which makes the hands look elongated. A more natural hand is made by making the hand then using small running stitches on the outside.