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Okay, so this isn't strictly about bear-making. In fact, it's not about bear-making at all! I've decided I need a hobby, bear-making became my business a long time ago and whilst I love it, the simple pleasure of a hobby has long been surpassed by creating bears for income.
So, my question is, does anyone know of any good books or websites I can explore, to teach myself the art of doll making? It's something I've been wanting to look into for quite some time, but haven't really known where to start. I don't even know if it's cloth dolls I'm curious about, or porcelain dolls ... I think I'd like to read up about both and see where that takes me.
If you have any recommendations, or suggestions to make, I'd be very grateful to hear them, or even if you just have a comment about doll-making to share, or a picture of your own you'd like to show on this thread ... that would be lovely! 
I have several young nieces and I think handmade dolls would make great presents for them. To start me off, I have bought Alicia's Merrett's 'The book of doll-making' at a great price on Ebay this week and I'm really looking forward to reading it this evening. :dance:
Hopeful thanks in advance! 
Posts: 1,836I recently bought "Anatomy of a Doll" by Susanna Oroyan ("the fabric sculptors handbook"). It's got great photographs and simple instructions/sketches regarding techniques.
Good Luck and have lots of fun with your new hobby seeking adventure!!
:hug:
~Chrissi
TinyBear
BrisbaneHi Paula
I made cloth dolls for a few years before I started bearmaking, I found these two sites a really good kick off point.
Good luck with your new hobby whatever it turns out to be!!!
What great advice! Thank you all, I'm very excited! I can see I'll have to make sure this doesn't eat too much into my bear-making schedule ... I could get easily sidetracked. :crackup:
Chrissi, I've located the book you mention and it looks just the job ... will try to secure one! 
Tina, I've visited Joggles and have placed a little order. Barb, the owner, has been so helpful and so quick in her responses!
Sarahjane ... these links are going to keep me occupied for a long time ... what great websites!! Thank you so much for sharing them with me!!
BrisbaneNo problem Paula....be very careful you can get lost in there for hours!!!! 
:crackup: :crackup: :crackup:
Kran-Beary'sAhhh....a post close to my heart. I LOVE cloth dollmaking!
Any book by Susan Oroyan is fabulous. She's got three or four published in the series with Anatomy of the Doll, including Finishing the Figure, which is also excellent.
Patti Medaris is also a wonderful artist and author. She has 3 or 4 books. You'll find her at http://www.pmcdesigns.com/
And then there is the Artist's Artist....in my humble opinion, the absolute most amazing doll maker on the planet, Lisa Lichtenfels. Her web site is: http://lisalichtenfels.net/
Lisa has several videos, and a couple of books published....but her techniques are quite detailed and advanced and not for the faint of heart.
Then, for nifty online workshops and supplies , try www.joggles.com http://www.classheaven.com/ or www.craftycollege.com
Now, if you want to view some serious works of art, try www.Niada.org which is an International Doll Artists Association. I'm a Patron for the organization and am completely floored by the level of artistry and the willingness of these incredibly talented people to share their secrets.
In Canada, there is also http://www.dollartists.ca/ which is the Canadian Doll Artists Association. More wonderful dolls to view!
There are still countless other sites, in fact I have about 50 sites book-marked, but these are a few of my favourites. Hope you find the list helpful.
hugs,
nancy tillberg
Oh Paula, I just sold a bunch of doll stuff on ebay, books and patterns included!!!! I would recommend Patti Medaris Culea's book as well if you haven't already gotten that one...it is great and I used it for doll making like a reference tool as I use Nancy's book for bears it is like my bear bible....
Hugs,
Krista
Tami Eveslage Original Teddy BearsHi. I see that Susanna Oroyan has been mentioned twice, and I agree that all of her books are wonderful, but her book "Designing the Doll" is my personal favorite , because it provides practical information as well as beautiful example dolls of all mediums and styles. It's a great starting point if you are not sure yet which medium you want to explore!
Have fun! I know you will!
Paula, I just remembered that I have a few older copies of Australian Doll and Bear that have some good patterns in them as well....email or PM me if you would like them and you can have them...
Hugs,
Krista
I've got three Susanna Oroyan books myself and am also really impressed with them. They're full of information AND eye candy!
Show us your end product when you get there!
Hi Paula
I did porcelain dolls before I got hooked on bear making. Since you mentioned making dolls for your neices I thought I would mention something I saw at one of my quilt guild meetings ( yes I am also a quilter ) I want to try this for my grandchildren. This involved taking a photograph of the child ( one where the face is clear ) and enlarging it to a 10x10 size. This was then transferred to a piece of fabric and that became the face of the doll. How cool would it be to receive a doll that was actually you!!!!
Hugs
Gail
ToadBriarI don't have any fun links that haven't been mentioned yet - except Art Doll Quarterly by Somerset Studio is an
awesome magazine with delicious dolls to look at, made of all sorts of materials - dollmaking is a very fun pursuit!
You are gonna have fuuuuuun 
Bears by Jodi
I don't have any info but here is a picture of some dolls with bears in my home. As you see I collect both.Open your screen wide to see the whole picture
Chaska, MinnesotaHello Paula: I have yet to try my hand at doll making, but on a whim, I bought a couple of books that intrigued me on this subject. The two books are:
1) Creative Cloth Doll Faces: Using Pints, pastels, fibers, beading, collage and sculpting techniques by Patti Medaris
Culea
2)Creative Cloth Doll Making: New approaches for using fibers, beads, dyes and other exciting techniques by Patti Medaris Culea
I love the picture and ideas but I am not a doll expert. Perhaps some of our teddy bear friends know if they are good or not....anybody know?
Michelle
Delartful BearsOooh Jodi - is that a Composition Shirley Temple?? Ooooooooh to die for!!!!!!! 
Turning green just about now!
Danni
Wow, such a heap of help! Thank you all so much! This is fascinating. Sounds as though Susan Oroyan is a must have and today, I'm going to make a coffee and explore some of the other names mentioned here. Tami, thanks for giving me a starting point with the Oroyan books - I'm going to see if I can track that one down first. Nancy, thanks for those links ... I'm going to really enjoy browsing them!
To start me off, I've purchased a pattern and some fabric for the body from Joggles ... it's a traditional rag dolly pattern by Janet Clark and I'm hoping I'll manage her in time for my five year old niece's Christmas present. I've never done anything in the way of 'proper' sewing before (well not since making an appallingly bad blouse in my needlework class at school!) so a dressed rag dolly will be quite a challenge for me! I always wanted a rag dolly when I was a kid, but never had one. 
Jodi, that's a fabulous collection you have there!
Krista, yes please - that's very kind of you! I'll pm you. :dance:
Kim, I'll keep my eyes open for the mag you suggest - it sounds really interesting. :dance:
Gail, using a photograph to make a doll like that sounds amazing! I love porcelain dolls ... are they very difficult to create? :doh:
Michelle, thanks for the book suggestions. Something is ringing a bell with me ... I think I bought a needlesculpting face book, it may be by the same lady ... I'm going to have a hunt for it today! From memory, it was a really useful book, but I bought it with bears in mind, rather than dolls and filed it away somewhere ... time to sort myself out! :crackup:
Shelli, if it turns out okay, I promise I'll put a pic on TT ... but it may take some time!
Chowlea BearsI'm not a doll expert but I'm afraid I read everything - even the cereal packets at breakfast.....................
anyway.............
I recently bought The International Doll Collectors' Magazine.the talent on display is UNBELIEVABLE - to think people actually create that stuff is amazing.
Its a bi-monthly I believe
Let us see your results please :photo: I'll probably get into trouble about that as its not bears and all - but ..................
Quy - could we have an off-topic section for miscellaneous items etc maybe?????????????????
What a good idea Sandra! I had no idea there was such diversity of talent on this forum until I saw the pictures on another thread this week ... there are all kinds of interesting skills here! I do wonder too if some of the skills might be translated into things beary ... so maybe we wouldn't be too far off topic after all? 
Thanks for the link ... I will enjoy checking it out! I'm fascinated by the talent of these amazing doll makers.
Nancy, I've just taken a look at the links you gave me ... they are superb! Thank you so much! The artistry is breathtaking ... and I love the online classes. I may look into those further when I've got to grips with my first rag dolly!
Hey Paula, the mags are on their way to you....Enjoy a cuppa and the reading!!!
Hugs,
Krista
Oooh Krista, you're an angel! Can't wait for them to drop through the letterbox ... thank you heaps and heaps!! :hug: :hug:
My first book arrived this week - 'Anatomy of a doll' by Susan Oroyan is fascinating! I can't recommend it highly enough ... thank you so much for the pointer Chrissi! I have hunted down several other books too, some on Amazon, a couple of Ebay ... so I'm really looking forward to their arrival.
Needless to say, I haven't done so much as draw out a pattern on a piece of cloth for this project yet, even though my pattern and fabric arrived about a week ago! The pattern is lovely ... but then Janet's dolls always are ... I just hope I can do her pattern justice! :pray:
Posts: 1,836You're very Welcome Paula! I love paging through that book...the photos are such high quality and the instructions are very easy to follow, I think. Some of the dolls are just breath taking.
Can't wait to see what you create!!
:hug:
~Chrissi
