Cloth Doll Faces

Leading international doll-maker Ray Slater reveals her secrets to creating vibrant and dynamic faces in cloth. Brimming with ideas and practical advice, this is an invaluable guide for cloth doll-makers everywhere.

The face is the key to bringing life and personality to a cloth doll. Often thought of as being the hardest part of the making process, creating the face is, in fact, relatively easy and enjoyable to do. Just by following a few simple rules a whole world of wonderfully expressive, fun characters can be created. Ray will show you how, taking you from the initial inspiration sources, the design and drawing process, to the final colouring, sewing and embellishment of the head.

Using just three basic face designs flat, three-dimensional and collaged you'll learn how to create a fantastic collection of characters. With tips on how to adjust proportions, hues and positioning of the features, you will learn how to make a whole host of faces with different looks and expressions. Fully illustrated step-by-step instructions break down the process of making each kind of face, and there are techniques to help you make your own unique doll. Finally, Ray shares two body patterns in her book to suit all three head types, and body templates are included.

Book Contents

Introduction 6

Face & doll-making notions 8
Materials 10, Tools 12, Drawing & colouring equipment14

Inspiration & design 16
Influences, sources & styles 18, Developing a design 20

Designing & colouring a face 22
Proportions of the face 24, Drawing eyes 26, Drawing noses 34, Drawing mouths 37, Shading a realistic face 40, Gallery of simple line faces 42, Gallery of realistic faces 45, Gallery of decorative faces 50, Designing a collage face 53

Face-making techniques 56
Flat faces 58, Dimensional faces 68, Extra head details 82, Collage faces 88

Basic doll-making techniques 102
Before you begin 104, Basic bodies 106, Basic collage bodies 114

Templates 116