Dollmaking Stories | The Making of Little Blu, or My Adventures Embroidering Doll Eyes

These are little snippets of Blu's story as she was being created. She is a 15" tall natural fiber art doll, made in my Petite Fig pattern. She is made with cotton knit skin fabric and stuffed and needle felted in wool, with glass beads in her belly for added weight.
If you would like to read more about Blu and her making, there are two posts on my website about her:
Her introductory post: www.figandme.co...
Her final story: www.figandme.co...
#naturalfiberartdoll​ #dollmaking​ #artdolls
Find me elsewhere:
Website, for my dollmaking journal | www.figandme.co...
Etsy, for patterns | figandme.etsy.com​
Instagram, for daily thoughts | / figandme​
Facebook, for announcements and doll sales | / figandme​
Patreon, for video tutorials and more | / figandme​

[@debbiebuttars5598]

Little Blu is so sweet. Just the perfect little precious girl. Your videos always move me.I've really missed you. Happy I found you again.

[@Figandme]

Welcome back!

[@ClarkyWarky]

I hope you get the recognition you deserve. Beside the dolls what you do is pure ART. The cinematography, music, mood and subtitles. You can tell alot of love, creativity, authenticity and magic goes into what you do. As an artist finding my way, this is very inspiring. Thank you. 💖

[@Figandme]

Thank you! I like to devote a lot of time and effort in all the areas of dollmaking, as is such a big passion.

[@linbin7273]

Absolutely Beautiful!

[@Figandme]

Thank you!

[@mandaS1975]

Her precious face..her magnificent blue locks of hair..I just adore her and this video montage 🖤

[@Figandme]

Thank you Amanda, glad to hear you enjoy my work both in doll form and video form.

[@lisaengel880]

oh Fabs. I have no words to tell you how beautiful you made this little film about Blu. I'm sitting here in happy tears. you and your dolls, you have always touched me and your process will always inspire me. thank you for sharing this

[@Figandme]

Glad to know those were happy tears Lisa! Thank you for letting me know how my work touches you so deeply. I greatly appreciate this.

[@eddyposh72]

She is beautiful.

[@Figandme]

My sweet Blu, thank you for your kind words.

[@kristenstocker1381]

i cried. i love blu so much. and all of your dolls. u r magical. thank u for the beauty u bring to the world

[@Figandme]

Thank you Kristen. Blu is very special and I adored her!

[@deborahlayton-root4575]

I have just discovered you and your wonderful dolls. I truly love watching your videos showing the love and care you put into each doll. I am certain that the caring you take transfers to the lucky person or child who is fortunate enough to own such a precious little one. I am in awe of your ability to visualize and bring to life each of these dolls. Thank you for taking the time to make videos so we can all enjoy them, even if a short while.

[@Figandme]

Thank you so much! sharing my journey as a dollmaker is something I started doing first through photos, then my blog, then social media and now through video. I really love and enjoy what I do and I want to share it with as many people as I gently can.

[@my4pixies]

Such a precious little one. Someone will love her greatly 🥰

[@Figandme]

Her new mom is waiting for her very excited!

[@marchhh4987]

Amo tus muñecas❤❤❤❤ gracias mil gracias.

[@Figandme]

gracias a ti por amarlas!

[@indiedancing4419]

You're so gentle. It's so wonderful

[@Figandme]

Thank you Kimberlee. I am glad you liked watching this video.

[@the_everydayartisan]

Oh my! Catching up on my video watching and saw Blu. She steals my heart! It must have been so hard to let her go!

[@Figandme]

It was Jackie but then I received the most precious photos of her in her new home!

[@lisacameron1386]

Thank you for the sharing of this story! Your talent is something special !

[@Figandme]

Thank you so much!

[@Blaufrau]

Love you Thank you very much for giving us an insight into your design of the dolls eyes. For me, eyes are the hardest part of making dolls. I still have no idea why. For my next doll I will felt the head with the needle and paint the eyes on the fabric as you showed them. I hope that at some point it will "click". I love your blu, your story and how you made it. So thank you so much for your patience in showing this. I´m so so in love with her. Much love to you, your work and your dolls! Your Erika

[@Figandme]

The eyes tell do much about the doll, they are very special, so don’t feel defeated if you are starting. It takes a lot of practice, steady hands and good eyes 😊

[@Blaufrau]

:) @@Figandme

[@teresinhagoncalves6148]

Your dolls soooo amazing beautiful!! God bless your hands!! 🙌

[@Figandme]

Thank you 🙏

[@NickyLindolls]

She’s so beautiful! Great video. Thank you for sharing your work.

[@Figandme]

Thank you for watching my little video 😊

[@marialiebl9051]

einfach wunderschön

[@Figandme]

Danke schön

[@karinehabrahamian3075]

You made me cry at the goodbye moment.............

[@Figandme]

Oh I'm sorry! But I do cry sometimes when I send them away...

[@karinehabrahamian3075]

@@Figandme I would too....

[@dollmom3597]

Blu actually looked happy with her crown on.

[@Figandme]

She liked her crown 👑 very much!

[@sueberreondo]

Bella!!!🥰

[@Figandme]

Thank you!

[@nataliacampos5593]

💛🥰💛

[@Figandme]

🤗

[@user-dn5mn7jc1h]

🤗🤗🤗💜💜💜🌸🌸🌸

[@Figandme]

🤗

[@indiaranunes6685]

Linda!

[@Figandme]

Gracias!

[@stephaniefritchley9022]

She is really very pretty. It must have been very hard to part with her. I made my first ever doll at the end of last year and was a little disappointed with the face. It wasn’t too bad but not quite what I had hoped. i think the problem was around the eyes, possibly because I gave her brow structure i.e. eyebrow “bones”, when I sculpted the face. It has made me a bit wary of starting the next one, but I really want to make another! I am curious as to how you articulate the head; do you have anything on how to do that? Thank you for sharing your work. Best wishes from France x

[@Figandme]

I have sculpted dolls with brow bones and they are actually quite fun, maybe you weren’t used to seeing it on your dolls?

[@Figandme]

Regarding the moving head unfortunately no, I don’t have any tutorials that show how I make it. I’m still experimenting with the technique.

[@nuagejuice3848]

She so gorgeous and expressive, she really feels “alive” on her own way 🥺💗 but I don’t understand, what kind of fabric did you use for her face and body (her clothes too it seems) it looks a bit like sock doll and I love the look of it!

[@Figandme]

Thank you. That my dolls look very alive and have so much personality, is a kind comment I have received quite a few times. I say it myself all the time but then I am bit biased :-) I have published a blog with all the products and tools I use in my dollmaking, you can find it over here: www.figandme.com/blog/doll-making-materials-for-natural-fiber-art-dolls

[@nuagejuice3848]

@@Figandme thank you so much ! I’m really interested making dolls from different kinds of way and fabrics (amigurumi/crochet, sock doll...) and it’s a huge world XD

[@wandanormile6196]

Wow she's so pretty how did u make her hair

[@Figandme]

With Mohair locks, sewn into wefts.

[@lagerhorn]

How many grams of wool are needed for a head

[@Figandme]

It depends on the size of your doll head and the method of construction. Needle felting can take more wool because you are compacting it more and more as you work on the doll.

[@letiziavergara9669]

Bellissima come vorrei poterla fare come fai tu stupenda

[@Figandme]

Thank you for your kind words.

[@As-so5ks]

😍😔

[@Figandme]

Thank you!