Needle Felted Doll Part 1

As much as I enjoy a bit of "wet" felting I definitely prefer needle felting. I think it's a very satisfying craft and love seeing the item slowly transform from raw roving into the desired shape. It really is like sculpting with wool and the repeated stabbing action is very therapeutic! It's not so much fun when you jab the needle in your finger though (I may have done so once or twice in the past). I'm always impressed by how, with some patience and a firm hand, the piece starts to shrink and compact into a defined shape.

I've tried using a handle which holds a number of needles but don't find it as easy to work with as the single needle.

I mostly use the technique to make small accessories such as flowers and leaves. The first thing I ever made was this little tortoise.

I decided I wanted to make a doll as I want to make mini outfits. I thought needle felting would make an interesting base for the doll. I used about 45g of roving in total and made the head, followed by the body and then each limb before felting them together.

This is the result...

I still have some refining to do and to go over with a finer needle or two.
I now have to decide on her hair. I'm going to use wool to give her a couple of French plaits but I can't choose between making her a brunette (slightly bias as it's my hair colour and everyone knows brunettes have the most fun?) or a lovely redhead?

I'll let you know which I decide, and by then she will have a face too, in a future post.
Keep crafting in earnest, Craftin' Ernest xx