Raven Class

A six-week course in needle felting & doll making

Faerie - In the first two weeks of class we'll be hand sewing faeries from natural fibres, learning how to dye wool locks for hair with a variety of natural dyes, embroider faces, make tattered wings, and create clothing using salvaged antique fabrics and wet felting.

Raven - In the second portion of the class, we will be making ravens. There will be an option for a perched raven and one with the wings slightly outstretched. You will learn:

How to make a wire armature for a perched bird with folded wings.

How to make a wire armature for a bird with wings in motion.

How to build a form with core batt.

And how to needle felt a realistic face with glass eyes.

Materials are not included in the cost of the course. A full resource list for materials will be emailed out the first week in July. Kits will be available to purchase from The Olive Sparrow.

This is an intermediate level class.

Course structure

New lessons will be sent out every Friday for 4-6 weeks (depending on whether you are taking the full class), with about 4 hours of work time recommended each week. You can work through the lessons at your own pace, as you have permanent access to the online classroom (for as long as it exists!). I am available throughout the five weeks and after to answer any questions. The class will meet over Zoom every Saturday to discuss progress and share work.

Please read through the FAQ if you have any questions, or contact me directly.

The Course:

Week 1 - Crafting a Faerie

Creating and wrapping a wire armature for a large doll and a baby

How to shape and embroider an expressive face

Hand stitching a movable body

Week 2 - Creating clothing, hair, and wings

Playing with different fibers and patterns to dress your faerie.

Sewing on hair (we’ll talk about how to hand-dye mohair locks using natural plant dyes)

Creating realistic wings with synthetic fibres and bit of nature

Week 3 - Felting foundations

Creating a wire armature for your raven

Building up the form & sculpting your raven with wool batt

Week 4 - Feathers pt. one

Wet felting feathers with wool and silk

Creating a face and beak

Week 5 - Feathers pt. two

Felting feathers & building wings

Week 6 - Finishing details

Attaching wings and finishing details

Felting a gnarled branch

What’s included:

• 4-6 weeks of modules comprising of video tutorials for each lesson.

• Weekly Live Zoom Q&As with me to see where everyone is at and discuss the process and any challenges.

• In-course support with me for the duration of the course – you can ask questions whenever you need!

• Access to the Raven Facebook group This is a wonderful way of connecting with other students during the course, sharing photos of work, and getting/giving feedback.

• Access to private Lavender & Lark Facebook group Join the Lavender & Lark Faerie makers Circle to connect with other alumni, share work and see what others are creating.

• Permanent access to the course content (for as long as my site is online).

• 40% discount on most future classes *this only applies to full classes

Prices are in USD

**Please be aware that the faeries I will be teaching you to make are my aesthetic and one that I have spent years developing. So, you may not use this doll pattern to sell from commercially. Doll making is a wonderful art form and this workshop is all about building skills and learning techniques that are versatile and can be applied in all sorts of ways in your own doll making journey!

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