Feltcraft: Making Dolls, Gifts and Toys

by Petra Berger

Feltcraft, an old creative art, is being revived in many homes and schools. Felt, a durable, flexible material made from recycling woolen scraps, is ideal for children to work with. Petra Berger offers detailed, colorfully illustrated instructions for making a wide range of lively, creative dolls, animals, tapestries, and more.

Genres: Crafts, Nonfiction

88 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 1994

Reviews

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wish -- publishers are you listening? -- that someone would publish some Waldorf books with higher production values. Feltcraft, The Nature Table and Dollmaking are a vital trio in Waldorf education -- along with The Children's Year and a whole host of others -- and yet they all look like something made by a woman who got elected last week to the committee chair, with the help of her 12-year-old son, put together with Pagemaker on the Mac in the church basement. The drawings are awful, scratchy and thin-lined.

However, they are clear. The directions are pretty much clear. The ideas are invaluable and the photos adorable.

My only complaint -- aside from the miserable production values -- is that this book, like many of the German Waldorf books, assumes that I have a higher level of competence than I really do. (It must be a European thing, because other imported books do the same thing.) Instructions will include a cryptic set of knitting notations or the breezy notation that you should "make a suitable dress out of silk scraps." Sad, un-skilled little me goggles at that and then goes to get four more books from the library to figure out how to do that.

There's one more comment, for American readers. All of these authors assume you live in Europe, with easy access to the countryside. "Ask a local farmer if you can gather tufts of wool off the hedgerows that line the lane." "Collect chestnut husks in a basic on a beautiful day in autumn." Thats' great.... except that the American Chestnut is essentially extinct. And I wouldn't know what a European Chestnut looks like unless the nut was cooked with honey and cinnamon.

[Karina Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of fun ideas. Pretty clear instructions. Useful pictures and patterns.

[Kellie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has clearer patterns and instructions, but overall I preferred Creative Play for Your Toddler. There is a lot of overlap between the two but it seems that the Clouder book has simplified some of the process for less crafty folks like me. Still worth checking out, and the little felt folk are definitely something my 6 and 9 year old could learn to make.

[Carmine · Rating 3 out of 5]

cute, old-school felt crafts (like little Euro gnomes). I checked it out for the animals.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book - lots of projects and info on bendy dolls