Felt Kokeshi (Japanese Dolls)

(Note: Do not use regular felt tip colouring pens to draw details of your doll's face on as it leaves a smudgey, bleedy, five o'clock shadow type effect that I'm sure we weren't looking for.)

These little door hangers/bookmarks/companions are just so cute! We made these during our Japanese themed week, along with fans and other such things, and I just can't stop loving them.

All you need is an array of different coloured felts, scissors and hot glue. A template is highly recommended for the kiddies. We used something like this:

 Make the templates out of cardboard so that they're sturdy and won't bend when you try to trace around them. It's a good idea to have a bunch already traced out on the felt prior to the beginning of craft time especially for thos little ones that are still developing their fine motor skills.

Cut the pieces out, arrange them just so and hot glue them together. Allow the children the option of cutting out their own eyes and using googley eyes. Create some little flowers and hearts to adorn the girl's hair and kimono and attach a ribbon to the top at the back for hanging, and you're done.

Tips and Variations:

• Use a colouring pencil or chalk pencil (like the dress makers use) to trace around the shapes onto the felt. Not only will a white pencil show up on the dark coloured felts, unlike felt tips there is no ink to bleed through and stain the fabric.
• Add another piece of felt to the back of the doll, hot gluing around the edges only and leaving an opening at the bottom to turn the doll into a finger puppet.
• Add a paddle pop stick to make a different kind of puppet.
• Leave off the hanging ribbon and it would be a great addition to a felt board collection.

For more Kokeshi inspiration check out This Pinterest Board