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The One Ring Forums: Tolkien Topics: Fan Art:
Needle-Felted Sculptures of Hobbit Characters (Elrond, Beorn, Thorin, etc.)

Barrel Rider
Rivendell

Feb 4 2015, 2:33pm

Post #1 of 21 (10607 views)
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Needle-Felted Sculptures of Hobbit Characters (Elrond, Beorn, Thorin, etc.) Can't Post

I am starting a new "generic" thread for the photos of my needle-felted wool sculptures of the various Hobbit characters. This way I can continue to add photos as there are new dolls! I have finished three (Elrond, Beorn and Tauriel) already, and I'm working on Thorin right now. :) My Mom is hoping for Bard, and I've already got a start on Bilbo . . . so, there should be more coming. Needle-felting is an art that uses a barbed needle and wool roving. By poking the needle into the roving the wool "felts" (the same principal as washing and drying your wool sweater!). It's quite time-consuming, but the possibilities are really endless. It takes an average of 60 hours of felting to complete one doll. Of course, I only work at this as a hobby, so that translates to about three months of work on one doll. We're having a lot of ice and snow this winter, though, so I'm getting more done than usual!

The dolls (or "sculptures") are made in position and non-poseable. They are not child or pet friendly --- and they hate moths! They are difficult to photograph and photos never really do them justice. They are completely made of wool roving (aside from any decorative jewelry and the like), so there are no wires or forms in them. They are surprisingly light weight, as they usually weight about 2 ounces (Elrond was a real heavy-weight at 4-1/4 ounces!).

Elrond is the largest doll that I've made so far. He stands 11-1/4" tall and weighs 4-1/4 oz. His skin is made of Cotswold wool. His clothes are Merino wool and Silk blend. His hair is mohair, and my sister made the jewelry for him out of jewelry wire and crystals. He took 74 hours to complete. :) Elrond is my sister's favorite character, so she asked if I would make him. He took five months, instead of the usual three, but it was really fun. The outer robe was a real challenge. See more photos of him here (including one that shows him without the outer robe): http://sarahbethonline.com/fogleberries/elrond.html



Beorn is another of my sister's favorite characters, and she is planning on making a 1:12 dollhouse of his house and barn. This doll is felted at 1:12 scale with Beorn standing a hair over 8" tall. He weighs 2 ounces. He was a lot of fun. Everything about him was rather straightforward, but his hair was the tricky part! I have a lot of different wool hair for these dolls --- all types and colors. But nothing seemed right. My sister and I spent an evening trying to pick one, but nothing was satisfying me. So, I had a fitful night --- until the wee small hours, when I suddenly remembered something! A friend had given Dad a piece of Black Bear fur (helps to know a taxidermist!) for fly-tying. That was it! It would look perfect, but the only problem would be getting it to felt. I figured that if it would not felt on, then it would be worth sewing on. Surprisingly, the fur felted fabulously!! It worked so well that I was able to do the hair in one evening. Of course, trimming it took another evening. ;) So, Beorn has genuine Bear hair!! See more photos of him here: http://sarahbethonline.com/fogleberries/beorn.html




I'm going to re-post pictures of Tauriel here, too, since I'll just add photos of all the Hobbit dolls as they're finished. This is another one for my sister. It is based on Tauriel in her "travelling costume". She stands 9-1/2" high, weighs about 2 ounces and took approximately 57 hours of felting to complete. My sister made the belt and cuirass (chest armour) out of real leather for me, and she used a reenacting lace on the front of the cuirass. Her necklace is another of my sister's fabulous jewelry creations. She has a silver chain holding her trademark pendant. Tauriel's pendant is made from silver-tone jewelry wire and a crytal stud. To add a finishing touch to her beautiful hair (made of mohair), Tauriel has a silver-wire wound band on her braid. See more photos of her here: http://sarahbethonline.com/fogleberries/tauriel.html



Hopefully, photos of Thorin will be coming soon!!
Sarah


Otaku-sempai
Immortal


Feb 4 2015, 2:49pm

Post #2 of 21 (10540 views)
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I never thought I would ever say this... [In reply to] Can't Post

Beorn is adorable.

"The Great Scaly One protects us from alien invaders and ourselves with his fiery atomic love. It can be a tough love - the “folly of man” and all that - but Godzilla is a fair god.

"Godzilla is totally accepting of all people and faiths. For it is written that liberal or conservative, Christian or Muslim or Jew, straight or gay, all people sound pretty much the identical as they are crushed beneath his mighty feet."
- Tony Isabella, The First Church of Godzilla (Reform)


Eowyn of Penns Woods
Valinor


Feb 4 2015, 5:38pm

Post #3 of 21 (10521 views)
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Wow! Your needle-felting skills are wayyy more advanced than mine. Great work! // [In reply to] Can't Post

 

**********************************


NABOUF
Not a TORns*b!
Certified Curmudgeon
Knitting Knerd
NARF: NWtS Chapter Member since June 17,2011


Kim
Valinor


Feb 4 2015, 6:22pm

Post #4 of 21 (10524 views)
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These are really cool [In reply to] Can't Post

That's so cool that Beorn has actual bear fur for his hair! Looking forward to seeing Thorin.

#OneLastTime


Kirly
Lorien


Feb 5 2015, 12:39am

Post #5 of 21 (10518 views)
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These are amazing! Love them!! [In reply to] Can't Post

 

My avatar photo is Lake Tekapo in New Zealand's South Island. Taken by me in 2004 on a Red Carpet Tours LOTR Movie Location Tour. 'Twas the Vacation of a Lifetime!

pictures taken while on the tour are here:
https://picasaweb.google.com/Kirly7/LOTRNewZealandTour#


Na Vedui
Rohan


Feb 5 2015, 10:41pm

Post #6 of 21 (10511 views)
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Goodness me, those are good! [In reply to] Can't Post

Thanks for sharing.


Barrel Rider
Rivendell

Feb 16 2015, 1:16pm

Post #7 of 21 (10500 views)
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Thanks for all the lovely comments! [In reply to] Can't Post

Hello, everybody! Thank you for all of the lovely compliments. I am so glad that others are enjoying the dolls. Thorin is still "in the works", though he's coming along very well. Pics of him to come as soon as he's finished!


banaili
Bree


Feb 26 2015, 3:52pm

Post #8 of 21 (10465 views)
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Gorgeous Work!! [In reply to] Can't Post

These are absolutely STUNNING! *_* What talent you have! When you finish Thorin and Bilbo, I'd love to see pics of those, too! :D


banaili
Bree


Feb 26 2015, 3:53pm

Post #9 of 21 (10462 views)
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I agree SO much!` [In reply to] Can't Post

I want my own Beorn, hahaha! :P


Barrel Rider
Rivendell

Feb 26 2015, 4:13pm

Post #10 of 21 (10463 views)
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Thanks very much! [In reply to] Can't Post

Thanks for all of the lovely comments! :) Absolutely will post pics of Thorin and Bilbo. I've had to take a couple of weeks and work on a Poirot doll, as someone contacted me and ordered one. That's slowed up the process on Thorin a little bit, but he is coming along very well. My sister is making his rings, at the moment, since I do have his hands made. Bilbo is a pair of feet and some legs, but my sister and I have decided to make him in the outfit he wears throughout the time at Erebor. She's going to make his Dwarvish backpack (when he leaves to return to the Shire), and we're going to make all of the various souvenirs, etc., to go in it!

Glad that everyone seems to enjoy Beorn. He was a lot of fun to make --- not particularly hard, but one of the most satisfying.

We've made some miniature (4-inch) dolls of some of the characters. I'll go get a picture of them and post it here in a bit!
Regards,
Sarah


banaili
Bree


Feb 26 2015, 4:26pm

Post #11 of 21 (10461 views)
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Beorn really was great! ^_^ [In reply to] Can't Post

You really have an amazing talent, though! *_* I can't even imagine how one would go about making such detailed work out of felt--it seems like a very difficult material to work with!

I can't wait to see what they come out like! (Though I will do my best to wait patiently! Tongue )

Thanks for sharing your awesome work with us! Heart

And oh my gosh, YES!!!! I want to see the minis!!!! Tongue


Barrel Rider
Rivendell

Feb 26 2015, 5:03pm

Post #12 of 21 (10457 views)
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Photos of the Mini Dolls [In reply to] Can't Post

Hi, again! Felting is actually made with wool roving (which is turned into felt by poking it with a barbed needle), though the mini dolls (pics below) have clothes made of felt yardage. Felting is not so "difficult" as it is time consuming. It's not a hobby that supplies instant gratification, so you have to be willing to put in a lot of hours before seeing anything that looks remotely like a finished project. For instance, I have Thorin about half way done, but you'd be disappointed to see what he actually looks like. His boots and pants are all finished and on his legs, and he has the basic torso without clothes. I have sheets of flat felted pieces ready to be turned into his clothes and his hands are almost done. They are going to be fists, so until my sister finishes the rings the hands are just flat. I could take a picture of the pieces and Bilbo's legs, and you'd get an idea of how they are made! Would that be of interest?
Here is a link to a blog post that I wrote to show how felting works: http://littlekumquat.blogspot.com/...is-how-to-do-it.html
The first photo at the top shows you what the wool I use looks like.

Usually, I only get two or three dolls made in a one-year period. At least, since Ohio has been covered in snow and ice so far this year, I've had a lot more time at home and able to work on these. Hoping to have Thorin done by the time that the DVD gets here. :) I've made a couple of dolls as special orders for people who have e-mailed me off of my blog (always a doll of Hercule Poirot!), but mostly they are just whatever I feel inspired to try. The Middle Earth characters certainly lend themselves to felt!

Here are the photos of the Mini dolls. The top one shows three "Hobbit" characters: Legolas, Bilbo and Thorin. We just made these this Winter. The next four pictures show a set that my sister and I made a few years ago. It's the "Fellowship of the Ring". My Dad even made miniature weapons for them, and Frodo has the Ring on a chain around his neck. Sam's backpack actually opens up and has a few teensy leaf-wrapped Lembas breads in there. These were the first Mini dolls like this that we made, so you'll see there are some differences to the newer ones. There are lots more pictures of them here: http://sarahbethonline.com/...ins/middleearth.html
Hope you enjoy the pics!














banaili
Bree


Feb 27 2015, 1:58pm

Post #13 of 21 (10401 views)
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Wow! Thanks for the tips on felting! :D [In reply to] Can't Post

(Though I know I'd still be rubbish at it! :P)

I think I see what you mean, too--that it takes a lot of time but doesn't necessarily require too much skill...(Although I'm sure it does require quite a lot of skill, in fact, and an artist's eye for costume/character design--I'm sure you're just being modest! Tongue ) Even just the time required alone is an aspect that would make it difficult--very few people would be willing to put in the hours necessary to create these masterpieces! So beautifully done on your part!

I would absolutely love to see the (no-doubt adorable) Thorin work in progress, but only if you're keen on sharing it! Smile I absolutely understand if you'd rather wait to reveal it when it's finished!

Ah yes, and good point! XD I'm sure with all the snow, it's nice to have such an excellent pastime! Best of luck with the ones you are working on now! Two or three in a single year--more than that must be extreme! *_*

Oh my goodness!!! And those are the MINIs?! HOW CUTE!!!! \(>0<)/ I love that you even included some of their personal effects, most especially the fact that Sam's bag actually opens and includes some lembas bread! XD How cute is that! (If I'd had these as a child, I would never have stopped playing with them, haha! Tongue )

Keep up the excellent work! I am seriously considering making an order some time now! ;) :P


Barrel Rider
Rivendell

Feb 27 2015, 3:53pm

Post #14 of 21 (10396 views)
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Thorin doll photos, felting, etc. [In reply to] Can't Post

Hi, again! Glad that the explanation helped. It does require skill as far as artistic skill, but the technical learning curve is not very difficult. :) Patience is the key factor, I think!

My sister has been telling me for some time that I should take photos of the dolls as they are in pieces, so now would be a good time to start. I'll see about photographing it later and posting. Things are going very well this year, as I have almost finished a second doll since New Year's, and Thorin won't be long in the finishing, either. Hoping to enter Tauriel and Thorin in the Fair this year!

The Mini dolls are lots of fun. My sister wants to make Galadriel, and we're planning on trying Bard. He should really lend himself to this. Personally, Bilbo is my favorite. I like the little collar of the Mithril shirt sticking out from under his big jacket.

So far, we haven't really made any of the Middle Earth dolls to sell --- usually because we end up wanting to keep them every time. ;) Just PM me about them, and I'll tell you how that would work. We could probably make any outfit that you like, too.

I'll be back later with a picture of poor Thorin!
Sarah


banaili
Bree


Feb 28 2015, 3:39pm

Post #15 of 21 (10363 views)
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Indeed! :D Well, patience is a virtue! [In reply to] Can't Post

And I dare say it's a skill as well, because very few people have it! Tongue More power to you!

Actually, your sister's idea is pretty neat! Smile Do you have Tumblr or some blog, too? It might be a nice place to post pictures of the dolls in progress, so both fans and those interested in felting can see a sort of step-by-step of the process! What a cool and original idea!

And holy crap, you're on a roll! *_* AWESOME! Do you have some kind of contest in your town where you can submit them? Or do you sell them at the fair? Those are some lucky fairgoers, haha! XP

OH MY GOODNESS!!! If you guys make Bard and also make his whole family (I just adore Bard and the Bardlings!), then I am 100% confident that I will make an order some time!

And yes, I love your Bilbo, too! XDDD He carries all of the charm of the real Bilbo, and is equally adorable! Heart And I know I've said it already, but the detail is what really makes your work so special! Smile

And I completely understand why you would make the dolls for yourselves! With all the time and dedication it takes...COMPLETELY understand! XD But thank you so much for considering my request! Heart I will absolutely PM you when I think I might have the chance to make an order! (As it is right now, I'm still trying to catch up on rent and other things, but I have hope for the near future, haha!)

Looking forward to the pics! Smile I will have to find a way to keep track of this thread (I'm still so new to the board) so that I can continue to be updated!

THANKS A BUNCH, AND BEST OF LUCK!!! ^_^/


Barrel Rider
Rivendell

Feb 28 2015, 8:47pm

Post #16 of 21 (10353 views)
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Pics of the Thorin Doll Progress [In reply to] Can't Post

Hi, again! I've gotten the photos, and here they are. This shows Thorin as he is right now. His boots are done along with the legs of his pants. First picture shows all of the various pieces that I have done. The flat pieces will turn into various pieces of his clothes. His arms are the "snake looking" things, and his hands are shown there. He'll have fists, so they'll be felted some more after my sister finishes the rings for them. The second picture shows all the pieces with the felting stuff that I'll use to finish him. Those balls of roving are all the colors that I'll end up using. The finished doll should be about 9" tall.





Yes, I have a blog. Here's the link to that: http://littlekumquat.weebly.com/index.html
Haven't been blogging much lately, since all my spare time has been spent felting. ;) There are photos of all the dolls that I've made on there, too. I will certainly work on getting step-by-step photos done.

Funny that you mention the "Bardlings"! My sister and I were just talking about that the other day. I'll send you a PM.

Watching the thread is easy. Just hit the "Watch Thread" button at the bottom of this page. Don't worry --- it took me a bit to find that, too!

Regards,
Sarah


banaili
Bree


Mar 4 2015, 3:04pm

Post #17 of 21 (10334 views)
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How cool!! :D [In reply to] Can't Post

...to see all the little pieces before it's fully put-together! :D I just love his thin little arms! XD The arms on the other dolls look thicker, but is that just because they have the clothing layers as well? Also, the detail in the hands is really, truly amazing! *_* It's hard to imagine making them look so good with what must be some seriously small pieces of felt to work with!

Thanks for sharing your blog, too! Smile About the step-by-step photos, it was just a suggestion, so don't worry too much about it! If you haven't got the time, it's not worth stressing over in addition to the work you're already putting in--but if it's something you'd like doing, I know other people would be interested to see, too! Smile

And thanks a bunch for the tip about "Watching" the thread! ^_^ I can see I've still got quite a few things to learn here, haha! Tongue

I can't wait to see finished Thorin--he's going to be SO CUTE! ^_____^


Barrel Rider
Rivendell

Mar 4 2015, 3:05pm

Post #18 of 21 (10335 views)
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Miniature Dolls of Bard and the "Bardlings" [In reply to] Can't Post

Thanks to all the lovely comments (and banaili's suggestion!), my sister had the sudden urge to make miniature dolls of Bard and his "Bardlings". We actually finished them last night, so here are the photos. Bard is about 4-1/2" tall, Bain and Sigrid are about 4" and Tilda is 3-1/2". They really came out SO cute! We were really thrilled with them.







I've got more pictures showing them individually, so those should be up soon on our website here: http://sarahbethonline.com/minikins/middleearth.html



Barrel Rider
Rivendell

Mar 4 2015, 3:10pm

Post #19 of 21 (10330 views)
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About Thorin "In Progress" [In reply to] Can't Post

Hi, again!

Yes, his arms are thin because they don't have elbows or muscles felted on yet, and they stay thinner than you would think to make up for the thickness of the sleeves. In Thorin's case, he has the long sleeves, the short sleeves and the arm guards, so that is quite a lot to put on.

The hands are very small and always challenging. I like to make them, but you usually end up poking yourself a couple of time in the process! ;)

The idea of step-by-step photos is a good one, and it will certainly be worth doing. I will continue to take Thorin pics, and maybe I can go the whole way with Bilbo or Bard. I'm almost finished with the special order doll that I'm working on, so it will be back to Thorin pretty soon!

Regards,
Sarah


Barrel Rider
Rivendell

Mar 28 2015, 5:46pm

Post #20 of 21 (10148 views)
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Thorin is finished! [In reply to] Can't Post

Hi, everybody! Since this thread is getting a bit lost down here, I thought that I would post pictures of the finished Thorin doll in a new one. So, if you'd like to see photos, CLICK HERE to go to the new thread.

Bilbo is coming next, and my Mom and Sister would like Bard and Dwalin to follow. :)

Regards,
Sarah


Barrel Rider
Rivendell

Mar 29 2015, 12:54am

Post #21 of 21 (10143 views)
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A Link to My Webpage with High-Res Pics of Thorin [In reply to] Can't Post

I've finally gotten all the photos of Thorin uploaded onto my website. You'll see the pics at a higher res than here on the forum. Here is the link to the page:

http://sarahbethonline.com/...eberries/thorin.html

 
 

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