This time it is Beorn from Tolkien's The Hobbit. Elizabeth is wanting to make a dollhouse display of Beorn's house, so she wanted an 8" Beorn doll to go in it. So, I got the job! It was a nice break after doing Elrond, as this one is a smaller doll with simpler clothes. However, the stance was a lot of fun. It is based on Michael Persbrandt's portrayal in the new film, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. In particular, he is based on the character as he appears in the first moments after he enters his house.
Beorn is made of Merino wool roving, with some Cotswold for the skin tone. He stands 8-1/2" tall (including hair), weighs just under 2 oz., took approximately 38 hours to complete and was made with .40 and .42 needles. His boot laces are linen thread. It was his hair that was the tricky part. I have a lot of different wool hair for these dolls --- all types and colors. But nothing seemed right. Elizabeth 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!! Thank the Lord, 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!!
To see more photos of this doll, just click on the "Wool Dolls" button above, then click "Fogleberry Photo Gallery".