The Keepers: Cloth Doll Necklace Workshop with Anna Victoria
Anna Bastiaan is a Melbourne-based textile artist who works from her home studio creating whimsical, story-rich pieces under the name Anna Victoria. Her work blends fabric, embroidery, embellishment and illustration, with a focus on mindful hand-stitching and a deep love of the creative process.
Enjoy a day immersed in beautiful textiles, slow stitching and creative exploration as Anna guides you in creating your own handmade cloth doll necklace.
Cloth doll necklaces are a wonderful way to showcase your favourite fabrics, or that tiny piece of something special you’ve been saving for just the right project. They can also be seen as a form of jewellery as talisman - an opportunity to create something deeply meaningful by weaving in fragments of cloth or embellishment that carry personal history, memory, or significance.
In this workshop, you will learn how to construct a small soft textile doll using a curated selection of both vintage and contemporary fabrics, giving you plenty of options to personalise your piece. Anna will guide you through the process of building your doll from the ground up, including how she creates the arms and legs, and the overall construction of the form.
You will also be introduced to a range of embellishing techniques, working with beads, threads and trims to add detail and character to your piece.
A special part of the process is bringing your doll to life through its face. Anna will share her approach to hand-painting the faces, and you will have the opportunity to paint your own. If you would prefer, a selection of pre-painted faces will also be available to use.
Your doll will be thoughtfully detailed on both sides and finished as a necklace - a small stitched figure to wear close to the heart, like a personal talisman.
These pieces form part of Anna’s ongoing series, The Keepers - small stitched figures that carry story, cloth and meaning.
Anna will guide you step-by-step throughout the day, while encouraging you to make your own creative choices so your piece feels personal and unique. This is a relaxed and supportive class, suitable for complete beginners as well as those with sewing experience, where you will be encouraged to work at your own pace and enjoy the process.
All materials are provided, including:
– a curated selection of vintage and contemporary fabrics
– wool, linen and decorative textile fragments
– beads, threads and trims for embellishment
– embroidery threads and needles
– pre-drilled wooden beads for faces (painted and unpainted options, and all tools required for painting)
– necklace cord/chain and findings
Please bring:
– a basic sewing kit including fabric scissors, pins and needles
- a piece of fabric, trim or embellishment that has personal significance that you would like to include in your finished piece (optional)
No prior experience is necessary.
