Indian Brave: A Needle-Felted FOGLEBERRY Doll

If the bright colors of Merino roving were so perfect for a doll based on Carmen Miranda (see previous entry), then the beautiful earthy tones were ideal for a little Native American Indian Brave. Elizabeth and I had come up with the idea of a needle felted Indian doll when I first learned how to felt, but it was some time before he materialized.

The two of us have always been crazy about old Westerns. We like Roy Rogers, Gene Autry, Jimmy Stewart, Audie Murphy. The list can go on and on. Indians always play an active part in Wild West stories. The thing that always intrigues us is the Indian sign-language. In fact, we've acquired a couple of books on it over the years and learned a few words. When I finally got ready to start felting on this doll --- well, it wasn't a far step to think of designing him in a sitting position as if he was in the middle of signing a message. Paging through a book of Indian signs (illustrated by pictures of Iron Eyes Cody performing the signs), we decided on the work "chief". What could be more important than that??

Unlike the Carmen Miranda doll, this Indian Brave is not based on anyone in particular. What's funny is that I was actually inspired to work on this after watching the 1938 film, Listen Darling. Nine-year-old Scotty Beckett receives a really cute Indian costume from movie friend, Alan Hale. That did it. I was really in the mood to felt an Indian doll.

Elizabeth and I sat down with bags of roving and decided on a selection of "earthy" tones. To give some color to this little gent, I felted a bead trim along the sleeves and a wampum belt. These were loosely based on original costumes owned by Iron Eyes Cody. His headband is made from genuine leather and his necklace is made out of wood and metal beads.

Of course, no real Indian Brave would want to be seen without his own genuine Buffalo mat. This little man's mat is needle felted from genuine Buffalo fiber (boy, is that different than Merino!?) and backed by a piece of suede.

This proud little fellow is available in our Etsy shop --- and he is certainly a one-of-a-kind creation. You can check him out by visiting our shop via the link in the bar at the top of this page. Thanks for looking!