I have two main styles of ape dolls that I’ve been focusing on: those made with faux fur and needle felted faces, and those made in the natural fiber art doll style like the picture. This style is adapted from the classic Waldorf-style dolls and I have used it to make ape babies. Typically, I add “fur” by way of brushable mohair (visit my gallery for examples).

I wanted to try a natural fiber ape baby that was tiny rather than life-sized. Because of the small size, I was able to give this baby string-jointed legs which makes him so fun and pose-able. His arms are flappy/floppy which just adds to the fun.

I haven’t added any fur to this gorilla baby yet because I haven’t found something that looks just right. Stay tuned!