Join artist Grace Emily Manning of GEM Eco Studio this October half term to make your own Woolie – a small folk figure made from hazel wood, twine and soft Herefordshire sheep’s wool, with a precious little wrapping of plant-dyed colour.

Woolies are little companions for the colder months: made to hang in the home, travel with you on winter adventures, or hold your warm wishes across the season.

Each Woolie begins with a pre-drilled hazel wood body (a little hazel for winter wisdom.) We’ll thread through hop twine, saved from the bonfire and given another life, before wrapping, twisting and binding soft, washed fleece around the figure to make arms, legs, hands, feet and wonderfully wild characters.

Younger makers can create faces simply using wool and string, while older children, teenagers and grown-ups can try a little needle felting to add eyes, features and more detail.

Alongside the natural fleece, everyone will have a small amount of beautiful woad-dyed wool to work with. This is our special bit! The blue wool has been dyed by hand at GEM Eco Studio using woad, a traditional blue dye plant grown locally near Ledbury. We’ll use it sparingly to give each Woolie its own flashes of plant-grown colour. 

There’s no right way for a Woolie to look. They can be long-legged, round-headed, sleepy, woolly, wonky or wild like the winter.

Tuesday 27th October
Drop in anytime between 10am and 4pm
The Craft Space at The Fold
£5 a Woolie – all materials included

Everything parents & carers need to know

The workshop is open drop-in, so there’s no need to arrive at a particular time. Allow around 30 – 45 minutes to make a Woolie, or up to an hour for makers who want to add lots of detail.

All ages are welcome; younger hands may need help from their accompanying adult. Hazel bodies will be cut and pre-drilled in advance, so children won’t be drilling or cutting the wood themselves. Younger makers can use wrapping, threading and tying techniques throughout.

Needle felting uses a sharp barbed needle, so this part of the activity will be offered to older participants with guidance. Younger children can make their Woolie without using a felting needle at all.

All fleece used in the workshop will be washed and cleaned before use. Please note that this is real sheep’s wool, so families with a known wool or lanolin sensitivity may prefer not to take part.

Children should remain accompanied and supervised by their parent or carer during the activity.

Come and make a Woolie, give it a name if you like, and send it out into winter carrying something warm. 

About the artist

Grace Emily Manning is an artist, maker and founder of GEM Eco Studio, an ecological art and materials studio exploring colour, craft and making through locally grown and gathered materials. Her practice moves between natural dyes and pigments, textiles, sculpture, folk traditions and participatory making, often working with communities to explore our relationship with landscape.

Recent projects include The Golden Valley Sundial with Chris Poolman and Meadow Arts, a community-made sculptural sundial and evolving folk zodiac created across Herefordshire’s Golden Valley.