Lotus: Do we need to get a special kind of fabric? The fabric that will be used fo rthe doll body itself is plain cheap close weave muslin. the costumes and futon and acessories are anything that is " Japanese looking" cotton chinz, silk, ichitmatsu cloth. This is agreat way to use old sheets that look dainty or scrap crafts too. Lotus: I know that other japanese dolls were stuffed with excelsior Old dolls used to be stuffed with not only excelsior but Kapok. The fibrous center that surrounds pod seeds.Or wools or horse hair. sometime feathers, or old hair. even old worn oout kimonos. . Lotus: Is there a special stuffing that is used for the dolls? For this doll we are going modern. I only prefer the texture of Soft Touch brand fill. Its resiliant. Tho an old pillow in apinch will work well Lotus: My father loves japanese dolls... go figure... LOL! Lotus: Although we didn't connect, I hope you'll cover what these things are. I've always wanted to learn this technique! Lotus: the things you're talking about... "gofun", Liquache, Cloth Clay, Glasstic eyes? Gofun is the ultimate in Japanese doll making secrets. Often each doll maker has his/her own passed down recipe for the stuff. Gofun is made of fround oyster shellw ith the mother of pearl in it. Thats one thing that give Gofun a glow. Gofun is also humidity sensitive when you work with it. It can thin out ar dry out. So each batch has to be readjusted each time. Liquache is an fun product. Its a casting slip that is used for air drying castings for hard dolls and items. Its composition is that of Paper, clay, latex, dilutent, solvent and pigments. You can dilute it and it becomes a covering dip. Cloth Clay This is a new product bt La Doll. From what I have read about it, I want it! Its made of non toxic materials. It was designed to do exactlky what we are doing. That is covering cloth so that it looks sculpted. It can also enhance the texture of materials like osnaburg or gauzes. It can be tinted and painted. Glasstic realistic eyes are eye sthat look like well real. I prefer REalistic as they are a steadier acrylic, and have deeper colors. When chooing and eye that youwill be drilling into you need one that wont shatter on a slow speed remel tool. Realsitc eyes and masterpiece eyes are great. Lotus: I want to join the class, but will have to hold off for a bit. I was reading over your messages and noticed that I don't have a whole lot of knowledge with The thing about learning with me, is I start at the very begining. I always do a class with the knowledge that we are all beginners at one thing or another. So you dont need to have a forehand knowledge thatc omes with reading the text. To do the doll all youneed the ability to read and follow my inane directions. for assembly.