During this workshop, you will get hands-on experience with basic techniques to repair the most common issues with stuffed animals. You will first practice on a sample piece of fabric. After that, you can work on your own beloved and worn stuffed animal, or on one of the donor stuffed animals available that could use some love. There is also room to create a “Refurbeast”: a new, assembled stuffed animal made from usable parts of donor stuffed animals. This gives loose ears, paws, fur, eyes, or other materials a new life in a unique new creature.

Some skill with needle and thread is helpful, but not required. We work with different fabrics, yarns, plastic or glass eyes, and polyester stuffing.

Afterwards, you will go home with new skills that can also be useful for small clothing repairs, and of course with your own repaired stuffed animal or self-made Refurbeast. By repairing and reassembling, you discover how much value lies in what we already have. In this way, you not only give a beloved object, a loose part, or a discarded stuffed animal a second life, but you also learn to look differently at use, repair, creativity, and preservation.

Mama Poppendokter specializes in restoring and repairing beloved stuffed animals and dolls. From a child’s favorite stuffed animal to a birth teddy bear over 100 years old, or a doll that has been in the family for generations: each piece requires attention, craftsmanship, and respect for its original character. The craft includes repairing damaged fabric, fixing seams, tears, and loose parts, renewing stuffing, cleaning delicate materials, and carrying out careful restorations. It is not only about technique, but also about preservation: of shape, appearance, signs of use, and emotional value. In this way, stuffed animals and dolls are given a second life, without losing their familiar character.

Femke Wijman is the maker behind Mama Poppendokter and specializes in repairing and restoring beloved stuffed animals and dolls. With great care, attention, and an eye for detail, she helps damaged and worn stuffed animals and dolls get back on their feet. She works on everything from deeply loved childhood companions to old birth teddy bears, family heirlooms ranging from several decades to sometimes over 100 years old. In her work, craftsmanship, material knowledge, and respect for the original character come together. Her starting point is always not only to restore, but also to preserve as much as possible the original appearance, signs of use, and emotional value. In her workshops, she shares this knowledge in a warm and accessible way and shows how much meaning can lie in careful repair.

The materials for this workshop are sponsored by De Rechte Steek.

Examples of Refurbeasts: