Make Your Own Hanbok Doll

Spend an afternoon sharing lunch, stories, and a craft table with a master dollmaker and a group of Korean ajummas as you create your own miniature hanbok doll. More than a craft workshop, this experience is a chance to meet local women, spend time together, and get a glimpse into the warmth, humor, and creativity of everyday Korean life.

We’ll start with lunch together before moving to the craft table, where the master dollmaker will introduce you to the process of making your own personalized fabric doll. You’ll choose the skin tone, select its hair, pick your fabrics and colors, and decide how you want to style its hair and hanbok, from the color combinations down to a skirt or pants. Whether you make a miniature version of yourself or invent a character of your own is entirely up to you.

Then it’s time to pick up your needle and start making. Working from patterns and step-by-step instruction, you’ll cut, stitch, assemble, and gradually bring your little character to life. The ajummas will be crafting alongside you, so expect conversation, laughter, a little encouragement, and perhaps some (un)solicited life advice along the way.

Some basic experience with a needle and thread is recommended, but you don’t need to be an expert. This is about enjoying the process rather than racing to the finish. If your doll isn’t quite finished by the end of the workshop, you can take your project and materials with you and complete it at your own pace.

If you do finish, you’ll leave with your own handmade hanbok doll. You can use it as a purse pal or keychain, customized by you and ready to hang from your favorite bag.

Come for the craft, stay for the stories, and leave with a little piece of Korea made by you.

• Lunch with the Ajummas: Start around the table with a Korean lunch and get to know the ajummas you’ll be crafting alongside. Chat, share stories, and settle in before the needles come out.
• Choose Your Doll’s Look: Make your doll your own. Choose a skin tone, then select the fabrics, colors, and style of hanbok you’d like your doll to wear.
• Learn & Stitch: Learn how the dolls are constructed from a master dollmaker, then work from provided patterns and step-by-step instruction to create your own. The ajummas will be crafting alongside you, with plenty of guidance and help as your doll takes shape.
• Finishing Up: Add the finishing touches and turn your miniature hanbok doll into a purse pal, ready to clip onto your bag. If you don’t finish during the workshop, you can take your doll and materials with you to complete at your own pace.