Design thinking is a way of understanding and engaging with the world that has received much attention in academic and business circles in recent years. This article examines a hands-on learning model as a vehicle for developing design thinking capacity in students. An overview of design thinking grounds the discussion of the material-based specialized studio course, Felt Construction. The pedagogical context as well as the components and organization of the course are considered through case studies. The effectiveness of course design is analyzed, and the relevance to other disciplines is addressed, with the intention of providing some flexible strategies that may be used in course design where cultivating design thinking is an objective.