Yarn hair is often used on fabric and knitted dolls. It will match with the doll’s appearance and will be easier to stick on the doll’s head. Synthetic hair is what you see on most collectible dolls, and plastic dolls like Barbie dolls. It looks like real human hair but is synthetic material. You should be able to find synthetic hair and yarn at most craft stores. Synthetic hair may be slightly harder to find, however, so you may have to order it online.
Yarn hair is more often used for medium to long lengths but is sometimes used for short hair. [2] X Research source Synthetic hair is versatile and comes in any type or length. Think about the type of doll you’re making, or the doll whose hair you’re replacing. A baby doll may have shorter hair than a doll that’s supposed to be an older age. If you’re making a doll that’s meant to look like a particular character, you should make sure your doll’s hair matches the character. If you’re making a Rapunzel doll, for example, you’ll want your doll to have very long hair.
Yarn hair usually comes as a straight fabric but you can curl it by wrapping it around a small wooden dowel and setting it aside for a bit. When you unwrap the yarn, it should be curly. [3] X Research source You can create almost any look with synthetic hair. You can buy synthetic hair that is already waved, curled, or braided from a craft store or online.
A pair of scissors A sewing needle or a sewing machine Your desired doll hair material Scotch tape Flexible measuring tape A hot glue gun (for yarn hair) Tacky glue (for synthetic hair) Tissue paper A DVD case (for measuring yarn)
Wind the yarn fairly tight and make sure no yarn is overlapping. You should also wind the yarn close together, so there are no gaps in yarn. Keep winding the yarn until you’ve moved 3 to 3. 5 inches across the DVD. If there are any gaps in the yarn, push the yarn together to fill in these gaps. If you have difficulty keeping the yarn in place with your fingers alone, you can tape down the end of the yarn with a piece of scotch tape.
If you’re struggling to cut the yarn, get a sharper pair of scissors. You should be using sewing scissors rather than normal craft scissors. You do not want your doll’s hair to look uneven.
You should have a long line of strands of yarn with the tissue resting on the halfway point between the strands. As you can see, hair is forming. The tissue paper represents where the doll’s part will be located.
If you are savvy with a needle you can sew them together manually. Otherwise, you can use a sewing machine to sew a straight line through them. Use small, tight stitches. These should keep the hair secure.
If you’re struggling to remove the tissue paper, try trimming some of it off with a small pair of scissors. Just be careful not to snip any of the yarn by mistake.
Once again, secure the end of the yarn with a piece of scotch tape if you’re having trouble keeping it in place with your fingers. Remember, wind the yarn around the DVD case, secure the smooth edges with tape, and then cut the yarn by tucking your scissors under the notch in the case. When you’re done, secure the strands with tissue paper and sew down the center.
If glue is not holding the hair in place and your doll is fabric, you can sew the hair to the doll’s head. Take an extra piece of yarn and use a long needle to backstitch the hair to the top of the doll’s head. It may be helpful to go over the seam twice. If you’re using yarn hair on a plastic doll, you will want to use tacky glue instead of hot glue. However, keep in mind synthetic hair tends to look better on plastic dolls.
If you can still see a lot of the doll’s scalp at this point, consider adding another layer of hair. you can create another larger wig and secure it in the center of the doll’s head so it overlaps with the existing hair.
You may have to periodically use your fingers, or a doll comb, to comb through tangled bits of synthetic hair. It can get tangled easily. Keep removing small bunches of hair and smoothing them out until you have a long line of synthetic hair.
Synthetic hair can sometimes be difficult to cut, as it’s often unwieldy to handle. Dampening the hair may help it stay together more, allowing you to better judge where to cut.
If you’re struggling to move the glue in a straight line, ask a friend to do this part for you. It may be hard to hold the hair with one hand and maneuver the glue with the other.
Once again, this may be difficult to do on your own. If you’re struggling to hold the needle in one hand, and the hair in the other, ask a friend for help.
As with the other steps, you can ask a friend for help here. It may be helpful to have a friend hold the hair in place as you slide the needle out.
Apply a thin line of tacky glue to the center of the doll’s head. Press the center strip of the hair (where your needle was) to this line of glue so the strip looks like the part in the hair. Keep it pressed there until the glue dries. Lift one side of the hair up at the part and apply a thin line of glue, spreading it around the side of the head. Just a tiny bit of glue is enough. Lay the hair back down and let it dry. Repeat this on the other side. Press all the hair down so the glue can bond to the hair.
