Making Synthetic Doll Hair
Remove synthetic hair from the bag. To start, you'll want to remove the synthetic hair from the bag it came in. This can be difficult, as synthetic hair is fine and often somewhat tangled or bunched up when packaged. Slowly remove small bunches of hair at a time, smoothing them out as you go and removing any fuzzy bits. 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.
Cut the synthetic hair to your desired length. Once you've removed and sorted through the synthetic hair, you can now cut the hair to the length appropriate for your doll. Cut the doll hair to the length you desire. The hair will drape over the doll’s head so cut the hair to twice the length that the doll’s hair length will be. 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.
Apply glue to the center of the doll’s hair. Wrap the strands of hair tightly around your pointer and middle finger, with the center of the strands exposed. This means you should wrap the hair so the midpoint of the hair is resting on your index finger. Apply a thin layer of tacky glue vertically across the center of the strands. Make sure you are covering as many strands as possible. 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.
Press a sewing needle to the glue. Before the tacky glue dries, place a sewing needle along the line of glue you just applied. It helps to pinch the hair together underneath the needle, as close to the needle as possible. This process is a means to force the glue to seep through the hair, gluing all the strands together at the center. Hold the needle there while the tacky glue dries. 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.
Remove the sewing needle. Once the glue is dry, carefully remove the needle by sliding it out from the bundle of hair. When the needle has been removed you can flip the hair over. You should have hair with two distinctive halves and a dip in the center where your needle had been. 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.
Glue the hair to the doll’s head. Now you need to apply the hair to the doll’s head. Use tacky glue for plastic dolls and hot glue for dolls made from fabric. Be careful not to use too much glue because it will seep through the synthetic hair and create knots in the hair. A small amount of glue is enough to hold the hair in place. 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.
Style your doll hair. It's time to style the doll's hair however you want. You can curl it, braid it, put it in a ponytail, or cut it shorter. Since the hair is synthetic, be sure you test the style on a lock of extra hair to make sure it holds correctly and doesn't damage the hair. This is especially important if you're applying heat, as you don't want to melt the hair.
Making Yarn Doll Hair
Wind the yarn around your DVD case. Take your spool of yarn and your DVD case. You want to wrap the yarn around the DVD case width-wise. There are two sides to a DVD case: a notched side, where the case opens, and a smooth side. Begin winding at the notched side, slightly left of the center. Wind the yarn towards the center of the DVD. 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.
Tape off the yarn. Once your yarn is wound around the DVD, take two long pieces of scotch tape. Use this tape on the smooth side of the DVD. On the front and back of the DVD, just underneath the smooth side, tape down the yarn. The yarn on the smooth side should be securely taped to the DVD.
Cut the yarn. Take a pair of scissors and slip them underneath the notched edge of the DVD. Cut through the yarn on this side of the DVD. Then, un-tape the yarn on the smooth side, keeping the tape securely attached to the yarn. You should begin to see something of a wig forming. The tape marks a barrier where the doll's part will be. There should be strands of loose yarn coming off either side this part. 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.
Secure the yarn with tissue paper. Cut off a thin piece of tissue paper roughly 4 by 8 inches. Lay the tissue paper on a flat surface. Place the taped portion of the yarn between each strand of tape on the tissue paper. Fold the tissue paper over this portion of the yarn, sandwiching the yarn between the tissue paper. 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.
Sew the yarn to the tissue paper. Working through the middle of the tissue paper, sew all your strands of yarn together. Sew vertically up the middle so you have a straight line of thread going through all your layers in the center. You should have a grouping of hair on each side that meets in the middle, where your thread holds the strands together. 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.
Remove the tissue paper. Now that your strands are sewn together you can remove the excess tissue paper at the sides of the line you sewed. Remove the tissue paper slowly and gently, being careful not to tear out any thread. Using tweezers might be helpful. All that should remain are the two strands of yarn doll hair, with the thread holding them together in the center. 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.
Repeat this process, but with less yarn. You will want to repeat this process one more time. However, stop winding the yarn after you've moved about an inch or two across the DVD case. 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.
Glue the larger piece of hair to the doll’s head. Grab the larger piece of your sewn together bunch of yarn hair. Remember, the larger piece has a part that runs roughly three to three and a half inches in length. Get your hot glue gun. Once the glue is hot, put a line of glue down the seam you just made and press it to the top center of your doll’s head. Hold it there until the glue has dried. When it is dry you can flip the hair over and admire your finished doll hair. 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.
Add a side part with the smaller strand. Now, take your smaller strand of hair. This is the strand of hair with the part running an inch to two inches in length. Follow the same process with gluing or stitching the hair to the doll's head. However, place the part slightly to the left or right of the center of your doll's scalp. This will create a side part, as well as add some layers to your doll's hair. 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.
Style your doll hair. You can style the doll hair how you want. You can cut the hair, braid the hair, paint the hair, make a ponytail, or do anything else you want with it. If you don’t want to style it you can just leave it how it is. It is your doll hair; feel free to do what you want with it.
Making Style Decisions
Decide what material is right for you needs. Perhaps the most important decision is what material of doll hair you want. One factor to consider is the type of doll you are attaching it to. Is the doll made of fabric or plastic? Are you placing new hair onto the doll, or replacing hair? If you are replacing hair, you may want to replace the same type of hair that was removed. 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.
Decide what length your doll hair will be. Once you have a material chosen for your doll hair you need to decide what you want the hair to look like. Length is an important factor. Will your doll have short hair, medium length hair, or long hair? Yarn hair is more often used for medium to long lengths but is sometimes used for short hair. 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.
Decide what hairstyle your doll will have. The next question for your doll’s hair is style. Do you want to curl your doll hair, leave it wavy, or straight? Some doll hair material is easier to curl than others, and some doll hair looks better straight or wavy. 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. 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.
Gather your materials. To make the process easier it is a good idea to have all your materials purchased and ready to go when you make your doll hair. This way you will be well prepared. You can make your doll hair without interruption and admire your finished product. You will need: 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)
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