I did a previous post about a doll pattern I liked. The pattern was easy and the doll was adorable but I couldn't get past how the hair looked. The tutorial had you sew one piece of yarn at a time down the center of the head. It was too thin and when the doll was turned to the side the hair would flop over to one side exposing a bald head. It was also time consuming and tedious to sew one yarn piece at a time!
I created a fast and easy solution that covers the head more fully.
Once you finish your doll, you'll need:
-yarn and matching thread
-pins
-hand sewing needle
-erasable fabric marker
-sewing machine with zigzag stitch
Decide how long you want your doll's hair - measure starting at the center of the forehead, going along the side of the head and down where you want it to end. I wanted my shortest layer about shoulder length which was about 5". Find a flat sturdy object twice the length you want your hair - this lid was 10" long. Wrap your yarn around the object about 60 full turns. TIP: don't stretch your yarn too tight because once you cut it, it will be shorter than what you want.
Carefully cut along the yarn folds on each end of the object.
Using an erasable fabric marker, mark your doll's head where you will be attaching the hair, starting 1/2" onto the forehead and going down the center of the head...
...ending where you want the base of the head to be, about 1" up from the shoulders.
Then mark on the side of the seam closest to the face (so your hair will hide the seam), running from the very edge of the head, over the top to the other edge (about where the ears would be).
For the hair you'll be sewing your yarn pieces along a long double strand of yarn (spine). The strand of yarn stabilizes the hair pieces and anchors them together. You will be making 2 section of hair to go along the 2 markings you made on your dolls head.
The first section will be the length of the first mark you made on the center your of doll head PLUS 2". You will want to sew your hair pieces really heavy/thick together.
The second section will be the length of the second mark you made on the doll head along the seam from ear to ear PLUS 1". This section will thin out in the middle where it crosses the first section on dolls head.
Start of with a long double strand of yarn (spine), about 15" longer than both section lengths combined. With a wide zigzag stitch, stitch over both strands about 1/2".
For your FIRST SECTION of hair, mark on your spine the length you need to fill. Center thick sections of yarn over spine and zigzag over the centers making sure you're sewing over the spine. Keep working until you get the length you need.
TIP: when sewing over yarn it's easiest to put pressure over both sides of the presser foot and help machine by pushing the thickness through.
For your SECOND SECTION, leave a few inch gap between the first and continue on the spine, doing it just as you did the first but thin in out in the center.
The back of your sections should look like this (the bottom).
Sew SECOND SECTION of hair on doll first, centering over the side markings of head with yarn spine on mark. Fold under excess ends of spine to hide ends. Pin in place.
Use needle and double thread and anchor thread to one side. Do a simple chain stitch over the top of the spine all the way to the other side. Tie off thread...
...and pull needle through back of head and cut threads right against head (this hides the ends of your threads inside).
Split yarn where the center mark is to prepare for next section.
Fold end of FIRST SECTION under about 1/2" and pin at base of head...
...flip doll over and match spine with marking...
...you'll see it extends longer than your marking by about an inch (this gives it extra volume in the front)...
...fold excess under...
...pin in place. Sew section in place just like previous section.
You can see the hair is longer in the back - do a little trimming and...
...Done!
You can also create a 'side part' easily by changing center mark where you want it. With a side part I like to anchor the fuller side to the side of the head with thread and needle to keep it from falling in the face.
Labels: craft, DIY, sewing, tutorial
