After the doll head and body are completed, hair is the next project. The simplest way to add hair to your doll is purchased doll wig. They come in many styles, sizes and colors. To determine the size you would need, use a cloth tape measure, string, or a strip of paper and measure around the doll's head just above the eyebrows and over the ears to the back of the neck. Since doll wigs are sized in inches, if your doll measures 10 inches around the head, a size 10 wig will fit. Sometimes on a cloth doll, the wig can be a size smaller or larger because the cloth doll head is more flexible than a doll with porcelain, vinyl or other hard material used for the head.
[blondmodacrylic]
Doll wigs come in Mohair, Modacrylic, human hair, and other fibers. Your choice of material will depend on the look and purpose for your doll.
Many play cloth dolls have yarn wigs that are sewn or glued on the head. It is fairly easy to construct a wig using yarn. After selecting the color and texture of yarn, wind it around a book or cardboard form that is the length you desire. Yarn winding devices are available to purchase that are made of two metal bars and wooden slats with holes for adjusting the size. The yarn is wound around the metal rods to create the wig. Either machine stitch along the center of the yarn strips or hand tie the middle to form a part and snip the loops at each end to release the yarn from the form.
[yellowyarn]
Coils and ringlets made from yarn can also be hand sewn or glued in place on the head. Use basic white glue, tacky glue, hot glue, or a fabric glue made for attaching fabric to fabric.
To make ringlets, wrap yarn around a dowel, pencil, knitting needle or other long, thin item. When enough yarn is wrapped on the dowel, spray the yarn with water or hair spray and heat set it with a steam iron or in a warm oven (200 degrees). Remove the completely dry yarn ringlets and arrange on the doll head. Secure by hand stitching or with glue.
Hair can also be made from fabric sewn or appliqued to the head before construction. This type of hair works well for cloth dolls that are meant to be played with by very young children since it can't be mussed up or pulled off.
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