waldorf doll hair/help!!!

[fennelseed]

hello,

i am finally almost done with my daughter's doll and it's so exciting. she even has a dress and shoes on. all i have left is the hair and i am stumped. the directions just aren't clear to me.

it's a weir doll kit and i'm thinking about giving the doll braids. it says to wrap the hair around a 12'' piece of cardboard and then cut along the edge of the cardboard. i'm just not sure, do i cut along both edges or one. if i cut along one edge the full strands of yarn will be about 24". if i cut along both edges they will be half that size. also, should each piece of yarn be wrapped around the cardboard without any overlapping? i found that i had to overlap some of the yarn at least to get it all onto the cardboard. i'm not going to use a sewing machine at all so i know i will have to sew each individual strand on at the middle.

are there any links to hair instructions anywhere? has anyone done the braids who can give me clear instructions. i'm so close to being done and don't want to mess this part up!

thanks!

[kiwimutti]

i just posted this link...

i found it helpful...instead of wool i used spun yarn and it worked fine!

http://www.cely.com/doll/workbook.html good luck

[Village Mama]

It sounds like you have a good idea about what you are going to do already. But just as an option... it takes a long time to do but is worth it. I stitch each hair in individually. Knotting each "pair " of hairs together. This gives a really full head of stylable hair. I love how this has worked for me.

[kiwimutti]

village mama, do you mean taking a length of yarn and sewing it in and then out (right next to the "in" spot) and then knotting it together?...that sounds like a nice clean simple way to do it i didnt think of that. does the "scalp hold out well? and do you just do them as close as possible? and random pattern?...

[Knittin' in the Shade]

I've done it the way kiwimutti describes above. if you have even minimal crocheting skills, you can crochet a little cap that you then slip stitch lengths of hair into.

[Village Mama]

I knot them really close together around the hairline. I then work my way into the center. The pairs can be placed furthar away nearer to the center. The scalp held up really well for me... but I use recycled materials for my dolls. The cotton I used may have been stronger than what you are using. Good luck!

[LunaMom]

Here's another suggestion. I sort of made this up when I made DD's doll because i don't have a sewing machine, either! It came out great - I did braids, too.

Crochet one really long chain, long enough to make a spiral to cover the whole scalp, like a cap. Stitch it down, and then use a crochet hook to thread indivdual strands all around the hairline and in two rows down either side of where you want your center "part" between the braids. I used a latch-hook sort of technique, doubling a strand, pulling the loop through the stitched-down chain, and then pulling the two loose ends through the loop. I hope this makes sense - it's hard to describe in words.

You can make hair all over the head if you want, but I found that just making a circle around the hairline and two rows down the center was enough to gather into tow braids with a center part.

PM me if this is confusing!