[pampered_mom]

My mom bought the DRD kit to make dolls for both dd and ds. We have the yarn and I'm supposed to crochet the cap, but tbh the DRD "pattern" leaves much to be desired. In order for me to get the cap long enough to go from the forhead to the neck like she says it ends up being too big as in there's definitely much more cap than there is head to cover width wise. Is my circle too big? I've had to take it out twice and am on the verge of frogging it and starting over.

Yes, I know I should have experimented with a different yarn, but it's not as if I'm a beginning crocheter - I've made things much more complicated than this (and created my own pattern to boot). I tend to have a much tighter stitch so I *usually* have to go with a larger crochet hook, but I have no way of knowing for sure since she doesn't give a gauge or anything along those lines.

This shouldn't be that difficult - it's just crocheting a circle with hdc not rocket science, but for some reason it's just not working. I've got a 14" doll...anybody made one? How many rounds did you end up doing and how many stitches in each round? And when you stitched the wig on I'm assuming you're using the same thread you used to sew the body pieces?

This is yet another thing that I wish I had known about before picking DRD. Her website looks so great, but we've had so many customer service issues and the pattern really does leave much to be desired. If I had it to do all over again I definitely would have gone with a different kit.

So...any idea as to whether or not a premade cap from someone like Joy's Dolls or Weir Dolls would fit DRD's 14" doll? What about her Snuggles doll? I have to make the cap for that one too.

:

TIA for your help so that I don't pull *my* hair out!

 

[chrissy]

No advice, just commiseration as I am fumbling my way through a DRD wig too. Maybe somebody else will have some great advice.

 

[E.V. Lowi]

Te best way to get the cap to fit is to try it against the head as you work. For the "crown" the very top or flat part of the wig where the increasing stitches are, you want to make sure the the circle is not to big or small before you stop increasing and start the sides of the cap. From this point, you can measure the distance to the 4 points that matter-the forehead where the hairline starts, the "ears" on either side of the head, (about where the horizontal eye string crosses with the vertical chin string) and the very back nape of the neck. From these 4 points to the top of the cap wig are an equal distance, when the cap is placed onto the head.

For my crochet stitches, using an"H" or an "I" wood or bamboo hook, a 14" doll cap would have about 26-28 stitches in the round, at the forehead edge, depending on the thickness of the yarn. HTH.

 

[pampered_mom]

Ummm...kind of. I'm assuming your only increasing while making the crown area of the cap? And when you say 26-28 stitches you're talking just about the edge that makes the forehead or do the 26-28 stitches make up the entire round?

I'm still very tempted to buy a premade wig from Joy's, but then the dolls wouldn't be ready by Christmas. At $27 total for both it wouldn't be so bad, but it seems so silly since I already have mohair yarn to do the hair for both.

 

[E.V. Lowi]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pampered_mom Ummm...kind of. I'm assuming your only increasing while making the crown area of the cap? And when you say 26-28 stitches you're talking just about the edge that makes the forehead or do the 26-28 stitches make up the entire round? I'm still very tempted to buy a premade wig from Joy's, but then the dolls wouldn't be ready by Christmas. At $27 total for both it wouldn't be so bad, but it seems so silly since I already have mohair yarn to do the hair for both.

You only increase for the first 6 rows or rounds. When you are done increasing, you should have 28 stitches in a row(round). You work these stitches until you finish the cap.

 

[pampered_mom]

I found some yarn that wasn't too bulky and gave it at try (using what I understood from E.V. Lowi last night an a pattern I found for a hat). I think I'll need to add 3-4 stitches in the round to get it to fit DRD's 14" doll better, but it looks just about perfect. I work best w/an actual pattern so as an FYI here's what I did.

gauge - 3hdc, 4 rows = 1" using a worsted weight yarn and H hook

Round 1 - ch 4, join with first stitch.
Round 2 - ch 2, work 2 hdc in each ch all the way around, join with first stitch (8)
Round 3 - ch 2, work 2 hdc in each st all the way around, join with first stitch (16)
Round 4 - ch 2, work 1 hdc in first st, 2 hdc in next st, repeat same pattern all the way around, join (24)
Round 5 - ch 2, work 1 hdc in first two st, 2 hdc in third st, repeat same pattern all the way around, join (32)
Round 6 - ch 2, work 1 hdc in ea st all the way around, join (32)

Repeat round 6 until you have the length needed. By using this pattern, each ch ultimately ends up in 8 stitches. So...if you add a ch to the foundation chain you'll end up with 8 more stitches in the round and if you take away a ch in the foundation chain you'll end up with 8 less stitches in the round.

 

[E.V. Lowi]

Good for you! Maybe your instructions should be stickied.

 

[pampered_mom]

As a note to my pattern above...when using mohair as I was for both caps it can be difficult to see where the stitches are. I suspect that it's possible I may have skipped a few stitches. No big deal, though, just be sure to try the cap on the dolls head periodically and increase a few stitches here and there until it fits just right. My second cap was certainly better than my first which meant I didn't have to hook in quite so much yarn to cover up the head.