Friday, March 2, 2012

Hairy Thoughts!

I'm currently working on a new PDF for my Etsy store all about how to create a knotted mohair doll'a wig. Which led me to thinking about all the ways you can wig a doll.............
There are many, from the "no-hair-at-all" option which works wonderfully well on some dolls:


to painted-on hair, as for the Izannah Walker style of doll:



Or you can make a moulded hairstyle like this:


And then there are options like using mohair still attached to the skin, or fur fabric:



Those are all very fine options, but the subject of the new PDF is, in my opinion, the best way of all to create a doll's wig, by hand-knotting mohair and stitching it onto a cloth wig-cap. Why is it the best? Well, you can create any style at all, depending on how you stitch on the strings of knotted mohair; it can be brushed and styled without falling out in clumps and it always seems to look just right on a hand-made doll.





It is time-consuming to make a wig in this way, but once you get the hang of it, it's the kind of thing you can do, like knitting, whilst doing something else. Take care, though........mohair tends to insinuate itself into everything, especially the dinner!
I'm hoping to have the new PDF in my store next week
PS: Here's a knotted mohair boy wig I made some years ago - this is a digital image from a photograph (can you remember the pre-digital era?) so apologies for the quality.







8 comments:

maddyrose said...

This is something that I've always thought took a great deal of time and skill and after seeing this, I'm pretty sure I was right. The hand knotted wigs do look so much better than some of the other options.

Simon Purple said...

Does this technique work with human hair?

Jan Conwell said...

This would be such a great thing to learn. Looking forward to it!

Susie McMahon said...

Simon, it does work with human hair, but not for small wigs - the scale is all wrong and it kind of sticks out too much. I have used human hair - found it quite tricky to work with, but it came out OK.

BlacknickSculpture said...

Very interesting post! I had never seen a doll with painted on hair before.

FairiesNest said...

OOO This is something I'd love to learn. Does it work well for small dolls? Say the 12" (about 30 cm) tall variety?

Susie McMahon said...

Cynthia - it works very well for small dolls - I've even done it for doll-house sized dolls successfully. My recent doll "Thursday's Child" (see previous posts) is only about 10" or so and she has a wig made like this. Given your skills with small, you'll have no trouble.

Flora said...

AGH!!! I wish I had your patience for doing the fiddly stuff!!! I would absolutely LOVE to do this!!!Of course you always make it look and sound easier than I'm sure it really is...
Blessings,Flora

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