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First, take the hair product that you will use and lay it out so that it is in a thin layer. If you are using mohair or other animal hair (including human) make sure that all the hair is flowing in the same direction. That is, all the cut ends are at one side, and all the curls line up together. Next, cut strips of tissue paper about 3 inches wide, and as long as you can get them. The tissue paper will act as a protective barrier, keeping the hair from jamming your sewing machine. It will also make your rows of stitching straight and even, and help you to fold the mass of hair neatly. Don't try this without the tissue paper! Thread your sewing machine with thread that closely matches the color of your hair. (Well, not YOUR hair, the color of the hair that you are working with!) Set the stitch length to a fairly small stitch. On my Elna, I use 2. On my old Singer, I would set it to 12. Lay a strip of tissue paper out, and place some hair on it, starting at the far end, with the cut end on the right. Place a second strip of tissue paper over the first. Take this to the machine, and start sewing down the center of the strip of paper. Once you have gone a few inches, lift the top layer of tissue paper and add another piece of hair, overlapping the first so there is no gap. Keep the waves lined up as you add more hair, and try to keep the hair evenly distributed, so there are no fat clumps. Continue sewing and adding hair until you get to the end of the tissue paper strip.
Now, starting at the beginning, (do NOT turn the whole thing around. Go back to where you started sewing, so that all your stitching will be in the same direction.) Run another line of stitching about 1 inch to the right of the original row. Keep the distance even, using your presser foot as a guide.
Then, run a third line of stitches between the two that you have made.
Remove the TOP layer of tissue paper, by pulling the outside pieces away from the stitching. The sewing machine needle has perforated the paper, making it fairly easy to tear it along the line of stitching. Go slowly. It is important to get rid of as much of the tissue paper as possible.
Next, remove the pieces between the rows of stitching by first lifting one edge with the point of a ball-headed pin. Then turn the pin around, and slip the ball end under the paper. Run this down the row, lifting one edge of the paper out of the stitches.
Carefully pull that strip of tissue paper out with your fingers or tweezers. The remaining strip of paper will remove fairly quickly, using the pin to lift one edge out of the stitches first. Only remove the TOP layer of tissue paper. Leave the BOTTOM layer there. Now fold the whole strip along the center row of stitches, keeping the tissue paper on the outside. Take it back to the machine and sew between the two rows of stitching (that is, between the edge and the other row of stitches).
Remove the TOP layer of tissue paper on the left of the stitches. If possible remove the TOP layer of t issue paper from between the rows of stitches. (If this is too difficult, don't worry about it.) Now, for the LAST time, fold the whole strip along the latest row of stitches, and sew between the rows. Remove ALL the tissue paper that remains.
(Don't worry about the tissue paper that is between the rows of stitching. If you followed the instructions closely, the paper that is left is very small and will not be a problem.) You should have a strip of wefting that can now be brushed or combed to remove excess hair. The hair that remains is very nicely caught in a nice neat package which can be either sewn or glued into place on the doll's head.
The way you apply it to the head will depend on the hairstyle you want to achieve. But in general, start a strip around the edge of the hairline, and wind around the dolls head. Leave about a half inch between strips of hair.
As you layer the hair, the stitching will disappear beneath it.
Top off the hairdo with a separate piece of hair made to resemble a "part." Lay a piece of hair between two layers of tissue paper, and sew it down the center. (For this piece, you may want to have the hair going in both directions, so there is no noticeable "cut edge.") Remove the top layer of tissue paper, but put one piece of paper back (out of the way of the stitching) just to keep your place. You want to be able to separate the hair again after you stitch. Fold along the stitches, with the paper on the outside. Sew a row of stitches very close to the edge, but do not let the first row of stitches cross over under the stitching you are doing now. Then remove all the tissue paper. Open the hair to find the tissue paper you left as a marker. Pull hard on both ends of the hair, to pull the two rows of stitching together. This will form your "part."
If you let the first row of stitching get out of hand, you will see it now, and know why it was not supposed to do that! Cut the thread tails, and turn the front and back ends under to form a nice neat section of hair.
Fit it onto your doll's head, and cut away any excess. Fold the ends under and glue them in place. Then glue or stitch the "part" to the top of your doll's head.
Well, that's all there
is to it. Now, without rogaine, you have HAIR! |
