So, obviously this head is a mess and I wont be using it for a finished doll. I’ve been dissatisfied with the knitted wigs for awhile. They are too generic for my taste and not expressive enough. As my mom put it, “the wigs are really perky-looking…they don’t fit the woebegone attitude most of your dolls have.” I think she’s right. (Plus I am uncomfortable making something so close to a hallowig.) So I wanted to show some of the experimenting I did with new ways to make hair. I needle felted corriedale roving onto the head and then spun the fibers together to make chunky strands.
This photo shows the strands pulled back into a pigtail.
And this photo shows some early experiments with curling the strands. I used my mini craft iron. It shows promise, so I ordered a tiny curling iron that I’ll use next time.
I know you can buy curly mohair roving, but it’s expensive and doesn’t come in enough colors. Plus with straight wool I have a flexibility to make it curl if I want or leave it if I don’t.
look like dreadlocks somehow
). I love the way you extend your ideas everytime 
)
Honestly I really like it from the back. Not too sure about the second picture, but I really think you could make it work. I like the wildness of it. Like I said on Flickr, it looks like dreds!
I think it looks awesome! It has a lovely structure to it and I really think it suits the aesthetics of your dolls! Great job, can’t wait to see more!
I like the creative ideas you have. You already know that I love your little dolls : )
Hi Beth!
Your doll is fantastic I love her blue-rasta-hairstyle!
Hugs
CriCri
Can’t wait to see how the wig comes out: )
nice, i like the piggy tales. looks like dread locks =)
did you think about using many strands of i-cord?
I really love the blue hair. It is perfect for your dolls. Well done…again. x
Hi Damaris
Glad you link the pig tails…I thought about I-cord a long time ago. But I decided against it because the knitted texture would compete with the knitting that I use for the clothes. It would just wouldn’t look like hair if the doll was wearing a knitted sweater too. Plus I want to be able to make knitted hats for them and knitting on top of knitting really wouldn’t look good at all.
Hey Beth,
I love the texture of the hair, and the little ear peaking out. It’s funny how we are both going through the same dilemma right now. I make cloth dolls and usually use some type of styled yarn or craft fur hair, but I wanted to try something different. Craft fur is pretty awesome and a lot of ball jointed doll collected use it for their dolls wigs. Like you though, I wanted some curls and started looking at mohair. I was so interested that I’m also going to give spinning a try, but that’s another story. Anyway, if you wanted to try naturally curled locks, Cotswold locks are a little cheaper. The white locks of both mohair and Cotswold tend to be less expensive and you can dye them like your yarn!
I curled mohair by dampening it with water (I used a spray bottle), applying a stiff spray gel, and spiral curling it on wooden dowels. (Spritz with gel again). Then I let it completely air dry. Love your work and the generous sharing of your methods.