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This is the hairstyle
that we will be creating
today. It is appropriate
and beautiful on dolls
of the Victorian and Edwardian
era. While the initial
concept of how this wig
is made is a bit more
complex tha some others,
once you have completed
one, you will find it
an easy, fun and versitile
style to do.
Variations are to add
curls to bottom back under
bun,
Wrap the bun in a thin
braid,
Loosely wave the viscose
before doing any of the
wigging for a curlier
look,
Pull out long straight
wisps around face and
bang area before pulling
up and tying off main
hair...
and just about anything
else your imagination
can come up with.
Let's get started!
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In order to protect your
doll, clip one corner
off a plastic sandwich
bag and place the doll
in head first, allowing
the head to poke through
the cut corner. This will
keep glue and excess hair
from getting all over
your beautiful gown.
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An upsweep hairstyle
is done in sections, and
the placement and direction
of the hair is the most
important key. I have
drawn sections on to my
sample head ONLY to be
very clear in how you
will apply the hair. You
need ONLY to study the
photos carefully to understand
the placement of the hairline,
and how the head is divided
all around into sections.
You do NOT need to draw
these areas on to your
doll.
First notice that the
line that goes across
the forehead and around
the entire circumference
of the head will be how
the actual hairline is
created. You do not want
it too low in the front,
but you do not want a
receding hairline either,
so carefully judge where
the hairline will be.
The center front section
is marked here with number
1, and proceeding around
the head ...
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section 2 is next. Note
the hairline comes forward
of the ear, and then goes
over and behind the ear.
Continuing around, we
have sections three and
four. Notice that the
hairline goes down to
the nape of the neck in
a smooth line.
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Continuing around the
head, section five is
behind the opposite ear,
and the last section is
to the left of the center
front section.
All this is a complicated
way of telling you to
mentally plan your hairline,
and divide your head into
six fairly even sections
all around.
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The viscose we use must
be combed out before use.
To do this, use a very
wide tooth comb. FIRMLY
grasp the end of the hank
of hair in one hand and
comb gently with the other.
See the big ball of fuzz
at the top of the photo?
This is all the junk that
comes out of the hank
of hair, leaving you with
nice, continuous length
pieces in your main hank.
Do not over comb, and
do NOT let go of the end
as you comb, or you will
loose all of your hair.
The idea is to only remove
the short or tangled pieces.
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Divide your
hank of hair into several
thin pieces as shown. You
will need 6 thin pieces
to go around the head. Your
kit has sufficient hair
to do the wig a couple of
times, so don't fret too
much over how you divide
it. |
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To give you an idea of
how big or thick to divide
your 6 pieces of hair,
when you grasp one end
tightly and place it over
one of the sections on
your head, it will cover
the porcelain nicely in
that area. You will not
be able to see the porcelain
through the hair. On the
other hand, the section
of hair will not be so
very thick that you can
not contain it in the
section.
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I have applied
glue to section one, going
right up to the hairline
and then straight back toward
the crown of the head. |
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Here, I have laid a section
of hair over section one.
The end of the hair is
placed just over the glued
area and extends down
over the face and hangs
down the front of the
doll. The arrow is here
to help you see the direction
that the hair lays.
When you have glued the
piece to the head, apply
a small amount of glue
to your finger tip and
smooth it over the section
that is actually on the
head, from front to back
to help hold the section
together as you work around
the head.
Now, carefully apply
glue to section two. Again,
keep your hairline in
mind when applying glue.
Where the glue goes is
where the hairline will
be.
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Here I have
applied a section of hair
to section two on the head.
Again, the end of the hair
just covers the glued area,
and the remainder of the
strand is hanging forward
and slightly down as shown
by the arrow. Again apply
a bit of glue to the top
side of the hair, ONLY on
the area over the top of
the head to help anchor. |
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Glue is applied
to section 3. |
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Another strand
of hair applied to section
three. Notice the angle
that this section is glued
into..... it is pointed
in a nearly straight down
angle. |
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The center back section,
(#4) has had a piece of
hair applied, and it hangs
straight down the center
back as shown by the arrow
on the left.
Section 5 has also had
hair glued into place
in this photo, again at
a downward angle.
Glue has been applied
to section 6, and the
hair will be applied to
this final section, angling
the strand down and slightly
forward.
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Here is a view of the
doll from the top of her
head. See how the hair
has been applied in a
circular pattern around
the entire head?
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This is a view of the
doll from the front after
all of the strands have
been glued into place.
It's a good idea to let
this dry for 10-15 minutes
before handling it too
much more.
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Remember all that ratty
fuzzy stuff we pulled
out of the viscose when
we combed it out back
in the beginning? Well,
we don't waste anything!
Find a piece of coat hanger
wire, or a very small
knitting needle or even
a metal skewer.
Place one section of
the fuzzy viscose against
the rod. Holding the hair
firmly as you twist, begin
twisting the rod.
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As you twist,
the viscose will wrap itself
around the rod and mat up.
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Continue twisting
the rod and smoothing the
hair with your fingers till
it is fairly tight around
the rod. Slide it off the
rod. |
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Gently curve
the piece into a circular
shape. We are going to use
this piece as a "rat"
for our hairstyle. |
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Pick up your doll and
figure out where the front
and back are. Visualize
the approximate hairline
area. On top of your viscose,
apply a bead of tacky
glue as shown.
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Place the
rat that we just made in
the previous steps around
the head like a halo, setting
it into the glue. Trim off
excess at center back as
needed. |
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Now gently lift up your
hair strands away from
the face. See how they
are glued down right up
to the hairline? At this
point, it is very important
to work gently. Do not
grab a comb, Do not overhandle
your viscose. Gently bring
the hair strands up toward
the top of the head,
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Here, I have
turned the doll upside down.
Use a large needle, and
gently comb through the
areas where the hair sections
meet, blending them together
slightly with the tip of
the pin. Work your way around
the entire head in this
manner. Again NO COMBS,
NO BRUSHES.. If you use
either of these, you will
loose most of the hair in
your wig. If the pin catches
as you are blending the
sections, DO NOT yank it,
as you will probably pull
out a hank of hair. Just
smooth over the top. |
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After blending the sections
together, I have pulled
them all gently into a
ponytail at the back of
the head. See how nicely
the hair lays on top of
the hair ratt that we
used??? The ratt adds
height and shape to the
hairstyle, allowing us
to make a full wig without
using a ton of hair, which
would end up looking very
stiff and unnatural.
Note that you can vary
the position of where
you hold your ponytail,
some people prefer the
hair to gather more on
the center back of the
head, others prefer it
more toward the top. Wherever
you gather your ponytail,
this is where you will
eventually place your
bun, so keep that in mind
as you draw the hair up.
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When you find
just the place, hold the
hair together and tie the
ponytail off very tightly
with thread, wrapping the
thread around the hank of
hair several times before
knotting securely. If you
can have someone else wrap
and tie the thread as you
hold the hair firmly, it
is much easier. |
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Hair has been
tied off. Apply a small
bit of glue over the thread
wraps at the base of the
ponytail and over the knot
of the thread. Trim threads. |
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CAREFULLY cut off the
excess hair above the
place where you tied it
off with the thread. DO
NOT cut through the threads.
Cut about 1/16" above
the threads as shown here.
To hold, you can apply
a bit of glue to the top
of the "stump"
of hair that remains above
the thread.
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Making a bun is really
very easy. Take a piece
of viscose about 5"
in length, and about the
same thickness as the
sections you used around
the head. Twist is slightly
and then tie a knot in
the hair. You can do half
or a whole square knot.
I prefer to do a whole
square knot.
Decide which side of
the knot you like the
looks of best, and use
this for the top of the
bun. On the underside,
apply glue, and then fold
the ends of the strand
of hair under and into
the glue to hold. Use
your finger to press the
ends of the strand firmly
into place, and to cup
the underside of the bun
slightly. This will help
it fit over the stump
of the pony tail better.
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Here is my finished bun
with the ends glued under,
ready to apply to the
doll.
Apply glue to the ponytail
stump and to the back
side of the bun. Do not
go all the way to the
edges of the bun, as you
do not want glue seeping
out and ruining your lovely
hair do. Use the thickest
tacky glue available to
you. I think that designer
tacky is the very best
for wigmaking. It is so
thick that it never seeps
through the hair.
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Here is the bun glued
into place on the back
of the head.
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View from the side. Notice
how natural and soft the
hairline looks???
You can stop now, or
go a bit further and add
a bit more detail to your
wig.
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Take some of the pony
tail that you cut off
and divide it into very
very small thin pieces.
Dip each piece into a
bowl of water grasping
one end firmly as you
do.
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Wrap the wet viscose
around a corsage pin,
paper clip, yarn needle
or other similar tool.
You will want to make
several of these curls.
Pop them into a slightly
warm oven for 5 minutes
to dry.
Remove from oven and
slide the curl off the
end of the pin.
You can then cut each
curl into smaller sections
for use on the doll.
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I want to add a curl
just in front of the doll's
ear on either side. I
am using a very sharp
pointed pair of tweezers
to gently lift up the
hair where I want to apply
the curl, separating the
glued hair from the porcelain
in just a very small area.
Then, in that newly made
pocket beneath the hair,
apply a small dot of glue
using a toothpick.
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Use tweezers
to grasp the large end of
your curl and push it under
the wig where you have applied
the glue. |
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You can also
apply loose curls at the
nape of the neck. |
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I also applied some very
small curls across the
forehead. I then took
a straight pin and fluffed
them out a bit for soft
bangs.
You can do any or all
of these steps, depending
on your personal preference.
Use small scissors to
clean up any stray hairs.
Lovely wig. And our beautiful
model is Elizabeth, one
of my new sculptures.
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