Doll Wig-Making Tutorial

Doll wigs can be made from many different fibers.

You can make many different kinds of doll wigs. For a ragdoll, you can sew a wig of yarn hair to the doll's fabric head. For fashion dolls, you can use plastic hair. Doll wigs are often made from fabric with the hair woven into them. Hair can be sewn in either by hand or with a machine. Some dollmakers hand knot each individual hair. You can make a doll wig by hot gluing plastic hair to a homemade wig base and styling when dry.

Things You'll Need

• Bald doll or doll head
• Petroleum jelly
• White glue
• Wet wipes
• Hot glue gun and sticks
• Plastic doll hair
• Scissors
• Plastic bags (optional)
• Rubber bands
• Hair clips
• Hot water

Instructions

1. Remove the doll's head or protect the doll's body by wrapping it in plastic bags and rubber bands, leaving the head exposed. Apply a thin layer of petroleum jelly over the doll's scalp. Cover the head with a piece of wet wipe. Apply a layer of white glue to the wet wipe. You may wish to add more than one layer of wet wipe material. Allow to dry overnight. When dry, trim the wig cap to match the doll's hair line.

2. Load and heat up the glue gun. Apply a very small amount of hot glue to the very end of a small clump of doll hair. Quickly stick this to the bottom edge of the wig cap. If the glue hardens before you can stick the hair down, re-melt the existing glue with the tip of the gun rather than adding more glue. If the glue appears uneven or lumpy, you can smooth it down with the tip of the glue gun.

3. Add sections of plastic doll hair using the hot glue gun all the way around the base. Continue to add hair, working inward to the middle of the cap, until you have covered the entire cap. If unsightly areas of glue appear, press the glue down with the hot glue gun and add more hair if necessary. Allow all the glue to dry completely.

4. Trim the wig and style using rubber bands, hair clips and hot water. Take care not to pull out the doll's hair while you work.

References

• Lotz Dollmaking Pages: Making your Own Wigs: An Overvie
• Niel's Doll Room: Gluey Wig Tutorial

Resources

• Doll Designs: Links to Dollmaking Tips, Techniques and Tutorials