Make a Ragdoll Wig
Do you want to be Raggedy Ann or Raggedy Andy? Do you like yarn wigs? Are you a Rag doll for Halloween? Follow these easy steps to learn how to make a wig with little trouble and just a few supplies!
Contents
Steps
With Glue
- Prepare your cap on the ball/head. You'll need a swim cap, pantyhose, or some sort of hat that will cover around your hairline. If you have a manikin head, great! Throw it on there. Otherwise, you may have to trust your eyeballing skills.
- Cut your yarn in generous lengths. This is ultimately up to you. The longer the hair you want, the longer your pieces of yarn should be.
- Raggedy Andy has hair somewhere between 6 and 10 inches (15 and 25 cm) long.
- After your yarn is cut, take one piece of yarn, tie a knot on both ends, and set it aside. This will be your control, or a length example. If you run out of yarn, you'll be able to cut more with this piece, matching the length.
- Make a small, thick line of glue on the base of the head. If you're making a split-colored wig, only draw a line over half of the base. It's best to start from the bottom, but you can really start anywhere. The mobility of the base allows you to hold it from all positions.
- Apply the yarn pieces side-by-side until the entire wig is covered completely. If you started on top, flip the yarn to other side of head or tie up to see the under layers better.
- If you want your wig to be a thick, full set of hair, your pieces and lines will need to be very close together. If you're less concerned, draw glue lines with about an inch or two (2.5 - 5 cm) apart and place your pieces of yarn as you see fit.
- Style the yarn once dried!
With Needle & Thread
- Cut your yarn to the desired length. With this example, the center of the yarn is going on the center of the head -- so double whatever length you want from the top of the hairline to the tip of the yarn.
- Arrange them in an orderly pile. You should be able to pick them up with one hand, like a bunch of noodles. But make sure the ends all line up!
- Find the center. Line up a felt strip as backing through the very middle of the strands and being sewing sections with a back stitch. This will end up being your center part.
- Continue sewing until the entire felt strip is sewn onto the strands of yarn. Once you're done, flip it over.
- Sew on a comb. This will keep the wig in place when it is being worn. Sew it on the end where you began with the felt strip. The teeth of the comb should be facing toward the yarn, not away. Place it directly on top of the felt (when held upside-down), so the comb won't be seen through the yarn.
- The comb should be only 3 or 4 inches (7.5 to 10 cm) wide. It should not be wider than the felt strip. Use one of the comb-like hair accessories that can be purchased in most big box or drug stores.
- Adjust and cut to your liking. You may have some pieces that have magically gotten longer or shorter; trim and style your wig until it meets your expectations.
- An easy way to style the wig is to tie each side with a ribbon about halfway down the length of the hair. It keeps it from getting tangled and getting in the wearer's eyes -- and it's cute!
- Finished.
Tips
- If you are working on a ball, work from the top down, and if you are working on the head, start wherever you please.
- Using Method 2, make bangs -- but only on a smaller scale. Take a shorter section, attach in the middle to the front and feather out to make bangs/fringe.
- If you buy a new spool of yarn for this project (which you should) -- to make curly hair: pull from the inside of the spool; to make straight, normal hair -- pull from the outside of the spool.
- Use your control by holding it up to a long string of yarn, then folding the yarn over and over again, keeping the length the size of the control. When you are finished, on each side, cut the loops so when you pull the mass apart, several pieces of yarn emerge.
- Never cut all of your yarn at once. Just pull out some yarn from your spool, snip it off, then use your control to cut it up into same-sized pieces.
Warnings
- NEVER use your head as the wig model. Glue the pieces on the ball/Styrofoam head, not your own..
Things You'll Need
Method 1: With Glue
- Pantyhose, a swim cap, knitted hat, or any other hat that covers past your hairline.
- Scissors
- Yarn in your choice of colors (for Raggedy Ann or Andy, red is suggested)
- Fabric Glue
- Styrofoam head or basketball/beach ball taped to a cup (for a stand)
Method 2: With Needle & Thread
- Yarn (preferably red)
- Felt strip for backing (also red, ideally)
- Needle and thread
- Scissors
- Comb
- Ribbon (optional)
