Thursday, April 05, 2012

Waldorf Doll Hospital - part 3

This is part 3 in a series where I take two very old and bedraggled Waldorf dolls and try to bring them back to their original forms.  Click here for Part One and Part Two.

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We woke up yesterday to harsh winds and a chilly, wet world.  It seemed colder than usual, but I was still surprised to see mammoth-sized snowflakes whizzing through the air.

The gas boiler has been shorting itself out again, which is probably for the best since utilities costs are astronomically high in England.  So the kids and I hunkered down on the couch, wrapped ourselves in blankets and cats to keep warm, and spent the day reading stories, drinking tea, and doing handwork.

If nothing else, it's perfect weather for handwork.  And I know a doll who has been waiting patiently for a new head of hair.




Rosey's old hairdo was very short, just like Sunburst's was when I brought Rosey to life for her.  In fact, Sunburst didn't have hair that reached past her shoulders until she was about seven or eight.  For a time I didn't think it would ever grow, but she surprised me, like she always does.  Finally her hair grew and grew and grew into a thick, almost unmanageable mane.  She wears it in a ponytail because otherwise we'd have to make the doorways bigger.  ;)

Sunburst thought long and hard about whether or not Rosey's hair should change, too.  She finally decided that she wanted it a little bit longer than shoulder length.  When she didn't change her mind all week, I knew she meant it.  So yesterday I pulled out the mohair balls and got to work.

First I found a book with a slick cover that was the right length.  I wrapped the mohair around and around fairly thickly.  I used about 3/4 of a 40g ball for this underlayer.  (For long hair I would have used the entire ball and a larger book.)


I found a sewing thread that didn't offer too much contrast, and then Sunburst and I searched for some tape.  It's the key to sewing doll hair on your machine.  It keeps the hair in place and the feed moving nice and easy.  The right tape simplifies the whole process.

You want to be able to tape the hair in place, run it through the machine, and then remove the tape. Masking tape is a good choice when it comes to sewing hair because it's not too adhesive.  Removable highlighter tape would probably be perfect.  I had neither, and because our car has been in the shop for almost a month, I had to make-do with what I had-- address labels.  I tested them out and they were a bit too sticky, so Sunburst and I applied them to our hands repeatedly until they lost some of their adhesiveness.  Then I applied them to one side of the hair (where I would run stitches for bangs), flipped the book over, and ran them along the other side.  I slid the hair off the book, and ran it through my machine.



We used the same book and the same amount of mohair for the overlayer, only this time, we put the "tape" on one end of the book.  I cut the yarn at the other end, and carefully applied "tape" to the underside of the hair.  This would be the center part.  I ran it through the machine, Sunburst picked off the tape, and then it was ready to go.





I pinned it on, and we had a good look.  It was an awful lot of hair-- a huge change for Rosey.  But all things considered, maybe it wasn't too far-fetched.  For fun, I asked Sunburst to take her ponytail out, and then I had a healthy laugh at the sight of the two of them together.



Sunburst helped sew on Rosey's new locks, and then she spent some time at the sewing machine working on a new dress.  She has become quite handy with the machine lately, so I expect this will be the first of many new doll dresses in the coming months.



Now the dolls are finally finished!  Are you ready for the happy ending?

Here are my girls with Rosey and Ella, then and now...








 As far as happy endings go, it doesn't get much happier than that!


19 comments:

  1. Congratulations, you did a wonderful job, they are so much the same as they were! Your daughters are blessed to have such a thoughtful mama.

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    1. Aww, thank you, Sarah. I'm feeling pretty blessed to have 10 and 13 yo girls who still love to play with dolls.

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  2. Thanks so much for part 3! I'm sorry to hear it's so cold. It's cold here too, but no snow so far. I love the hair picture of Rosey and Sunburst. Did you sew a cap under Rosey's hair, I mean a crochet cap?

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    1. Hi Eva. No, I didn't sew a crochet cap. Both dolls have the same hairstyle-- it consists of one underlayer which is the first piece that I wrapped on the book. It's sewn first on the sewing line (bangs) which bends around the sides of the head. Then I hold this layer back and sew it down around the lower hairline. The overlayer is sewn down the center seam/part. Then it's sewn around the crown of the head. I find this method to be quick and easy while still giving a full head of hair with the possibility of some styling... though with mohair, I find the more you style it, the more bedraggled it gets. I hope that helps! If you need more information, please feel free to ask.

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  3. They look great! I love the comparison shot of Rosie and Sunburst...haha. So cool! And the girls as toddlers! Oh my goodness how sweet they are! Happy Easter! xo

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  4. Thank, Cari. Happy Easter to you, too!

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  5. Oh, I have really enjoyed reading this series of posts! I don't have daughters so have not made any dolls, nor do we have dolls in the house (well, we did have a doll, but he now sports an eye patch and a hook duct taped onto his hand, so I don't think that counts......), but I was on the edge of my seat. That thing you said about unconsciously making the dolls to be the mirror image of your children - it's so true, I can really see it. Beautiful.

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    1. Thank you, Cathy. I love that you have pirate doll in the house. I can imagine many scenarios where that would come in very handy around my house. Argh! :)

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  6. I have tried several styles with or without a cap. When I tried the sewing method, the hair didn't last long, but I think I did not have two layers. I used the wig instructions from Joy's Waldorf dolls. With the wig I have used a method where you knot the hair into the stitches of the wig, but it's very time consuming. However, it lasts a long time. I've also sewn hair on top of the wig, similar to your way. You are right about the mohair, though. My girls like to comb their dolls and it doesn't work so well with the mohair!

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    1. One day I hope to convince my girls to give up the mohair altogether. :) Kitty Bill's doll has embroidered yarn hair, and I'm really pleased that I haven't had to do more than pick off fuzzballs to make it "new" again. The crocheted caps are nice... I tend to do those on smaller dolls. I can only imagine how time consuming they would be for larger dolls, especially if they were done in mohair. Eek.

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  7. Hooray for a talented mama-daughter team for ingeniously making the best out of the materials on hand! Your hair-hair photo brought a smile to my face…as did the “then and now” photos of your girls and their dolls. So sweet.

    (Shhhh…but my boys 14 and 16 still have stuffed animal “bed friends” in their beds. They don’t actually play with them, but they also haven’t gotten rid of them either. Hubby thinks it a bit odd, but I think it’s very cute.)

    How unfortunate that the broiler decided to break down just as it got cold again. I hope the cold spell won’t last long for you.

    xo

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    1. Thanks, Teresa. I love that your boys have "bed friends." I think that's important, and surely, I won't tell. I remember my younger brothers both had those too-- one had a shark, the other a dinosaur. Kitty Bill sleeps with an entire menagerie-- he insists that he can't sleep without them, including his doll. It's a lot of work making sure they all make it into his bed at night.

      Boiler is back up and running, thankfully! xo

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  8. this is soo sweet :) I'm 18 years old (lol so no children of my own) but I love learning new ways of art and I love the creativity and love put behind these. just today I have spent hours researching waldorf dolls and I stumbled upon your 3 part story and I got so teary at the end because it's such a sweet sweet story :) thank you for sharing.
    xoxoKira

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    1. Aw, thank you, Kira. That's so sweet!

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  9. You did an excellent job at restoring these dolls. They look exactly like they did new, amazing job stitching the faces! Your girls are so lucky. <3

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  10. So cute. the dolls look just like the kids!

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  11. I love this story! I have just bought a doll for my 9 month old but I am hanging onto it until she is old enough to lug it around. Until then, it's mine! :-)

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Thank you for taking the time to leave a message. I appreciate your sweet words so much!

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