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!