Hipster Hair!

Happy Sunday! Today has been a rainy day. I was hoping to get outside and get some photographs done of the moppets; but alas, the clouds hanging over our heads have been dumping water on us all day. And my boys (husband Matthew and son Nathan) and I all suffer from weather-pressure headaches, so people are a tad grouchy in our house today! So I decided to retreat to my haven and work on some dolls. I picked up a Broad Fashionista Ken to use as a mannequin and a table doll. Boy, is this doll a chunka-bunka! I like to call him "Wheat Belly Ken," but he takes exception to it. The Fashionista line does have a "man-bun" Ken, but I chose this one (Ken Fashionista #18) because I could envision giving him some dreads. So that's what I decided to do! To start, of course, we have to decapitate the moppet. He thought this was going to be the worst of it, but then, of course, I had to stick a needle though his head - repeatedly - but we'll get to that a little later. For now, off with his head!

To get his head off without breaking the neck mechanism or tearing the neck-hole in his head, I first stuck his noggin in some boiling water for about 30 seconds. This made the rubber of his head pliable enough to safely remove it from his body. Next, I taped off the area where I wanted to give him some hair.

I used 100% acrylic yard for this process, and I chose black because while I wanted him to look hip, I wasn't ready to go all-out funky with different colors. Perhaps another moppet on another day for that.

The process is pretty simple: you need a yarn needle, some 100% acrylic yarn in the color of your choice, a pair of pliers, a thimble, and a pair of scissors. I also keep a cup of water nearby to wet the yarn with so I can thread it on the needle.

Thread your needle, then poke it in through the top of the head where you want the plug to be. I like to do a row around the outside and work my way in toward the center of the head. I think it makes a cleaner line. But that's just me.

After you get the needle into the head, you may need to use your thimble to push it completely through. Try not to catch your needle in plugs you've already done (this can be tricky). And make sure the end of your needle comes out through the neck hole, where you can grab it with your pliers to pull it all the way out.

Once you've pulled it completely through, tie a knot in the end that you just pulled through the neck hole, cut off the extra close to the knot, then pull the other end until the knot rests up against the inside of the head. Then simply clip the yarn off to the length that you want it on the doll. Repeat until you feel you've got enough to work with.

Acrylic yarn is quite thick, so you don't need to use a lot. For instance, if you're re-rooting a doll that already has holes from hair plugs, you might consider just rooting every other one. It gets thick really quick!

Anyway, the moppet that started out as boring, old, wheat-belly Ken is now hipster Pruitt!

I think Pruitt looks pretty good with his new dreads.

What do you think? Have you re-rooted your moppets with yarn? Do you enjoy the process? What about the outcome? I hope you have a wonderful rest of your day. Put down your phone, switch off your TV and go make something beautiful!

Blessings,