Wigs...from yarn

So, wigs from yarn...my first thought when I heard folks were making wigs from yarn was Raggedy Ann, certainly not what I wanted for any of my dolls.  But then I saw the end results and was totally confused.  How on Earth were these magicians turning regular cheap scratchy  yarn into soft luscious locks?  I mean the colors looked like the hair came from the yarn but there had to be some shenanigans going on right?

SO I started doing a little research and came upon several videos on Youtube.  Including this one.  Holy smokes, was that it? Really, that was it.  I HAD to try it!!!  And well low and behold I had several skeins of yarn in my stash from another project (failed project, half finished project, set aside project....yeah I might have a problem with buying supplies for things I *intend* to do...) So I tried to follow the video, but my yarn just pulled apart, leaving tiny little nubbins, like 1/2" pieces, not good for wig making.  Needless to say I was frustrated and just put the yarn away for other things. (See that's what happens. lol)

But last month, I got a wild hair to try it again.  This time I went and watched more videos, and more videos...then I caught something I had previously missed.  The yarn being used was Acrylic.  I grabbed the yarn I had tried before...100% Cotton.  Hmm could this have been the issue?  I figured it was worth a try.  I grabbed a skein of a pretty burgundy yarn and my thickest curling iron (since I no longer own a flat iron). I followed the tutorial above, cut lengths, tied them onto a thin metal rod and brushed, brushed brushed and brushed some more.

The yarn unraveled, and floofed up, and filled the bristles in the wire brush I was using.  I was still unsure how this pile of fluff would turn into anything resembling hair.  But I figured it wouldn't hurt to keep going.  So after I finished brushing out the entire cluster I yarn I used the curling iron and pulled the yarn through it.

OH EM GEE!!!!  It worked, it really worked!  The once twisted, then fluffy pile of yarn had turned into the smoothest, shiniest "hair" I had seen!  I mean it was gorgeous!  I trimmed the hair from the knot tied on my metal rod and applied glue to the cut end to create a weft.
And then got into making more and more and more. The yarn I had chosen to use came on a small card and held about 20 yards of yarn.  At that point I had no idea how much yarn it would take to create a wig for one of my 16" girls.  After I finished that card of yarn I left it to dry and got to work making a wig cap.  (again you can find loads of tutorials on Youtube for that too)  The following day I got started creating my 2nd ever wig. (The first was a dismal failure!)

I couldn't believe that it had worked! I had unbelievably created a wig that actually looked good AND fit my dolls head! The yarn was so soft and really had a very realistic look and feel to it.

My next thought was to play with a variegated yarn I had in my stash.  And I had had it for EVER, like 15 years I think!  It was a color called Camouflage, that ranges from black, to brown to a couple shades of green.  I bought it eons ago with the intent to crochet a top to wear, needless to say that project NEVER got finished either. lol

SO I set to work creating wefts from this unique color pattern, and it was looking really intriguing! I wanted to try something different wig wise and thought I would give bangs a try.   So after making loads and loads of wefts I set to work making yet another wig cap.  Once the wig cap was dry I got to attaching them to it.  The bangs were a little confusing and I still don't think I quite got the hang of it, but a few hours later the Camouflage wig was finished.  It's...unique. lol  

This wig definitely has a bit of a bee-hive thing going on. I don't love it, but I don't hate it either. *shrugs*I am however, loving the colorway!  The green is actually pretty subtle.  I will be attempting another wig with this yarn in the future as well as using different solid yarns to create a high and low-lighted look.

Welcome 2017

What a crazy year 2016 was, right!  Sadly for the 2nd year in a row I blogged a whole...ONCE! Yikes, not good.  But last year was a pretty wild year for me with lots of ups, downs and changes both big and small.

But I am back with a plan and a mentality this year.  I cannot promise to blog daily, because yeah, I already KNOW that isn't gonna happen.  But I gave the blog a little update, and I'm ready to give it a go.

So if you've stuck around, well I am eternally grateful! =D<3 p="">
For the 1st post of the year I am going to show off not only a new doll I got last year, but my 1st attempt at patterns for her.

This is Mari.  She is an Iplehouse Tatiana. She arrived in late summer and I just fell in love with her.  Her character is still in development, but here's what I know so far.  She's 30, single-ish (she's seeing a lovely fellow who owns a hobby farm outside of town.) and owns a small knick-knack shop.  She sells a little bit of everything from locally made soaps and candles, semi precious stones and shells, to some antiques and collectibles. She's a bit of a magpie and loves shiny things.

 Her parents left town when Mari was just 19 to go live in a commune.  Mari worked doing odd jobs to pay her way and eventually set aside enough money to open Mari's Mercantile.

She's a bit of a free-spirit herself, but is more grounded than anyone would have expected.


Mari was my first doll in this size.  She's a touch bigger than all my other ladies, and for some reason this size hasn't inspired many pattern makers, nor seamstresses who create modern everyday wear. (the formal wear and fantasy realm is well covered though. And beautifully I might add)  So I needed to venture out and attempt to make some patterns of my own.
I took a Barbie lingerie pattern I found for free online and enlarged it. It still needs a little adjustment but all in all I am happy with my first true pattern for this lovely lady!

I hope you will look forward to seeing more from me, Mari and the rest of my 1/4 scale gang!

BJD Lounge Pants Pattern

Hi Friends!

Been ages...like over a year!  I won't bore you with the details, or make promises that I most likely won't be able to keep. lol  If you haven't unsubscribed, Thanks! 

Eventually I do plan to get back into more regular blogging, although I doubt I'll do it daily.  But in the meantime I will pop over here to post patterns and such that go with Youtube video tutorials I have been making.


This first set of patterns is to make Lounge Pants or Pajama Bottoms in 3 sizes: Tiny (fits a Pukifee doll), Medium (fits 16" female fashion dolls and Slim MSD BJDs) and Large (fits 17" Tonner Male dolls and Evangeline Ghastly)
The patterns are designed to print out on a single sheet of regular 8.5" x11" printer paper.  As long as the 1" square in the center of each sheet prints out properly, then your patterns are correct.

  

Valentine's Day is coming!!!

   And what better way for a lovely girl to feel even lovelier...than a pretty set of lacy lingerie!

I have several sets of lingerie available in my Etsy shop including this gorgeous set with red hearts in black lace.

Each set is made from stretch lace which should allow it to fit a variety of 16" Fashion Dolls and MSD sized BJDs such as my model Lena who is a Large bust Active Line Minifee by Fairyland.  This set will also fit other similar sized dolls such as Ellowyne Wilde and Delilah Noir.


These are just a few of the colors I have available, with more colors and styles coming every couple of days!

Character Bios---Lena Markum

Lena Marie Markum is a 22 year old College Senior.  She is in culinary school, with dreams to one day open her own Cafe with her best friend Abbie Dupree. Lena is an only child who is doted on by her parents.  She doesn't see them very often as they live on the West Coast and she chose to attend school on the East Coast.  But they keep up via weekly phone calls and frequent emails.

Lena has what she considers boring brown eyes and needs glasses.  So she can generally be found wearing her contacts instead.  She likes to play around with her appearance and has many different colors of contacts including aqua, dark blue and her personal favorite: PURPLE!

Lena's hair is wavy brown in color, but she has a collection of fun wigs.  Her current favorite is a lovely burgundy shade.  But she can often be seen in her rainbow colored wig or her cotton candy colored wig as well.

One of the first things she did after turning 18 and graduating from High School was get a tattoo.  She has loved peacocks since she was a little girl and chose 2 facing peacock feathers as a 'permanent necklace'.

Her tattoo was done by Ban over at Ban's Boutique , she is amazing artist.  Not one for being overly modest, Lena takes great pleasure is showing off her artwork. Lena's tattoo is her pride and joy. 

When Lena isn't at school or at the little coffee shop she works in, she can often be found at home reading, playing on the computer or spending time with one of the girls 3 cats.  She also enjoys hiking, horseback riding and just spending time outside.


Lena is a Minifee BJD by Fairyland, with face-up and custom tattoo by Ban's Boutique.

Welcome 2015

Happy New Year my friends! Hope you all had a fun and safe celebration last night.  May everyone's 2015 be filled with love and laughter, joy and blessings!

This is the post where I normally make all kinds of 'resolutions' and lists of things I want to do.  And sometimes I stick with them... for a while.  But I think my only resolution this year will be to give whatever I am doing my best effort. Hopefully that will keep my from being disappointed that such and such fell short, or didn't happen or what have you.

2015 will be another year of big changes for us.  The hubby is set to 'deploy' again, although thankfully not into a combat situation this time.  Having him gone is never fun, but we try to make the best of it.  Mid way through the year we will DEFINITELY be moving back to Ohio, which I am super excited about, but dang it's gonna be tough moving midway across the country by my self.  But I'm going to give it everything I've got to try and make it as easy as possible. 

I have some doll goals as well... This year I would like to be able to purchase Rafe... Rafe is going to be Lena's love interest, Abbie's cousin and Hope's dad.  This is what I am thinking along the lines of his looks.

Rafe (short for Rafael) is Abbie's cousin and they share the family black hair and green eyes.  Rafe is 28 and a successful young architect. He often travels for business (what a great way to include him in my storyline before I have his physical form)

He is Hope's dad, but not really.  She is technically his niece, but his sister and her husband were killed in a car accident and Rafe was named as her guardian at his sister's request.  He adores Hope and truly loves her like his own.   (Yeah i know I really need to introduce Hope as well! LOL  Hmm I am thinking Biography Posts are in order for each of my characters.)

My current plan for Rafe is to purchase an Iplehouse Boris or Owen for him.  So my goal is to earn enough through my shop to be able to pay for him by June. Which of course brings me to my new shop posts!  I am going to try and list one item in my shop every day!  Today's listing is this gorgeous blue tee shirt. 

I love the way it turned out and will definitely be making more varieties!  *especially since I bought a HUGE tote of laces as Goodwill a couple weeks ago.  So I have lace in various colors and sizes coming out my ears! I think 2015 will be the year of the lace!

Thanks for bearing with me while I chatter.  Have a great day!

Cyber Monday at D-Lightful Designs

Sorry I've been away for a while. I was revamping the studio and getting ready for today! My Etsy store D-Lightful Designs can be found HERE. 

I finally got all of the items I have sewn over the past 2 years photographed and listed for sale.  I have also added a section of 18" doll clothes sewn by my mom!  

I hope you will go check it out! If you make a purchase please use the code CYBERMONDAY at checkout to get 10% off your order!