Dollmaking Part 4...At Last!!

I'm getting ready to head off on vacation for a week and I thought I'd better get the long promised tutorial up here! For those just tuning in, you can find Part 1 here, Part 2 here, and Part 3 here...now on with the show!

Okay, let's start with hair. Braids are a very easy hairstyle that hold up well under play from kids and they look cute too! I use either wool roving or these great braided wool locks, for this example we'll use the roving. First pull off 3, about 10 inch long, hanks and one short piece.


Then pin the 3 together slightly off the middle (to something, I usually use my pant leg) and start braiding on one side.


Tie off the end and do the same thing on the other side. Leave a space in the middle to go over the doll's head. When you're done it should look like this.


Now cover the doll's head with glue, I use tacky glue, and place the short piece from front to back. There should be some loose bangs in the front, these can be trimmed later so make sure they're long enough.




Now put a little more glue across the top of the doll's head and then place the braids on, pulling the center apart to cover the head. I sometimes hold the braids down with pins until the glue dries. Voila, hair!

Now shoes...
First make two small balls of polymer clay, about 1/2" each.

Now flatten them into rectangles like so:

Next I use the rounded end of a crochet hook to make a small indentation for the foot, shaping the rectangle into a shoe shape as I work.


This makes a fine boys shoe but I like to make little mary janes for girls so next I roll out a very fine "snake" of clay.

Cut small pieces off of this and attach them to the shoes.


Now you need to bake your shoes according to the directions on your polymer clay package. WARNING!!! Please do this in a non food, covered container !! (I use a metal pan that I cover with foil.) I glue shoes to the doll's feet with Gem-Tac glue which is non-toxic, dries clear and is fairly strong. (thanks Jenn !)If you'd like a clay alternative you can make little felt booties like these and sew them to your dolls feet. As always feel free to ask questions about anything that's not clear and I will see if I can answer more clearly. I hope to do a wing tutorial sometime soon but for now I'm off!