Hairdos — Redoing Curls

Today I will show you how I fix my Rebecca doll’s curls if they get messy.  I first learned how to redo her curls from this post on AmericanGirlFan.

You will need a doll hairbrush and a spray bottle.

Find the base of each individual curl, and separate it from the rest of the hair.  Spray it lightly with water, being sure not to let the water get near your dolls eyes.

Gently brush through the curl, then twist it to the left like so:
Let the twist loosen up.  If the curl doesn’t look right, you can redo it or arrange it.Do this all around your doll’s head.  It will take time, but at the end it will look so cute!

I usually do curls like above, but you can also make larger curls by taking more hair in one curl and twisting it.

Kidz n Cats Sundress and Braid Bun Hair

I sewed up a sundress for my Kidz and Cats doll out of a shirt.  The original top already had the shirring, so all I had to do was cut a rectangle and sew a seam on one side to make a tube.  The original top also had strings, which I cut and sewed to the sundress to make a halter top style.  I made a similar dress for my American Girl Doll here.  You can read about the matching flower headband in the pictures below there as well.

For this bun, I put the headband on first.  Afterwards, I took a section on each side from near the ear and braided it.  I then had two braids on each side, and a large lock of hair in the middle.  middle section of hair I twisted up into bun, securing it as I went with bobby pins.  Once I had the bun in place, I wrapped the braids around and pinned them.

Front view

Back
Side

Hairdos — Two Low Braids

Two low braids are so cute for a casual summer day!  You will need a doll hairbrush, two hair ties, and a spray bottle.  Let’s get started!

Begin with your doll’s hair down.Spray it with water so it is very slightly damp.  Separate it into two equal sections.  I didn’t need to brush out all my doll’s curls.Braid the two sections, positioning the braid so it begins just behind the ear.Finish with a small hair tie on each side.

Quick and adorable!

Swimming at the Beach — A Photoshoot

Recently I picked up a cute girl’s swimsuit to upcycled into a doll swimsuit.  It was my first time making a swimsuit using my sewing machine, so my dolls get to keep this one!

The swim fabric has pairs of flip flops on it in many different colors.  I used the free swimsuit pattern on Pixie Faire here.  I didn’t fold the fabric twice over, just used the lining that was already in the girl’s swimsuit.  I used white fold over elastic to finish the edges.

The blue shorts I upcycled from a girl’s rashgaurd.  I used this pattern on Pixie Faire.  These shorts are super quick and you don’t even need elastic!

I got the pink little water shoes from Sophia’s.  You can see them here.  I did realize they have cardboard insoles which came unglued when they got wet.  I will probably cut new insoles from craft foam and put them in the shoe instead.

You can read how I made the flower hair clip here.

On to the photos!

Hairdos — A Bun

To do this bun, you will need a doll hairbrush, a spray bottle, two hair ties, mini bobby pins and a hair net (optional).

Start by making a ponytail.  See here for my previous post on a ponytail.

Move the hair, so the curls go outward and it looks something like this:
Gently bring the hair around the base of the pony, making this shape. I then slipped a hair tie over for extra security.
Arrange the hair if you need to.
Now you will need to use bobby pins to pin the bun in place.  I used Mini Goody pins.
They are the perfect size for dolls!Take a pin, and stick it into the edge of the bun, straight towards your doll’s head.  While pushing it down and in, make sure to get it into the hair that is on the head.  Don’t push the pin into the wig, just the hair.
One you’ve attached the pin to the bun and the hair on the head, push it in.Put bobby pins in all the way around to keep the bun in place.
You are done with the bun!

If your doll will be doing ballet, she may need a hairnet over the bun to make sure no hair starts to fly away.  I used the hair net that my Rebecca arrived in.

Put the hairnet over the bun.  If there is excess, twist and put the net over again.  I didn’t have enough excess net to do this, so I just tucked the extra in underneath the hair of the bun.Secure the net with bobby pins.
Front view:Now your doll won’t need to worry about her hair while she’s dancing!

Hairdos — Curly Ponytail

Once a week for the next couple weeks, I will be posting a hairstyle that will hopefully give you ideas of different things you can do with your doll’s hair.  Let’s get started!

I used my curly haired Rebecca doll for this cute and curly ponytail.  I used a doll hairbrush, a small spray bottle with water in it, and a hair tie.  The American Girl website says:

“For best styling results, lightly mist your doll’s hair with water as needed before you brush or pick it. Use just enough water to make the hair easier to work with. Be sure not to get water in her eyes—they may rust!”

Before beginning, your doll should look something like this with your doll’s hair down:

Spray the hair with the water to get it slightly damp.  Pull up the curls to where you want the pony to be on your dolls head.  You will probably need to smooth things out as you go.  I didn’t brush through the curls, because I wanted lots of curls in the ponytail instead of one big curl.

When you get your doll’s hair in the ponytail and put the hair tie around it, it might look a little messy.

Find each little curl, spray it with water, and finger curl it by twisting it to the left.  After curling each little curl, move them around until you think it looks cute. Now you have a sweet curly pony tail!

At the Park – A Photo Shoot

Her outfit:

Leggings: Featured in this post

White Tank: Pixie Faire pattern here

Light Blue Top: Pixie Faire pattern here (neck and arm bands omitted)

Shoes: Sophia’s

Drawstring Bag: Doll it Up pattern here

One Year!

I have been posting about dolls for a year!  I made my first blog post about American Girl dolls on April 27, 2014.  You can see it here.

This year I have acquired a few new dolls.  I have also learned a lot!  I started out hand stitching everything.  In September of 2014, I got a sewing machine and learned how to use it to create fun clothes for my dolls.  Recently in March I decided to not only create fun clothes for my dolls, but to offer the clothes to others too through my Etsy shop!

By doing research, looking at other blogs and Etsy shops, I have also learned about doll photography and photography in general.

I put some clothes on my AG dolls that I made around this time last year and took some pictures.  All of the items are upcycled and hand-sewn.

The Mickey t-shirt is the tee made in this post with a photo iron on transfer on the front.  The leggings can be read about here.

The Sound of Music t-shirt post is here.  The skirt I made a while before I posted about it here.

I have had a great time blogging, reading other doll blogs, sewing, crafting and photographing my dolls this year!

Today’s New Listing… Patriotic Red Halter Top

Let her show her patriotism with this cute red, white and blue halter top!  Click to view the listing:

Today’s New Listing… Upcycled Lime Green Graphic Tank Top

Time for summer!  Click the photo to view the listing: