Sister dolls

I recently received two custom requests for my African American doll with the fun braids. One request was a for a jointed Baby Egg and one was for a toddler Phoebe doll. They look like sisters who are maybe 18 months apart.

The hair for this doll is done by wrapping wool yarn as though casting on for a knitting project at the end of each braid. Then I take the ends of the yarn and with a needle weave them back through and cut them.

I thought it would be fun to do a photo shoot before the ends were woven in—Medusa style.

Soon they ship off to different homes.

Phoebe doll before her hair is finished.

Sisters dolls!

Trying to resurrect a bad hair day.

Today was a bad hair day. I decided to give up on two wefted mohair wigs I started for two dolls on Thursday. I abandoned the project after hours and hours of work, but I have convinced myself this is not a complete loss.

I'll explain.

The black wefted mohair wig was created from a beautiful soft wefted mohair, that I had spiraled and carefully stitched into a wig that I was completely proud of. I thought it was perfect for an Asian doll. I even sewed it on to the doll.

However, it shed. Not terribly,  but enough to make me nervous.  It's one thing for a pale blond wig to shed a bit, blonde hair will not make a doll's skin look grungy, but the black mohair strands on skin colored wool felt, let's just say it is not a good look. The more I brushed and plucked, the more I noticed. I tried washing the wig, shaking it, combing it and finally stitching in a head band. The doll looked pretty good (see photo), but there still was a slow steady stream of mohair migrating onto her skin.

I decided to cut my losses. I did not want to create and sell a doll that I would worry would shed and make an owner miserable. 

The second wig, a strawberry blondish color, was never right in the first place. It never made it to a doll's head. The hair just didn't fall right when I tried. I played with hairstyles for a bit before realizing , all the hairstyles were just trying to compensate for some flaws in the long run I could not live with.

Yes, it is frustrating to have wasted so much time (and money wefted mohair is expensive), but I feel relieved. This failure with wefted mohair has taught me a few things:

1. Dark wefted mohair on wool felt dolls won't work.

2. No amount of work will remedy this fact.

3. I don't need to worry whether a future doll owner will complain or how I will describe the delicate hair situation on Etsy. I won't need to.

4. I am happy to have faced this doll-making truth at this stage rather than as a complaint.

5. I have plenty of other hair options, I do not need to revisit this.

6. In addition, I have learned how to make wefted mohair wigs, if I make another, It will be blond.

Most importantly, I revisited the fact, that any crafter knows, which is that part of crafting, is knowing when to cut your losses. and that failure is part of any craft.

I would love to hear about other crafters experience with cutting their losses or with wefted mohair.