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Despite having *most* of what I need to make these custom dolls, there's always something small I've run into near beginning a new step where I'm rushing to place a snail order and it puts yet another project on hold.

While waiting on bias tape, satin fabric, a hand sewing machine, curved needles, etc., it's looking like the first thing to come will be a body suit pattern that I'll be downsizing to fit a doll. Technically not a hard adjustment. It's a 1/3 doll (so 1/3 a standard human height) so the first steps will be to scan the pieces and rescale to 1/3. Dolls tend to be a lot more slender and elongated than standard people though so I'll need to stretch for allowance, making sure I have at least too much that I can trim down later than undercorrect and have to recut fabric and enlarge the pattern. The fabric itself is a 4 way stretch so I don't need a rigid fit, just somewhere around snug once pulled into the doll. I can dust the doll with talcum to make it easier if needed, but I don't want to lose the color and opacity by having it too stretched and bunching anywhere.

I may mess with some air dry clay, but I'm thinking a papier-mâché base may be the best way to start. Clay itself tend to droop while drying or baking so papier-mâché for air dry, armature wire and foil for baking is often the way to go.

We'll see, I guess. Part of what makes crafting so alluring is the challenge leading to those results, good or bad. I always but in excess of what is needed in case the first attempts are less than ideal. And these are the challenges that inspire all other creative endeavors. It's not books on writing or drawing or craft or character development or conversation, it's the doing, the unique perspective I can give through trial and error.

So I continue.

Full Size to Doll Size

The pattern for the catsuit came today, so it seems like a great time to go into details again...

First, I had to scan the pieces on my office printer which is the equivalent of trying to scan tablecloths made of tissue paper. About 25 pieces. Twice. There were two. The catsuit makes sizes 16-24 in women's sizes so a bit on the larger side of things as well. So once that's done comes the piecing together. I saved them as jobs and the next step is simpler than it could be. Because I've set up my Actions for this in a prior project.

From Actions, I made a set that turns sketches into transparencies, leaving only the lines. From there, I'll command-T the pieces to drag and turn them into the completed pattern. Then will come the basic resizing and printing to cut the pieces.

I'm going to see them as is then take them in on the doll. Loose baste with a temporary thread, flip through, sew, liberate the temporary threads, cut excess fabric and it should be good to go.

Hours and hours of work but I'm eager to see how I do with the plan. I have plenty of fabric to make mistakes with so no worries. Just frustration and eventually triumph. 

One can hope.

Wig Quest

Didn't think I was done going on the quest for making the perfect wig, did ya?

Okay, not really 'perfect'. Perfection is an idea I rightfully murdered long ago. The best for my ideals is plenty, but I digress.

Came up with this:

Well, these. The first came out taller than I wanted and a little shabby at the part. I've since hot glued the part a bit more flush, but she's going end up with some sort of crown to cover the mess. As for the redhead, it did turn out beautifully, but I originally intended it to just be bangs and a ponytail. The seams were too visible so I ended up laying braids over the spot I didn't like. Turned out very well, even if it wasn't what I set out for.

What's next? Well, I said 'quest', so that's not all I had in mind.

I bought some pre sewn wig caps to sew wefts. I've seen some interesting tutorials on blanket stitching wefts and using a hand sewing machine, so naturally, I ordered what I need for both to try at a later date. AliExpress can be slow but it's worth it to buy crafts there. Amazon overcharges and I'm just not a brick and mortar shopper.

Resting for the remainder of the day since I work the next couple of days but more projects to come!

Wig Sadomasochism

So I finished one wild woman's wig...

Though it's longer than the source pic, the color and style are absolutely perfect, so I'm thrilled it turned out so well.

But it didn't end there...

Oh no.

Because I wasn't done punishing synthetic hair wefts while being beaten by glue. So I started another. This time, I have sewn the first row underneath and around. Many finger stabs. Then I coated the top with silicone and spun the hair wefts onto the silicone like a pottery wheel.

I have no actual clue how it will turn out. Once it dries, I'm poking a hole in the leftover space, jamming hair through to iron down and cover the remaining wefts, and beseeching the universe to reward my insanity. Will it work?

Pics or it didn't happen! Stay tuned!

Not a Bad Day

So today was more about working than crafting, but we made good money at the restaurant and managed to make a busy short-handed day a productive one.

As for crafting, I was able to finish the wig cap for my 1/4 girl, but the 1/3 girl's wig is still drying as of now. I'll likely go ahead and finish it up after work tomorrow. I work every day this week but I'd still like to sneak in some crafting.

I haven't mentioned this before but I also do some conservative investing on a site/app called Acorns. It takes whatever money you want to put up, daily, weekly, or monthly and invests it in stocks, bonds,  etc. based on your selected risk. You can also do Round-Ups, a feature that lets you take transactions and round them up to the nearest dollar and they'll let you invest that money from your checking/savings account once you reach $5 increments. Since I do a lot of micro transactions, I have it turned off, but you can set it to round and take the money out automatically. It's a great way to either save for retirement or just put aside money for holidays.

So I've got my little balance going of classic hard work, mixed in with the just as hard but fulfilling work of crafting. Writing and drawing are still elusive, my muse on vacation there, but I know she'll come back with plenty of it for those aspects. I can't exactly put a harness on my creative outlets but they flow like a thundering waterfall when the time comes.

I look forward to seeing what the week has to offer and am anxious to put forth the effort for those bigger goals. More doll tutorials to come, but I'm trying to wait until I have some substantial finds rather than breaking them all up. As a little side note, while I haven't found the perfect glue, im getting better at utilizing them. Whatever didn't cooperate tacky glue wise, I plan on patching with hot glue. I may go ahead and finish the large wig with some hot glue, since those affix to the underside and I'll be flattening that out with a patch anyway. Good stuff all around, I think.

Glue, Yarn, and Madness

Crafting!

Fucking crafting...

I love it, all trials be damned, because successes are as big as the obstacles. Today, I did exactly what I hoped to do.

Sort of.

I started by making a wig cap for the new 1/4 girl I don't really have plans for yet. No sweat, just the usual glue and power mesh.

Then came Rienna's wig.

I love/hate it. Insofar, I've yet to find a glue that doesn't piss me off for wefting but sewing wouldn't exactly be easy either. With the tacky glue, ugh, it just never wants to hold right away so I've taken to just squirting a bunch of glue down, waiting about a half hour for it to firm a bit then sticking the hair on, just so I'm not playing weft chicken as they try to slither away from the wet glue. E6000 was not better. I've yet to figure out how to keep that bitch from oozing away when not in use. I managed, over the course of the day, to get the wefts on until the hair's off-center part so I'm leaving it to dry and I'll tackle it again tomorrow after work.

Crochet... What. The hell. Did I do. With the rest of the polyfill? I'll have to buy some more anyway, but I once again hid it from myself so I've yet to finish the cupcake. So on to the Ezio plushie. Wonderful world of flying by the seat of my pants. Masochist... I crocheted eyelash yarn into a crocheted head to make facial hair. Looks fantastic, total pain in the ass. Then I started sculpting the neck, body and an arm. Again, looking great, but yarn sculpting is one of those things where you kind of hold your breath and hope you don't fuck up. I haven't, so far, and I can undo mistakes, but that doesn't make it less precarious.

So yes, productive day, and hoping for more of those this week. Writing? Drawing? Who knows? I rather like this thing I do where I'm just working on what I'm in the mood for. And there's always something. ADHD is a mental playground. Mixed with talent, it's a whole carnival. Or circus. Either way, it's a wild ride full of imagination, anxiety and victory. I'll run with it.

Craft Mojo

It would be amazing if craft mojo was something I could summon on command. Artists, writers, creatives in general, all face a sort of on-demand attitude from people who... Well, aren't creatives. Okay, we're ALL kind of creatives but there are certain types of creativity that are inevitably wishy-washy. Writing nonfiction is about gathering facts while writing fiction requires tapping into a fickle world that sometimes isn't bridging the gap into something translatable. Web design is using a visual space while sculpting is about manipulating a physical space, and depending on whether you're using a source or pre made assets, there lies the difference between organizing or creating original content from imagination. Imagination isn't really a wholly logical space that can be harnessed. Nor should it. Part of the thrill is the slippery, wild chase to catch it.

Inevitably, what is drawn from imagination sometimes get jumbled for me. It doesn't dry up or burn out, it just comes gushing like a waterfall and I'm standing at the bottom with a goldfish net. Often, I play with a lot of snippets before I expand all at once, able to start producing with insane efficiency.

Which is why giving advice has always felt tenuous, or like I was giving recipes with no way to list the ingredients. I've got my craft mojo, so I feel like I want to describe it but I can't. It just means over the past week, my goldfish net traded up. I'm probably catching mid-sized sharks but that's a good sign. The burgeoning ambition was simply a sign I'd been in the throes of mania. It really wasn't that good for me in the long term.

In any case, I started crocheting a cupcake for my friend's daughter's birthday and an Ezio plushie for my nephew. Yesterday it was a small yellow flower shaped dress for a small doll. Tomorrow...

Well, I can tell you what I'd like it to be. I'd love to work up a swimsuit and wig for my doll project, keep working on the crochet I started. I'm not in the headspace for writing. Right now, that part is a stream, frozen on the surface, rushing beneath. Ideally, the ice will crackle and slough away in time, but I'm not looking for it to be the rushing river. 

That place was too much an obsession, too much a diversion to pull me from pain. When I first started to slam through writing, it was a way to salve the grief of too much loss piling up. Once I healed those wounds, the writing itself had masked too many bad habits picked up. My health started another decline and I had to face that there are aspects of myself I'm blind to and I needed help to get back on track.

Don't look for a secret to creative mojo. Just understand there may be some intuitive signal that there is something else needing attention. You will find you are more productive over time, more thoughtful with what you produce, if you listen to those urges that go ignored. Now, I'm not talking some serial killer urge. Lock that way the fuck up. But if you've got some voice saying you suck at self-care, maybe take a breath and listen a little more closely.

You Don't Have to Understand to Accept, But...

Usually, 'but' is a word that isn't good news... But stick with me for a second here...

... Maybe I can help you understand a lot about what Americans are going through at the moment.

Maybe you've seen an attractive guy wearing the latest make-up trend, wings and lip liner and brows on fleek. Maybe that person who looks like a girl wants to be called non-binary. From fashion to identity to status to personality, some people are just confusing your conditioned norms.

And it's okay. I was confused and frustrated too. However, there's a way I came to apply these differences and not just to the superficial. You can apply this to religion, politics, race, immigration status, etc. 

As an artist, there have been times where people have said 'why make this, when you can make that?' I heard phrases like this applied to what I wear, how often I shave, and so on. Why would I make these choices when someone else has a better idea? Well, why would I? Why would I change what makes me happy, what also makes some other people happy, simply because what works for you seems like the easier or more accepted choice? Why not write a formulaic best seller or sell your hobby work or have more acceptable hobbies?

I believe you know the answer. That isn't who I am. It doesn't make me happy. I can't make everyone happy. My work is something that only I can decide the merit of, in terms of time, self-worth, confidence... An artist doesn't want to be stuck doing work that doesn't align with their interests. It's soulless and it's depressing. In that same way, people make much harder decisions when they could have it 'easier'. They could give up that wonderful buzz in their head that lights up their face, puts a bounce in their step, lets them hold their head up and keeps them productive.

The reality is that we never have to truly understand what someone else is going through to accept it. We simply need to apply the choices we make to be happy to their situation. It's not idyllic, making those choices. Artists struggle, immigrants fear their protection can be revoked, transsexuals fight to decide how healthy a transition would be, non-binaries sometimes want to be specifically male or female as they walk through society, gay people let homophobes think they're straight even once they've come out. There are times where we're all tested and have to take steps back in a world struggling to accept or refusing to accept what is their norm.

If you don't 'get it', you don't have to force it. But ask yourself if one of the reasons you're stubborn to change is because you've too often sacrificed happiness or avoided knowing what you want because you made that 'easier choice'. Maybe you've worked the same job you hate for 20 years. Maybe your fixation on the scientific definition of gender makes you refuse to accept that gender identity as a choice is about whether societal roles fit someone who simply feels more comfortable with male or female roles. Maybe you're clinging to the fragile belief that your sacrifices have to mean something or you've wasted too much of your life trying to be accepted.

I'm not judging people who have closeted themselves in their beliefs in their life. I just ask you not to be so quick to wish your struggles on someone else. Let people be pioneers and advocates of the life they want for themselves. Maybe stop seeing people you don't understand as part of some problem and simply accept that their optimism doesn't mean their lives are any easier. Don't convince yourself that they're doing it wrong just because the world hasn't instantly changed, that they aren't instantly successful, that other people's refusal to accept them means they're wrong.

Take some time to pioneer your own attitude and, even in secret, begin to accept or even champion those who dare to be different. Once you open your heart to something new, you might even find some small way to inspire your own happiness. You might start spitting out those bitter seeds to taste the sweet fruit.

Where Were You on 9/11?

I hate to day but the whole 'always remember, never forget' parade that occurs every time this day rolls around each year have always been irritating. There are now legal adults who weren't even born or were just born when the tragedy happened.

Believe me, no one has forgotten who was old enough to witness it, but the nose in the air clouding the sentiment is stale.

But where was I? My mom woke me up with a phone call just before 9 AM, crying her eyes out and telling me to turn it on Channel 19. This was back before digital channels and the local stations were 5, 9, 12, 19 and 64. Seconds after I did, I saw, on live TV, people on fire leaping to their death from the Twin Tower windows. Fuck's sake, it was nothing like the movies and I felt the piercing shock and disgust that someone was standing there filming this real-life horror, these last desperate moments of civilians.

It was visceral, it was terrifying. No, we'll never forget, but at the same time, I kind of wish people would stop the posturing and dick-measuring as to how much more it affected this person or that and how remembering stops these things from happening.

It doesn't. At least have the decency to admit you're just parading this shit show of humanity.

Because some people watched it and felt what I felt. I didn't feel it more or less. Some people watched it and were probably cheering or masturbating, etc. Yeah, that's absolutely terrible, but that's the price we pay to be human. What religion touts as free will, what psychology calls a spectrum, what scientists understand as our inherent nature. It's not always pretty and we're not so enlightened that large groups of us don't still get together and do terrible things. Some people live through terrible things and want to do terrible things to others. Some people live through terrible things and decide they want to protect others from ever going through that or at least be there to help them recover.

I don't know where you were, or if you were alive yet, for that horrible day. But I hope you look at history and decide to be on better side of it. I hope that you can even be ignorant of history and still know that harming others is always on the wrong side of humanity. If you remember anything, then don't forget to treat your fellow humans like they are capable of feeling and desiring just as deeply as you. Strive for virtue on your own quests for happiness.

BJD Clothes: Swimsuit Part 1

This one might get broken up over time a bit, but I'll keep the tags going so they can be found easily.

For this one, I just took a PDF of a bathing suit I found and put it together in Illustrator then modified it. Rienna's body piece has three panels, dark blue on the sides of her body, light blue in the middle. The pattern I found only did the split panel in the front so I took the back pieces, split them and redrew them as separate pieces. It ended up looking something like this:

This, but with the right piece split.

Insofar, I've only cut the pattern pieces, pinned the pattern to the fabric and cut the pieces, so I can't show a finished product just yet. What comes next is a matter of fussing and altering to get the benefit of the stretchy fabric I'm using, as well as any difference between a doll's torso and the design being made for an actual person. I edited out the chest lining and I'm not using the piece at the top of the pattern either, the bottom lining, since a lining in a doll bathing suit is both way too extra and would deform the streamlined look I'm going for. The fabric I'm using is semi-transparent so if there's too much show-through, I do have a solid suit pattern and can reinforce it with a different fabric.

I guess, just in review, I can at least list off what else I have planned for the outfit. Plan may change but for now, the shoulder guards, breastplate, and hip plates will be modeled out of clay (trying both baking and air dry varieties). The sword may similarly be a clay sculpt, but I have decided on that yet. A cape with neck draping is probably the simplest element, to be done with blue velvet. I'm also making thigh high boots with rubber soles. As for the adornments to her outfit, I have an assortment of rhinestones and pearls so that part will just be on a whim. Also, still working on the wig, but I need to order more glue.

I'm also planning Talia, but so far, I've only planned her scarves, leotard and hair. Her design is meant to be simple but stunning, all fiery colors with only her eyes the hottest part of the flame- blue! I'm anxious to see it done, but in no hurry to throw it together since patience and precision is far more important than haste.

Will I be selling these? I've already been asked, but no, not my 'prototypes'. Once I'm confident in the build, I may be up for selling some customs, but for now, call this one purely a hobby. I tried to rush into making a business out of crochet and it nearly crushed my love for it. Having people back out and haggle and nag has made me seriously think out how I will sell my art and to whom. I keep my selling circle very small, limited to those who truly appreciate and understand the time and talent that goes into a great piece. I earned the right to call my work professional and one can call it arrogance, but let them. Hand-crafted pieces are treasures and the prices are a motivation to treat them all the more irreplaceable. Expect to pay a living wage for any craft you obtain.

In any case, I'll get to more blogging as I get it done. Hope you'll find it helpful or just enjoy the updates to the process!

Doll Addiction

It's pretty clear I have a doll addiction. Although I also have a miniature addiction, the doll part runs big and small; I love the potential in all of them!

This is just a quick post to share my latest acquisition; a customizable Nendoroid!

She came with the name Emily, but she'll likely take on a lot of names as I vary the outfits and look. For now, welcome 'Emily' to my collection!

Making a BJD Wig Part 3

Forgive my lackluster picture taking skill on this gloomy day, but let's start with where I ended up on the last wig...

As you can see, there's still some work to do to finish the braids and style, but it did hold together. I ended up hot-gluing the braids but tacky glue would have driven me up a wall...

But enough about that one!

I've started doing the first of the big ones. This time around, I'm actually sewing in the first row on the underside of the cap. This will make it so if the hair is gathered, there won't be any visible hair around the cap edges.

So for this one you need:

• Sharp scissors
• Synthetic wefts
• Saran wrap
• Clover Black and Gold needles
• Thread (go with either white or one to match the hair)
• Glue (tacky or hot glue or whatever you prefer)
• Rubber bands
• Wig cap

This is assuming you have a wig cap made from before. I'm using the harder tacky glue one I made since it's much easier to pierce a needle through it.

I specified Clover Black and Gold needles for a reason. These tiny evil samurai swords will pierce through anything. And yes, they slip through skin like it's made of Jello so be careful.

Cut the first weft the length of the bottom neck base to start.

You don't have to be a seamstress and no one is going to see these stitches so just line the weft up, about 1\8 from the bottom on the underside and do a running stitch into the area between the two stitches anchoring the hairs in the weft. Running is a simple through the front to back, back to front stitch.

Now because I'm doing an off center part, I'm going to use a diagram to show how i mapped the head for this one. The hair will be glued on accordingly, but I think I'm going to go for the E6000 on this one. I didn't mention it before but it's an industrial glue that I'm familiar with so I know how it works out. What makes it a favorite is that it's a quick grip but a slow cure. So it holds on contact but you can nudge things around. It doesn't fully cure for 24 hours, but it does hold tight about an hour or less after setting. It's a bit messy, like hot glue, but you can touch it and it does wipe right off of skin. You can always opt to use a paint brush or wooden stick to smear it on like tacky glue though.

I'm going to have to treat you to yet another of my diagrams to kind of explain how the off-center wig will work.

It's very similar to the braid wig at first, just laying down rows of wefts until you reach the crown. On the crown, you'll have made a cut line, which I wouldn't bother actually cutting until the bottom hair is dry and you can lift the wig off of the head/stand again. Go ahead and lay out vertical rows that radiate away from the cut line, but leave about a 1/8" edge away from it. Once those are dry, go ahead and lift the wig from the base and carefully make the cut.

You're actually going to lay the next wefts with the sewn edge on the inside with the hair radiating outside the wig. Hot glue might be a bit too puffy, but if you want the quick glue, you can go for it, just carefully smear it down with a wooden stick. When you're ready to seal it back, the best solution is to use a piece of power mesh made the same way as the wig, one large enough to cover the hair and affix to the underside of the wig there and glue it in securely to hold the part together.

Since this is just a play by play that I haven't finished yet, there isn't a picture to go with it (yet), but I'll be back once that's done to say how it went. I'm nervous because I've actually got to cut/style this one, since the hair I'm going for is short and wavy, but I'll study up on that before I take the plunge.

I hope you found this helpful! Stay tuned for pics and possibly a start on the next wig, which will involve a ponytail and bangs.

Making BJD Wigs Part 2

I'll be adding pictures later, so if you're reading this early, you'll see some placeholders instead.

First off, my favorite of the wig cap experiments is... Power mesh with tacky glue and a layer of silicone sealant underneath. It's this wig cap that I started my first foray into hair wefting.

I used these premade synthetic hair wefts:

Aliexpress.com

Along with Saran Wrap, rubber bands and tacky glue. I also had a pair of bent tip tweezers to do some holding of the wefts.

But I'm already telling you; I'm going to do hot glue for the next one because the tacky glue just didn't hold the wefts very quickly so I did a lot of holding them into place until I was sure they'd hold enough to move to the next row.

Although I cut the long weft as I went, you may find it easier to precut the pieces ahead of time. For this wig, I did straight rows that began a gradual curve as they neared the crown. The rough edges meet where the bangs end and, to cover that, I am gluing in a braid over those edges (with hot glue).

To start, it's the regular drill of securing Saran Wrap to the base or head you're using. The wig cap goes over that.

The easiest way to describe the wefting is with a diagram I drew. The wavy lines are the row I built from the base of the neck to the crown. The jagged lines are the top head fillers. The dots are rows for bangs. The number of rows isn't a precise count but it gives you an idea of how the wefts were paid to build shape and cover the head.

I squeezed the glue in lines directly onto the cap and just laying the wefts carefully in place and holding them as needed...

So far I've only gotten everything glued down. I placed another piece of Saran Wrap, secured with a rubber band to both secure the last rows and keep anything from sticking to it while drying. We'll see if that was a good idea or not when it comes time to remove it and secure the braid. More pictures to come as I finish it up and see what I end up with. I don't expect a first try to be stellar but I've been open to the learning process coming with a few failures.

Be back with the results!

Making BJD Wigs Part 1.5?

While digging through some craft bins, I came across what was left of some GE Clear Silicone Sealant and some cheap nylon wig caps so I'm running some more experiments. I used one of my smaller, much cheaper heads to lay out some of the sealant on power mesh. Not only did it only take a few hours to dry completely, but it peeled right off of the Saran Wrap and doesn't slide around on the head. However it is stretchy, which may or may not be ideal for all styles and I don't know if other glue will adhere to silicone. The package makes it clear that you can't paint on the sealant. It may be possible to use more of the sealant to weft hair, but it's very thick and could get messy. Silicone tends to only adhere to other silicone, if that, but more experiments to come...

Currently waiting for the nylon stocking/silicone one to dry to see how it holds up with material even thinner than power mesh. Even if these don't work well for working with wefts, they look like they might be a cheap fix for non-skid caps under the wig anyway.

This isn't a formal addition to the tutorials, just some brain-picking thoughts since it's always good to look for alternatives that can be used for a multitude of projects. 

That being said, the power mesh/tacky glue ones turned out great. I slipped a silicone cap onto the head and the wig cap I made was able to fit on snugly over that. Which looks like it would be the best solution for a heavier updo wig since it doesn't slide around easily once settled on. Next up will be some wefting tests on the silicone, see if we can get it to cooperate as a wig or not.

Making BJD Wigs Part One

It's been a while since I've blogged; not for any particular reason, just work and the boys starting school and time slipping by. But today, I started the process of making doll wigs so, as promised, I wanted to share the process.

I began making wig caps for my 1/3 Bomelon heads. This will work for any size head, but let's start with the supplies I'm using.

• Power mesh fabric (white or the skin tone of the head--you'll find this at craft stores and it's basically the stretchy material you find in swimsuits)
• Aleene's Turbo Tacky glue (you can use silicone based glues to make a nonskid wig, but I have silicone wig caps to do that. Wig caps are available on AliExpress)
• Rubber bands (any size is fine but make sure they fit snugly without over or under stretching)
• Popsicle sticks (some people like to use a throwaway paint brush, but I'll get into why I prefer these instead)
• Saran Wrap (you can use cheaper plastic wrap but I like the self stick properties of this brand)
• Doll head on the body or wig stand with the right dimensions

To start, tear off a piece of Saran Wrap large enough to cover the entire head. Drape it on as close to the head as possible, pulling it to the back and twisting it. You may choose to secure it further with a rubber band around the neck. 

Pull the power mesh fabric over the protected head or stand and secure with a rubber band from the base of the head to just over the bridge of the nose. Pull it as tautly as possible under the band. If there are any wrinkles, try to pull them towards the back of the head. Even with very strong glue, lumps at the hairline are difficult to disguise but usually unnoticeable at the back.

Begin spreading the glue liberally but not so thick that it starts to run. I like to use a Popsicle stick because it doesn't pull glue out of the fine mesh holes and I make about a one inch line on the stick, which covers more area. You'll want the glue to cover at least an inch past where you think you might draw the hairline.

Let dry overnight. Some impatient people attempt it 'when it dries' only to discover the underside near the plastic is sopping wet. You won't want to compromise the shape by peeling it off when not completely dry.

So I'll have to let it dry overnight. once it does, I'll peel it away from the plastic. Then, I'll place new plastic over the doll heads, replacing the cap and drawing the hair line with a fabric marker (otherwise known as a dressmaker's pen). The cap will be removed and I'll trim the wig into shape with fabric scissors.

After that, the fun will begin with wefting! For the first wig I'm doing, I'll be using synthetic wavy medium brown hair, about 15 cm in length, with a center part. I buy the wefts from AliExpress. It is recommended to use 3 100cm sets for a 1/3 head, so you'll likely only need two for a 1/4 head and one for 1/6 heads. That one is a bit tricky to simply describe so I'll try to take photos for example when I begin wefting.

The other wig I'm doing will be long, flaming red hair that will both have bangs and a ponytail, so I've had to research styling on those. Some people weft it for permanence, but I'd like a wig with more flexibility.

For gluing wigs, you can use the tacky glue or go with hot glue. You may not want to do hot gluing directly on your doll head without first protecting it with heat absorbent material or making sure the amount of heat can't warp or distort it. I'll be sticking with the tacky glue.

I'm not rushing into this project, so I can't promise daily posts, but they'll be properly tagged to find them easily when they're up. 

For those wondering why you might DIY wig caps rather than buy them pre made, I'll just add this. Unless you want a very standard shape, you need a nonstandard cap and a DIY lets you control features like mohawks, widow's peaks, sideburns etc. Depending on how complex the style, you'll want to work out which wefting techniques will let you hide how and where the hair is rooted.

See you on the next installment!