Making the wigs for the PM dolls wasn't hard since I didn't have any particular style I had to copy....just add hair and go with whatever turned out.
Maybe first a word about the wig cap....I crocheted mine in the pattern of the dolls head so it would fit nicely. Then I made a form [another doll head] and wrapped it in Seran Wrap and fastened it on the top of a large bottle of glue. Fastening the wig cap on it with a couple of straight pins....stuck straight into the head form [ouch]....gives you a very nice work surface for making your wig.
Anyway back to the wig itself. When I got to making the wigs for the Disney princesses with their unique hair styles, I got in real trouble. One part that worried me the most was how to make it stay the way I finally got it arranged. So I got out a little spray bottle and put a little Tacky Glue in the bottom and filled it up with hot water. Later I shook it up and voila, I had a bottle or hair spray. It goes on light enough not to make the wig stiff but keeps the arrangement in place.
This spray is also good for making curls. I bought on eBay a package of indeterminate doll hair....it had all kinds and colors of wigs, hair pieces and swatches. First I decided I wanted it straight instead of curly-curly so I pulled each strand out quite tight and ran my thumbnail down it to pull out the tangles and twists. I realized that most of the tangles were simply the curly hair curling back on itself. Then I wrapped it around something....like a bottle of glue or an empty spool of sewing thread....anything that would let it straighten. This worked fine. Now I have straighter hair but it still has the tendency to curl if I want it to.
So now I needed some larger curls like to hang down over the doll's shoulders or the ends of Dorothy's braids. Straws are great curlers. Just wrap the piece of hair around the straw and spray it with our special hair spray and there you got it. My 80 year old brain is really enjoying working out these little problems to my satisfaction.
I bought some little metal clips at WalMart that hold the hair in place while it is drying from the hair spray. Another way to make larger curls to wave later is to make pin curls. Now that is something we used to do way back in the 50s....1950, that is.... Simply make a curl around your finger flat on the head of the doll, and then put a clip or bobby pin over it and let it dry. Try it on your own hair....you'll be surprised at what you can do....
