I had a recent custom order Coraline doll commission that needed curly dolls hair. The brief included a request for curly red hair with dark roots. These challenges are great but sometimes they are hard to put into practice.

Often I make curly dolls hair from chunky wool which, if separated carefully will unravel into beautiful corkscrew curls. I had a lovely bright red wool that made gorgeous curls. The problem then was how to get the dark roots onto this.

I tried several options. First I thought about paint, but realised this would make the wool dry solid. Next I tried a dye and an ink. The problem was that the wool was already dyed and treated so didn’t take the colour properly. Back to the drawing board.

I have a fair few balls of wool in my craft room now, although I can always argue for just a few more! One of the balls of wool I had was perfect for the job – gradients of scarlet and black. This, if I cut it at the right lengths, would give the dark roots and red lengths. The problem with this was that it was straight.

I have curled wool before using a simple technique so I used it here and got the perfect result.

So how can you turn a straight wool into corkscrew curls for dolls hair? Its actually really simple.

How to make curly dolls hair

All you need is something to wind your wool round, a knitting needle is perfect. You could even use something as simple as a pen or a straw. I like a knitting needle because it is long so you can wind a lot of wool round in one long length. For a doll like the one I was making this isn’t too much of an issue but for a larger doll you need longer hair.

Take your wool and fasten it to the top of the knitting needle (or whatever you are using). I just Sellotaped the wool to the needle but you could use a hair tie or loom band. Start to wind the wool round the needle, pushing it up as you go to make sure you fit as much on as you can. Once you have filled the whole needle with the wool, fasten it at the bottom and cut the end.

Now spray the wool evenly with water. Make sure the water covers all the wool. It should be wet, but not saturated. If you secured the ends with tape make sure you don’t get it too wet or it will unfasten.

It will need several hours for the wool to completely dry. Once you are happy it is totally dry you can remove the ties from both ends and slide the wool off the needle. You will have a long, perfect curl of wool.

For my doll I cut this into short pieces around the dark sections ready to make the hair.

When I make my Coraline dolls I usually attach the head to the body before adding the hair. I was actually so excited by how well the curls had turned out I just started adding the hair straightaway!

And here is the finished doll.

If you would like a custom button eye Coraline style doll then visit my Etsy shop and lets start planning it together!