Crochet guide
Hair for crochet dolls
Hair goes onto a crocheted doll in three ways. Strands of yarn are knotted into the stitches of the head, one by one. Strands are crocheted, as chains that grow out of the head or out of a cap. Or a small crocheted cap carries the hair and is fixed to the head. The same ways make a mane or a tuft on an animal.
On this page 6 parts
The three ways
Stitch names on this page are United States terms, with the United Kingdom name in brackets.
| Way | What the hair is | The look |
|---|---|---|
| Knotted strands | Lengths of yarn, each folded and knotted into a stitch of the head | Straight hair that can be trimmed, braided or tied |
| Crocheted strands | Chains, or chains with single crochet (UK double crochet) worked back along them | Loops, or strands that can be made to curl |
| A cap | A small crocheted circle or hat shape that carries the hair | Hair that is finished before it is fixed on |
Knotted strands
This is the knot of a fringe, and Fringe and tassels shows it step by step. It goes on last, when the doll is stuffed and sewn together.
- Cut the strands. Each strand is folded in half, so cut it twice as long as the hair is to be. For many strands of one length, wind the yarn round a card or a book and cut through all the wraps at once.
- Fold one strand in half.
- Pull the fold through. Put the hook under a loop of a stitch on the head, catch the fold and pull it through a little way.
- Pull the ends through the fold and tighten the knot.
Plan the hairline as you crochet the head. A round worked in one loop only leaves a row of free loops on the outside of the head. Those loops are where the strands go, and they keep the hair in rows. Back loop and front loop shows how such a round is worked.
How thick? A strand in every free loop gives the fullest hair. A strand in every second or third stitch gives thinner hair.
Crocheted strands
A crocheted strand is a chain. In one way, you work a stitch into the head, make a chain, and fasten it back into the same stitch, so that a loop of chain stands out from the head. In another, you make a chain and work single crochet back along it. Extra stitches worked into the chains make such a strand curl, and the more of them there are, the tighter the curl. For a tight corkscrew curl, Curlicues shows the usual way: three stitches worked into every chain.
A cap
A cap is a small crocheted circle, or a shape like a little hat, in the hair color. The strands are knotted or crocheted onto it, and the cap is then sewn to the head.
Styling
Knotted hair is yarn that hangs free, so it can be trimmed to one length, braided or tied in pigtails.
Where to go next
- Faces for amigurumi, for the features under the hair.
- Sewing amigurumi together, which comes before knotted hair.
- Fringe and tassels, for the knot.