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Writer's pictureClaire Fairall

How I add yarn hair to my small knitted dolls

This is how I add the hair to my knitted fairy doll. I’ve tried a few different methods, and this is my favourite. I think it’s an easy style, although I do take a bit of extra time to split the yarn to give it a fluffy look....


I wrap the yarn around any handy book, then cut it to give a hank of matching lengths.

For this small doll I’ll wrap the yarn around a notebook about 30 times. I don’t stress about the size of book, I usually try to choose a book which matches the height of the doll.

With a small doll I find it easier to have extra long hair to style and then cut the excess off later.



how to add hair to a knitted doll

I lay the hair over the crown of the dolls

head, I aim to start placing the strands about half way down, between the top of her head and her eyes.

I back stitch the strands of hair to her head, trapping 2 strands under each stitch.






tutorial for adding hair to a knitted doll.

The next step is to take half of the hair from one side and gently twist it around. I try not to twist it too tightly, as I want a bit of shaping and life to the hair style.

I usually twist the wrap down and around, (I guess you could call it anti-clockwise) so the twisted wrap frames the dolls face, but you can twist it the other way if you prefer




Knitted  doll

I repeat this twisting on the other side of the dolls head, this bit can be a bit fiddly as you need to keep hold of one twisted section whilst you twiddle the other one around.

Make sure you twist both sides in the same direction. (a clothes peg can be useful to hold the twisted section to the doll if you are struggling)





adding hair to a small knitted doll

I tie the two twists of hair together at the back of the dolls head,at this point I tie a temporary knot as shortly you will be untying the hair, for the final stage of this hairstyle. Again, I don’t pull the hair too tightly, I like to let the yarn find its own natural curve







small knitted doll

Next, I trim the remaining hair to the final length. I usually go for waist length hair, although Rapunzel style tumbling locks look good too.










I know it seems a weird way to do things but next I undo her hair. This is so I can split the yarn strands using a blunt needle. I’ve found it’s only necessary to split one strand out from the dk (light worsted)yarn.

Now I won't fib, this does take some time and is not strictly necessary but I think it makes a difference to the finished doll.






I’ve tried unravelling the yarn first, before styling and trimming the hair, but I find it pays to wait until the hair is cut to length.


I don’t think there is any doubt that this makes the hair look better. I think it’s worth the extra time and effort involved in spitting the yarn and then re-doing the hair.





















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