• Maromisa • Gets Hair • A Face Up • And A New Obsession •

... And I learn how to make Tibetan lambswool Wigs for Hujoo girls!

I finally got around to making Maromisa a wig with some Tibetan Lambswool plates I bought recently - the only problem is that the skins weren't quite big enough, and I had to sew them together - so I ended up making her a maquette instead!

I don't mind though as it's all good practice and it was a lot easier than I imagined it would be from all the tutorials I'd been reading, the method I finally went for was a tutorial by Martha Boers (Antique Lilac) which you can find by clicking this link: Antique Lilac- Tibetan Lambskin Wigs Tutorial

 I first discovered this amazingly talented lady's work in an Adele's Creative Costuming Newsletter a few years ago, when her "Country Ruffles" BJD dress pattern and Tutorial was featured one month - if that sounds intriguing, click this link to check it out: Antique Lilac - Country Ruffles Pattern - I'll be adapting this pattern to fit one of my girls very soon, once I've found some really cute fabrics to make it out of, and no doubt showing it off somewhere on this blog too...

Martha Boer's website and Blog contains a wealth of information and ideas, has very easy to follow tutorials for some easy to adapt cute and impressive looking outfits, which look like they should be much harder to make than they are - and she has gorgeous dolls of her own to ogle too, it's well worth a look or a bookmark or two or three!

Anyhoo, Maromisa's wig - well sadly my printer's out of ink again ( it's a guzzler that costs loads to refill each time!) so I couldn't print off the pattern and had to make my own, using a jpg of  Martha's as a guide, I then made a wig cap out of linen (I have no felt right now), as a "tester piece" and used this to make any alteration I felt should be made.

Testing her new hair and a Blythe dress

When I was happy with the fit, I cut the skin with my trusty scalpel and a lot of trepidation and set to work sewing the pieces together, it was surprisingly easy ... Until it came to "Try it on Time" then it got really tricky!

The trouble was, I found that I'd somehow made it too big, and try as I might sewing and resewing the seams  a little at a time to bring them in, it just didn't seem to be getting any smaller?

Then came a new problem, all that seam resewing had caused the pre cut ear areas to move - nagdabbit!

And so I now had to work out how to cut or shape these areas on a head shaped wig as there was no way after all that sewing, I was going to unpick it; my fingers hurt :(

I managed to sort this with tiny snips and sewing, but afterwards found the wig is somehow bigger than before?  I know it's madness!! 

And so it moves about quite a bit now and will need to be secured somehow for more "athletic" or "motion" style poses, however, I'm not unhappy with it as it looks pretty good considering that only an hour or so before it was a flat piece of lamb skin with fleece attached to it, and as Aaron told me "It's not a total failure, as you've learnt so much making it"! 

He's right too, I now feel much more confident than I did before I started about making this kind of wig, and I'm sure that now I know a few of the pitfalls to expect I can counteract them during the planning stages, so the next wig I make will be just right, and this one will be good to keep for another doll at another time - it's a shame though as I wanted her to have black hair and the only black Tibetan Lambswool skin I could find was around 5 inches square.

 I bought 3 - not really knowing how much I would need at all, but next time I will be wiser, the only problem is I don't have any more of it left, well not enough for a head her size... So I may have to make her a Chocolate Brown one instead - it's a lovely colour though and I do have plenty of it so I shouldn't complain. 

Maromisa has decided she wants to be Barbarella when she grows up and so I now have no chance of getting her to take off this outfit, especially the "Moon boots" she's mad about them and has been trekking mud and snow all over the house since she put them on - I knew no good would come of  letting them watch that film *sigh* 

I only did so they'd stay quiet while I started writing this post, more fool me I guess!

I gave her new lashes, those gorgeous amber eyes,  some eye liner and some subtle lip gloss, (which oddly has come out in these photos as being orangey when it's actually light brown?) some blush and I matted her face with Mr. Super clear.

I had to clip it back, because the more I fiddled with it, the more unruly it become! 

Still Hello Kitty clips are cute - I'm just not sure how they fit in with the "Barbarella" theme though, but Maromisa insisted on them!

I managed to get Maromisa, Akimoto & Ae Sook Aiko to sit still long enough for a "family Portrait"!

Wow that was a lucky shot - sadly though less than 5 minutes later they were all running about like mad things...

Ae sook is pretending to be an evil biting doll so everyone's ( dogs included ) ankles are in peril.

Akimoto is currently pursuing Maromisa and yelling at her to "Come back so I can feed you to the Mathmos".

Maromisa is running here there and everywhere, jumping on and off of furniture and berating him, "You're Supposed to be Pygar and to come and rescue me - Durand Durand is invisible, Silly"!

Akimoto thinks Pygar is soppy, and Ae sook is still trying to chew everything she comes into contact with...

I have a feeling it will all end in tears very soon, no doubt with Ae sook in a tiny sleeping ball in some corner, while the other two bicker to the point where I have to get involved... "Kids.. tsk"!

Hope your day is quieter,