June 2010 I have a doll named Tammi Himstedt from the Annette Himstedt collection of 2003. The Asian dolls have always appealed to me and I love to sew for them using some of my Oriental styled fabrics. I liked her face but I’m not a big fan of the wild looking mohair wig. There are those who feel that these dolls are a piece of artwork and to change a doll is like changing a painting that an artist has done. This is not my point of view, but I totally understand those who feel that way. What I love about these dolls is that once they are mine, I can make them look the way I want them to look. They are works of art, to be sure, but I have added a part of my creativity to personalize them. Here is Tammi, before the wig change, dressed in something I created:
My friend Bev at Dolls Mane Page is an expert on re-wigging and changing eyes on dolls. I met her at the “Texas Doll Party” this past October and she showed us some of the wigs and eyes she sells. She gave me the instruction and courage to try changing Tammi’s wig. I bought a wig from Bev and then went to work following her instructions. She told me to start at the back of the neck, and using a butter knife, slip it between the wig and head. Before trying this, I pinched the wig at the hairline to see how secure the wig was and it came up very easily. I was able to gently put a finger in and ease the wig away from the line of glue around the head without any difficulty. It came right off!
When the wig was removed, you can see the pate of the head that is removed to replace the eyes. I didn’t mess with that since I like her eyes just fine. This is the picture showing where the old glue was originally placed:
Then I used Aleen’s Brush On Tacky Glue and brushed it on the old glue lines around the perimeter of the head:
Then I positioned the wig on her head and moved it around until I was satisfied with the placement. I waited 24 hours before doing anything else.
Then I styled her hair in double coils, and dressed her in a new outfit I had just completed. But I decided the bangs were too skimpy and I wanted more.
So I took her hair out of the braids and cut more bangs to match the ones that were already there.
Then I dressed her in another outfit. My husband did a video for me to show how I made the braids on each side of her head and coiled it above her ears. You can watch that by going to the top of this page and clicking on the VIDEO category. Here is the final result:
So……if I can do it, you can do it. This was my first attempt at changing a doll’s wig and I think it turned out pretty well, if I say so myself.