Repairing a mini doll from an old dollhouse

Hey everyone,

a friend asked me today if I could bring this little old doll from a dollhouse back to “life.” A mouse ate her hair and a piece of her dress, too.

I already have some ideas for the dress, but I’d really appreciate any tips on how to attach the hair to her head. The hair was made of wool. But… how do I glue it to her head? I’m thinking more along the lines of a wig.

Do you have any ideas on how I could make a wig like that?




I’m really looking forward to your replies!

Best regards, Monika

If she’s very small, most wool threads would probably be too thick. In that case, I’d take a piece of old tights, weave thin yarn into it, glue it on as a wig, and then style the hair.

Veronika, that’s exactly how I would do it too, because I don’t think individual strands of wool work very well there. You could also crochet a sort of cap and then knot the strands in, but tights are ideal.

Oh wow, Veronika, that’s a great idea. I’ll see what I have lying around.

Ines, I’d already thought about crocheting it, but then it looks more like a hat—it gets too thick.

The wool was somehow glued on before. Maybe a piece of fabric would work, too, where the hair could be glued on?

The doll is really very small—not even 10 cm. She’s from an old dollhouse.

Do you have any great ideas? Awesome 

Wool works—you just need to fluff it up, and then you can easily make a wig out of it. Attach it to a base like tights or doll jersey (make sure it’s thin), and then glue the whole thing on. It’s a bit of a fiddly job, but doable

Best regards, Inge

Thanks, Inge! How do I fluff up the wool? What exactly do you mean?

Moni, take some wool yarn, lay it flat on the table, and brush it out—that way the wool will fluff up, and you’ll have very fine wool, which is ideal for little dolls’ hair. You might have to brush it a little longer, but it’s worth it :-)

Love, Inge

Inge, thank you for the tip. That’s a great idea, and I’m going to give it a try. I already know that with your tips, the doll will look better afterward than she did before. :)

Best wishes, Monika

I would lay thin strands of wool side by side. The center of these strands would be the center part. Then, on the left and right—perhaps 1 cm away from the center—tie knots with a thread. Now you can make braids. 
Arrange the middle strands so that they cover the head and glue them to the head. 

Thanks, Petra—that’s exactly what I thought at first, too. That must have been how it was originally, because I saw that the wool strands were glued to the top of the head. I just couldn’t quite picture it. Based on your description, I’ll have to lay it out like that and give it a try. It definitely sounds pretty simple.

I’ll show you the final result, of course, once I’ve figured out exactly how to do it. With your great tips, it’s sure to turn out great.

Hi Monika,
With such tiny dolls, I’d do it the way Petra describes.  Crocheting such a tiny wig is actually pretty fiddly. If you’d still like to give it a try, just Google “Liebseeligkeiten.de: ‘Make your own bendable dolls for the dollhouse.’” It explains how to crochet such a tiny wig.

You’ll definitely show us your finished little doll, right? I’m already curious to see how it turns out.

Oh, and one more thing, Monika: thin mohair yarn (e.g., Kid Mohsir or something similar) works great as doll hair. 

Yes, Ruth, of course I’ll show you what the little doll looks like when it’s finished. Thanks also for your tip. That’s great! I actually have some mohair on hand. I’ll also check out the crocheted wig idea.

I’ll probably do it the way Petra describes. It occurred to me tonight how I can secure the strands in the middle: on a tiny piece of fabric, which I’ll then glue them to. Let’s see how that works out.

The doll is really tiny at 9 cm, and her head is very small. Before, the hair came out of the top center of her head and was partially glued to the back of her head. Now she’ll probably have blonde hair (not red) and maybe pigtails.

I’ll probably crochet a little dress for her. I’m curious to see how it turns out.

Moni, take some double-sided tape—which is usually very strong—and cover the head with tiny, tiny pieces of it. Then place the hair on top in braids and press it down.

So, now the little doll has a completely new outfit. I’m already curious to see what my friend thinks of it. She’s now wearing a knitted dress and a curly wig. How do you like her?



Here are the individual steps:
I used a small piece of insect netting where the holes are clearly visible. I embroidered little loops into it using mohair yarn. Beforehand, I measured the circumference of her head. I’m not usually that into this kind of mini-crafting, but I actually had fun with this one. She’ll be moving back into her very old dollhouse on Wednesday.

Here’s what the individual pieces for her hair looked like.

Now that’s what I call a makeover! 🤣🤣 She looks really stylish now!

It turned out great, Monika! I bet your whole doll family will want to be spruced up by you soon!

Thanks, Veronika and Ruth! :) A style change is good—yes, exactly, that’s it.

Well, I’m already afraid that soon the whole doll family will end up at
my place and want to be spruced up, too. If that happens,
I’ll show it to you here.

A change of look is great—you’re right.
Your little doll looks really cute with her new curly wig.
You did a great job, Monika.👍

Maybe some new “doll patients” will be moving in with you soon.
You could try that filet crochet yarn—it’s so soft. I can just picture how cute it would look braided into pigtails on a little doll like that.
The strands would probably be too smooth to tie in, though—I’m not sure.

My finger puppets and flower children are only slightly bigger than the little doll. For such tiny dolls, I prefer to use Kid Mohair or a similar yarn for the hair because it looks very natural and you can create all kinds of hairstyles (even boys’ hairstyles) with it.:
     

Thanks, Andrea! :))
Honestly, I hope no more patients come knocking on my door. That’s too fiddly for me. But I’ll definitely check out how to crochet a wig. Maybe I’ll need it someday.

Ruth, your doll hairstyles look great, too. Did you knot the hair into them?

Wow, the doll looks amazing with her perky curly hair :-)
You did a great job.
The finger puppets look really cute, too :-)

Best regards, Inge

Oh, thank you, Inge! :)) Your praise means a lot to me. I think she’s cute now, too.

Wow, Monika, she turned out really great. Super cute! She’s something very special now.
And your finger puppets, Ruth, are really adorable too.
Best regards
Marina

Oh, thank you, Marina. :) Yes, that’s true—she’s something very special now. Hopefully word won’t get around in her doll family.... I’ll let you know what the 80-year-old doll mom has to say about it.

Thanks for your compliments.

Monika, I don’t have the patience to tie such fine hair. Some of the hair is embroidered, and then, for example, the braids are sewn on. Of course, that works great with crocheted heads. For hand puppets with heads made of modeling clay, I’ve also made wigs and glued them on. But those were bigger, so it was much easier. 

Wow, that turned out soooo great. Moni, you’ve really outdone yourself.
I’m afraid you’ll have to rescue lots more little dolls!!!!

Thanks, Petra. I’m glad you like it.

Well… this little doll was nibbled on by a mouse and lost her hair and part of her dress in the process. Now I really hope the mouse doesn’t give me any more work and leaves the rest of the doll family alone. :)

Yes, Ruth, it’s much easier with a crocheted head. The knotting was quite tedious here, especially because the head is so tiny. Your tips here definitely helped me achieve this result. So I definitely want to say thank you to all of you for that!