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BB Boy’s hair (how to)

For all of you who asked about tutorial on how to make BB Boy’s hair I have made few photos with pattern instruction hoping it will help you understand the process and make your boys looking great.

This tutorial is made made based on the pattern for BB Boys you can find here and it is related on how to make straight hair for a boy doll (or on the photo below the brown haired boy)

BB BoysFor the curly hair boy’s hair you will start the same, but when creating “hair” instead of slip stitching the chains made, 2 single crochet stitches in one chain stitch will have to be made (in order to make each hair curly).

I have gathered all the photos in two collages, for easier following the pattern. On some photos I added text so you can see and compare you work with mine to be sure you are doing it right.

If you will have any comments or will need any additional help with how to crochet boy’s hair,please feel free to write and ask.

Here is tutorial on BB Boy’s hair (open the photos for better, detailed view):

BB Boy's Hair Part1
Part one is on how to start and make base of the hair. Finishes with first chain for the first hair made.
Part two shows how hairs are made all around and how the final hair piece will look like.
Part two shows how hairs are made all around and how the final hair piece will look like.

The final stage is adding hair to the head. My first BB Boy’s hair was sewed on the head, but every boy doll I have made since then I used glue to attach the hair to the head. For me it works the best and even after washing the doll the hair stays on. Textile glues are not expensive and I am sure you can find one in your local craft shop. I like to use glue when making dolls and toys. With glue I add hair, eyes and all tiny decorations on clothes, shoes… It really works great and I recommend it. If you prefer to sew the hair to the head, will work great as well. Will take you some time, with back stitch to sew each hair to the head but will look as good as glued.

Let us continue with adding the hair to the head.

Use pins to place and position the hair on the head nicely. Mark with pen or marker (on the head) where your hair will be (if you are not sure you will place it on the same spot after applying glue-mentioning it, because it sometimes happens to me too, so think ahead 🙂 ).

front of the head
front of the head
back of the head
back of the head
Hair glued and pinned-waiting for glue to dry
Hair glued and pinned-waiting for glue to dry

And that is it! Easy as it looks. Attach the head to the body, add arms and your BB Boy is done.

Really hope this short tutorial will help many of you who weren’t sure and asked me for help. Looking forward to hear from you and off course to see photos of your dolls ass well.

With kind regards wishing you all blessed rest of the week.

Vanja

 

 

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Little update…

…on what I have been up to for the past month. It sure did pass fast and I haven’t posted any news during pretty long period of time.

Due to some minor health problems I had to take some time off from crocheting and staying away from PC. That resulted with brand new ideas I started to wort at so all this ended great and we will have many new things to work at pretty soon.

Before I show you and talk to you about my newest project, I would like to show you photos of few dolls I made for friends.

Little Strawberry Shortcake and Woody  you can see on the photo below are dolls I made for local friend. None of these patterns was mine. Had to make dolls in few days and didn’t have time to come up with pattern of my own. Instead, I used patterns from my pattern library. I have a huge collection of all different patterns from many famous and non famous designers. I think that each one of us, who is in this craft, has this “mania” of collecting patterns and making to do lists for our future projects. At least I do! I can tell you that this list, of what I would like to do and try, is huge. Unless I end up with something urgent to make (like these two little dolls) most of the time those patterns just sit and wait some better times (while I keep loading new ones on top of them).

Let me show you these two before I continue:

Strawberry & Woody

Both ended up cute and patterns I worked on were nice and easy as well.

For Strawberry Shortcake pattern I used Yolita Amigurumis pattern. Clicking on link provided will lead you to Yolita’s blog. From there you can go to her Facebook page. Feel free to contact her if you will have hard times finding Strawberry Shortcake pattern. She will be glad to help you.

Original pattern name is Rosita Fresita!

Woody I made following the pattern made by Siemprejosefina. This one is not free. You can find it on Etsy.

The thing I changed on both are the eyes. I painted eyes on both of these dolls. I also made hair on Strawberry Shortcake little bit different than from original pattern (but only because had different yarn, this one was lighter weight so had to improvise a little). 

Last month I got contacted by wonderful and so kind doll maker from France, her name is Arlette. She sent me mail asking for my BB dolls measurements. She creates dolls from textile and wanted to make BB couple but in same proportions as my original dolls. Instead of sending her measurements I made her two dolls (boy and girl) and send them so she could get to see them in real and make dolls based on visual experience, rather than working with plain numbers.

I really enjoyed working at those two dolls for her. I called them BB bros and they both ended up very happy and sweet. Arlette was pleased as well what made me even happier. To thank me she send me two of BB dolls but in textile. Oh my God, was I surprised and happy when I got the package!!!

I am not good in sewing and sewed dolls were always special treat and treasure for me. Love them even more than crocheted ones and receiving BB dolls in textile for me felt as Christmas! I have no words to express my gratitude and thankfulness to Arlette for taking her time to make these little ones for me. They are absolutely beautiful! Their names are> The Little Green Eyes Princess and The little Captain Red. Arlette made me this beautiful card (which I forgot to take photo and prepare for this post…) where she drew these two little dolls and wrote their name. She also sent me Sugar’n Cream yarns! I am bragging, I know…but it was such a beautiful gesture she made, and I still feel very thankful to her. Anyways, here is the photo of dolls I made for her and dolls she made for me.

bb bross

 

By now I talked about and showed you the projects I finished. Now can tell you more of what I started to work on and what is going to show and share with you soon.

For a long time I wanted to to moveable joints and head crocheted doll. Sometimes I felt as the idea on how to make one was haunting me through the nights. Had many ideas by now, but never really started or tried to make one. The period while I had to stay away from hook and PC, I took time to give it deeper thinking on how I would make doll moveable.

There are many different ways. The best I saw so far was one Beth Webber came up with. I haven’t tried to follow the pattern on her moveable joints (and maybe I should have-would make my work much easier), but the whole idea of hers is the best I saw so far. You can find all details on her moveable joints and head dolls here:  http://byhookbyhand.blogspot.com/

it is link to her blog but on the left side bar of her blog you will find links to many different patterns, among which there are moveable joints, head…

Beth’s place is the best for all of you doll lovers. Not that you will find huge pattern sellection, but Beth’s work and enthusiasm will inspire you and your future work as well. I just love to visit her place there and spend some time. For me it feels as gaining energy from her blog, posts, patterns and work. She is great! We love you Beth! 🙂

So…my idea on making moveable joints!

The whole idea is making arms and legs first. Start them from bottom, work to top, and keep opened. Attach them to the body with buttons from the inner side of shoulders, hips and inside the  body.

Arms and legs to make from two pieces, connected them in elbows and knees with tiny crocheted additions on sides of the legs (sewed through lower leg or arm part) and make them moveable front-back. For the head I have different idea. Will try to crochet head in head. Small ball looking part that will be worked in addition to the body, will place inside the head (will crochet the head around the neck and around this little ball piece). Will talk about head and how this idea will work as soon as I start working on it. By now I have tried to make one arm to se how the elbow joint wil work and it is really working great.

That kept me going and continue with making legs (what I will show you in a little while). Both legs turned out great. Look at the photo. Legs look really good.

Moveable doll Everything went as I planned. I crocheted both legs, left them opened on the top. Started the body and connected the hips to it with the buttons (as planned). The body started to work as an oval, and really was getting nice shape (don’t worry,made records of all I did so we will have the pattern 🙂 )

The hips or this attatchemt where I sewed the hips to the body felt little wobbly, and at first I thought it was becasue there was no stuffing, so I hurried to finish at least the half or two thirds of the body to be able to stuff and check if the wobbling will persist, and to my sadness it did. Stuffing didn’t help. Both legs are very moveable in hips and make doll look like a string one. Not good at all! Idea with the buttons will have to be dropped and changed with something else.

To keep the same shape of the legs and body I think will just try to cut the threads I used to sew the buttons and attach legs to the body, and instead of button attachment will use old method, sewing it from the inner thy sides, through the body and attaching both legs same time. This should work and keep legs stay closer to the body and move nicely and not wobble around like these.

So keep fingers crossed! I am going back to work and hope to get this moveable doll done by next week. Will keep you informed how it goes.

If you have any ideas that might help, please, feel free to drop a line here or on my mail. I am always happy to hear from you. 

Thank you for staying with me this time. Was a lot of bragging but sometimes girl needs to do that too 😉

 

Wishing you all happy end of this week and wonderful blessed weekend!

Love and hugs,

Vanja

 

 

 

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BB Boys

 

Finally we have got the BB Boys!!!BB Boys1

Two best friends enjoying to play together! 🙂

This is the second one of my promises made last week. Still have one more to finish to be done with them all (Oopsie doll’s new outfit to make) 😉

if it wasn’t for Millylyly, who knows when these two would be created. I am glad she asked me to design boy’s hair. For starters made these two versions. Curly and strait, which are the two most common. Made in different colors, playing a little bit with length (if one likes) will give quite several hair styles for your dolls.

Boys are called BB Boys, because the head and the body (together with legs) are done the same way as BB Dolls.  Differences made were at arms length; where these two have total count of 10 rows (by 6 stitches in each row), and instead of dress these two are wearing trousers; and off course HAIR!

For the time being don’t have the pattern for the trousers I trust would make good results each time made. Darker blue trousers were done with 1,75 mm needle and finer yarn and those look good and fit good. The the second ones (lighter blue) I made with same weight yarn I used for dolls, changed the row/stitch count to fit the body, but am not satisfied with result.

This week will work on the trousers pattern and will have it for you next.

Have to be honest that was afraid how to get this “boy’s” face expression using 4 mm black, wooden beads as I used for BB dolls, and after all using same pattern that was created for girl dolls in mind.

As you can see, boy’s eyes I placed closer. Instead of leaving 8 stitches space between them, they have only 4. Added embroidered nose, but this is optional.

One more photo of boys playing before we continue on hair pattern.

BB Boys

For both of the hair bases, classic oval shape of 30 stitches count needs to be done. I have made mine this way.

For both hairs is the same! Oval shape, 30 stitches count row before making the stylish hair cut!

ch6

R1 sc4, 3sc in one st, continue around the chain, sc3, 2 sc in one st (12 sts)

R2 inc1, sc3, inc3, sc3, inc2 (18 sts)

R3 inc1, sc4, inc1, sc1, inc1, sc1, inc1, sc4, inc1, sc1, inc1 sc1 (24 sts)

R4 sc1, inc1, sc5, inc1, sc2, inc1, sc2, inc1, sc5, inc1,sc2, inc1, sc1 (30 sts)

 

Brown hair boy:

You will be making hairs out of each stitch of all 30 stitches row count.

Hairs are done our usual way, chain and slip stitches  return. Once done with the base of the hair (30 stitches oval reached) continue the hairs following this chain(s) count

make:

12 x ch11 (those will make back of the head hairs) – starting from second stitch from the hook slip stitch following 10 stitches, reaching the end, slip stitch to next stitch on the base row and ch11 (repeat this for all of 12 stitches ch11, before continuing to ch10…..)

2 x ch10 -side hairs

2 x ch9 – side hairs

2 x ch8 – front hairs

2 x ch7  – front hairs

2 x ch8 – front hairs

2 x ch9 – side hairs

2 x ch10 – side hairs

4 x ch11 – back hairs

Finish off! Leave long end for sewing the hair to the head. You have made 30 hairs!

For the yellow hair style – curly one;

Once the base of the hair is made (as per the pattern on how to make the base and oval shape, above),

continue making curls in every second stitch of the base row.

here is how to do that. As you finish R4, slip stitch to the first stitch of R5,

ch16, starting at second stitch fro the hook inc15.

Once you reach the “base” slip stitch 2 following stitches, ch16 and repeat inc15

Here is the hair “length” count you have to do in order to get the right shape.

7 x ch16

6 x ch11

2 x ch16

Finish off leaving long end for sewing the hair to head.

Once done, sew the base of the hair to the head. Arrange the hairs the way you would like them to be/stay and sew or glue them. I didn’t sew the hairs! I used hot glue to fix them on the head.

If you will have problems understanding how the hair is made, let me know and will try to help. The procedure is very easy, but somehow I always make it sooooo complicated 😀

I am here to help you out, so do not hesitate to ask!

BBBoys2

Wishing you all great end of the week and wonderful weekend to come!

 

Regards,

Vanja