Craftin advice?

[hatman]

I'm making slippers for a friend and his family. I've done the ones I know how to do, but the kids are into MLP, so I find myself in the position of trying to make ponies (specifically, Pinkie Pie and Vinyl Scratch) with fluffy manes. I've done Pinkie Pie's main body, but I need to do the head and tail.

As it turns out, there's a brand of yarn called Fun Fur which looks about perfect. I found it in just the colors I needed. But I don't know how to make it look right. My initial plan was to basically treat it like actual hair - have 4-inch lengths of furry yarn coming out of the fabric, knotted at the base and then allowed to fall free. That may yet be the best option. But this is yarn. It's designed to be knit or crocheted. And I wonder if it might end up looking better that way. (Of course, I don't know how to knit or crochet, but I could probably learn the basics. Maybe I could even have my niece teach me. She knits scarves and stuff.)

The makers of Fun Fur have free patterns and instructions online. I've opened a few (like this little fox here) in tabs to explore later. (Going to be AFK most of the rest of today. I'm also really incredibly tired because I haven't slept properly in weeks, even by my low standards.)

But it occurs to me that I've got some crafty people on my list around these parts (assuming anyone is still reading this blog) and maybe some of y'all might have some suggestions. So... do you?

Comments

[batgirl1.livejournal.com]

Are you trying to simulate fur, or just the mane and tail?

Yarn can be sewn; they even have needles for yarn/tapestry thread. The eye is very wide, and you'll still need to do a lot of moistening and twisting to thread it, then keep a death grip on the needle anyway so it doesn't just fall out. But it can be done. (Case in point: http://maryppotts.blogspot.com/2013/01/new-year-new-blog.html , bottom of page). If you want that pattern, by the way, I could email it to you; as it is, I've lost the original link from DeviantArt. D:

[pgwfolc.livejournal.com]

Main and tail. And yes, I have a yarn/embroidery floss needle. Just need to figure out how to make the best of this particular "yarn," which consists of a thick, tightly woven floss with little silly hair-like threads coming off it. So, yes, something like the mane in your picture might work. I think that's like what I was planning. How did you do that?

[batgirl1.livejournal.com]

It's been so long that I had to look at the (still unfinished >_<) horse again. The yarn itself actually isn't sewn through anything: Get a piece of yarn, center it on the back of the pony's neck, then take a threaded needle (color should match the yarn) and basically tie the yarn in place by sewing around the the middle. ...Did that make any sense? Anyway, repeat until either the mane is complete, or your arms fall off. It's tedious, but not as bad as it could be.

As for the tail, I haven't gotten there, yet, but I suspect the technique for making a tassel would be handy: Wind a bunch of yarn. The woundedness...thingy...should be as long and bushy as you want the tail to be. Get another piece of yarn and tie off a bit at the end... Okay, here's a link with pictures: http://www.sew4home.com/tips-resources/sewing-tips-tricks/how-make-tassel This should be easier to follow than my rambling gibberish. *g*

[pgwfolc.livejournal.com]

Hmm. You know, tying down the yarn with thread is exactly what I did for another project. I should have thought of it for this one. Thanks!

Tassel is an interesting thought. Not sure it would come out right. I'll have to experiment. I think, though, that I can get what I want by sort of braiding it around the support wire. And then doing the mane your way.

[acbshada.livejournal.com]

From reading the other comments, it seems like you've got a good plan of action. I'm just piping up to say that you can just use the yarn without crochet or knit. I've done it for a Dr. Horrible doll and a Mark Cohen (from "Rent") doll that I made. In both cases, I used a similar kind of yarn to what you're describing, and I actually super-glued the "hair" onto the fabric doll body. It worked well.

I've also made crochet people/animals, and I've "inserted" yarn strands of hair to form their hairstyles. These are just individual pieces of yarn cut and added to the finished product - no crochet, no knit. Just yarn. And it looks adorable, imo.

A couple of examples:

One example is my Merida doll: http://ravel.me/acbshada/s6znd
This one is a little different because I actually took the time to unwind the strands of yarn. I attached them first, and then unwound each little piece. Which took forever, but it gives that nice "scraggle" effect.

Another example is Tahiri: http://ravel.me/acbshada/bmq8g
This is just straight, simple yarn hair. No frills. Nothing fancy...unless you count the fact that I added layers to her hair by cutting it with scissors. ;)

Good luck on your project! Post pics!

[pgwfolc.livejournal.com]

Those are adorable! Not sure I want to go the superglue route, since these are for slippers and will therefore probably get more wear and tear than your dolls, but I should be able to get the same effect by tying the strands down with thread. (Though I can maybe do both - glue and thread. I'll experiment.) Thanks!

And thanks for the encouragement. :)

I've already finished two slippers, two large stuffies, and a couple of quick bonus extras. I haven't been posting pics because I want the recipients to be unspoiled and to be the first to see them. Might post pics after the box is received.

[kaylle.livejournal.com]

Shada mentioned your project to me over the weekend, and I thought I'd pop in to suggest another option. I bought my brother a faux taxidermy My Little Pony for Christmas this year from an Etsy seller (yeah, I know how weird that sounds, but it was really adorable when it got here :)). The hair on that was actually plush, like an extra limb, instead of yarn at all. So you could go that route if you wanted to avoid the fun fur?

(http://www.etsy.com/listing/153679008/my-little-pony-taxidermy-all-mane-ponies?ref=shop_home_active)

[pgwfolc.livejournal.com]

That looks terrifying.

I do kind of like the hair. It'd be a good backup plan. But I figured out how to make the fun fur work. Just had to give up the idea of doing it the easy way, having it wrapped in circles. But it turns out to look so much better when it's straight, so the fur all goes in the same direction, like actual hair.

Thanks, though! :)