FABULOUS DESIGNER YARNS FOR FANTASY DOLL HAIRDOS, AND WHERE TO FIND THEM!

"FIZZ" YARN BY CRYSTAL PALACE

Several posts ago, I showed how I used some of the beautiful "designer yarns" out there, to create fun, colorful hairdos for my fiber fantasy sculptures. In this post, I will show you photos of some of my favorite yarns, and also where to find them. Several years ago, I used to know the name of every designer and the name of the yarn I used for each and every creation I made. In the past few years, there have been so many of these new delightful yarns, that I have lost track of a lot of their names. Hopefully, I can give you enough information to get you started on a fun journey of finding out about all of the colorful, whimsical yarns that can be used to give your creations one-of-a-kind, magical hairdos!

In the photo on the very top of this page, you will see some of the colors I have of FIZZ yarn, which is made by Crystal Palace. These are just a few of the colors that FIZZ comes in. There are also "varigated" shades of FIZZ, also called "print". This is a shorter eyelash yarn and you can use it by itself, or mix it in with other yarns for a very colorful effect. CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW TO SEE ALL THE DIFFERENT COLORS THIS YARN COMES IN:

FIZZ YARN COLOR CHART
I used 4 different colors of FIZZ to create the fairy's hairdo below.

Crystal Palace also makes a fun textured yarn, which I just love to use...it is called BeBop, and comes in 16 different colors. Its texture is "eyelash" and "poofs" of color. Here is a photo of a fairy whose hairdo was designed from colorful BeBop yarn.

Click on the link below to see what other colors BeBop yarn comes in.

BEBOP YARN by CRYSTAL PALACE COLOR CHART

Another of my favorite yarns, that I have been using for quite a few years now, is AURA by TRENDSETTER. Aura is a sparkly eyelash yarn, which really glistens and sparkles, especially when the sun or light from a lamp hits it. It makes very magical fairy hair, either using it alone or mixing it in with other yarns. I use AURA in all of my mermaids' hairdos, mixed in with other "eyelash" type yarns. It makes the mermaids glisten and look as if they have just come out of the sea! This yarn also comes in a lot of magical colors. At one time, I think I had just about every color there was. Here is a photo of some of the colors I now have in stock. This yarn also comes in solid, "print" and antique colors.

Click on the link below to get to a page on the web which will show you all the colors this delightful yarn comes in. There are also two other links on that page which will take you to the "Print" colors, and one for the "Antique" colors available. There is also a "Store Locator" link on this page, which lets you pick your state, and then will list the shops in your area that sell AURA. There are also "on-line" shops from which you can purchase AURA.

AURA YARN by TRENDSETTER COLOR CHART

I used an AURA "print" yarn for this little "butterfly fairy face pin's" hairdo. See how she sparkles and glistens!

Below you will see one of my drawers full of yarn, which I usually try to sort by colors. Looks like one is in there that should be, as this is my "green toned" yarns! As you can see, I love using a lot of fun textured yarns, which have "eyelash" and "loops" in them. They all make great fantasy hairdos!

Another one of my "favorite" yarns is made by Moda Dea. The most magical one is called FRIVOLOUS, and comes in a variety of colors, but my favorite color is Tutti Fruiti. Below is a photo of a fairy whose hairdo was created using FRIVOLOUS - Tutti Fruiti yarn! It is a very soft, wispy eyelash yarn with a metallic thread running through it. I use this yarn quite a bit, as it is so much fun, and colorful.

Below is a link that will take you to the MODEA DEA page that shows the other colors this gorgeous yarn comes in.

MODEA DEA - FRIVOLOUS COLOR CHART

These are only a "very few" of the yarns I have used when creating my colorful, whimsical hairdos. I used to purchase a lot of these "designer" yarns at a small yarn shop in my area, but in the last several years, I tend to look for them out on the internet, and purchase them "on-line". It takes a bit of time and searching to find what one is looking for, but once you know names of the designers you like best, and the name of the yarns, it makes it a lot easier. I have found out, over the years, that if you find a yarn you really like working with, be sure to get enough in several different colors, as the "designer" yarns tend to be produced for several years, and then you can no longer get them. Below are several links where I have been purchasing yarn on-line.

YARN MARKET

HERRSCHNERS

I will be continuing this "yarn" information in another post in the near future! Do stop back, and have fun trying some of this fabulous yarn for your fantasy dolls!

HOW TO CREATE A FUN, COLORFUL HAIRDO FOR FAIRIES, MERMAIDS AND OTHER FANTASY FIGURES!

FINISHED FAIRY WITH HER NEW HAIRDO!

Read below to see how she arrived at looking so pretty!

With all the wonderful, colorful, many textured yarns out there...it is such fun and easy to create beautiful hairdos for fairies, mermaids, or many other fantasy creations. This is a follow-up article on an earlier post I did showing how I create hairdos from my fiber sculpted fantasy figures using the different yarns that are available.

Below is a photo showing our fairy waiting to get her hair styled, and the two yarns I used to create her hairdo.


For her short, fluffy hairdo I used a hair loom, which I purchased about 10 years ago. I know there are other style looms that can be purchased from various sites that handle "doll making supplies". It has the two wooden ends, with metal rods running through. You can adjust the size by removing the screws and placing them in the different holes which are in each of the wooden ends.

The holes are spaced 1 inch apart, and are numbered, as you can see in the photo above. I used a spacing of 3" for this fairy's hairstyle. To start the hair, you tie your yarn onto the outer metal rod, as shown in the photo below.You then wind the yarn around both rods, keeping the yarn very close together, as shown below. I gauge about how long to wind the yarn on the rods, by determining the figure's head size, and how full I want the hairdo to be. If you find you have too long a piece, you can always cut it off. If you end up with too short a piece you can make another smaller piece to fill in the back of the head. I used about a 4" piece for this fairy's hairdo.

After you have the length of yarn to where you want it, you center the piece of yarn, (still on the loom), into your sewing machine, as shown below. Starting at one end of the "piece", start stitching down the center until you reach the other end. Use the smallest stitch that you have on your machine. This is important, so that it holds the yarn together when you do the next step of twisting it This is done after you have taken it off the rods.
After you have sewn down the entire length of the yarn, you need to unscrew the screws and slide the "piece" off the metal rods.

Below is a photo of my "piece" of yarn after I took it off the metal rods. The next thing I do, is twist the yarn, starting at one end, and ending at the other, so that you have it looking like the photo below. It is then ready to be stitched to the center of the fairy's head.


The above photo shows the hair "piece" after I stitched the center to her head. To style and shape her hairdo, I then stitch the yarn in place at different points around the head to secure it in place. I also used Fabric-Tac adhesive to shape the yarn around the fairy's face and neck.


Here she is, all finished, with her short, glistening hairdo all in place. I accented it with a hand-painted, organza flower, with Swarovski crystals sewn into the center of the flower. She is now available for purchase out in my DZFANTASY shop on Etsy. Click on the link below if you'd like to see more of her.

GARDEN FAIRY