The wig is just the most awesome part of the Princess Poppy costume! The Poppy costume proved an original choice as she was the only troll princes at the costume party. The wig was definitely catching everyone’s attention.
When I decided to make this costume I took my time to figure out the wig. I was thinking about the material and also how to attach it and make it sit on the head and keep the shape I wanted it to have. I was considering also some artificial fibers but in the end I went for dyed sheep roving. You can tease it and it keeps the shape. I even managed to get the roving in the exactly same color as Poppy’s hair (although it might look a little different on your screen).
You need for a wig for the age of about 1 year:
– 150 g of pink wool roving (can be less for smaller head) – you can get it here
– pink elastic foldover band – you can get it here
– mint elastic foldover band, can be in different matching color – you can find some here
– pink thread
– clear hair elastic – you can get it here
– epoxy glue
– A4 fleece sheet in blue
– 15 x 12cm fleece sheet in mint
– hair spray
– comb for teasing
– template for the headband flowers and leaves – download here
1. First you have to make the headband to which the wig will be attached. Measure the head circumference of your child and cut a pink foldover elastic in the same length. Sew the ends together to create a headband which is 1 cm shorter than the measured circumference.
If the way you sew it isn’t very neat, don’t worry, the band will be covered in the roving.
2. Now you will be attaching the wool roving. Cut strands that are 57 cm long. The strands will probably be quite thick so you can stretch it with your fingers a little to make it more wide and flat. Put the strand to the elastic, about 1 cm of the roving should go over the elastic. Fold this one centimeter inside the headband and sew it on with a backstitch. Make the stitches smaller on the visible side, then you can move the wool easy with your fingers to cover the thread.
This is what the inside looks like:
And this is the outside:
Keep on sewing on more strands until the headband is covered. You can attach more than one layer of strands. There’s no need for a super thick layer but it shouldn’t be too thin because you will need to tease it and the child’s head shouldn’t be visible through the wig.
3. Cut two shorter strands that you will sew on the headband without folding it inside. Those will be the fringe.
4. Now comes the fun part, the teasing. Don’t tease all the wool, the visible part of the wig should be smooth. Also don’t tease all the strands necessarily. Start from the inside and go from down. Don’t tease the whole length of the strand, about one third to one half will be enough. After you tease each strand try to make a ponytail with your hand to see if it’s enough.
Spray the teased strands on the inside with the hairspray. Make a ponytail with the clear elastic and measure the ponytail where the elastic is.
Cut a stripe of blue fleece that is 2 cm wide and 1 cm longer than the circumference of the ponytail. Wrap it around the ponytail where the elastic is, put a little glue on the excessive centimeter and glue the ends together. Secure with a clip while the glue dries.
5. Now let’s make the floral headband. Use the template to cut 6 leaf sets from the mint fleece, 5 flowers of three petals from the blue fleece and 1 flower of four petals also from the blue fleece (the four-petal flower comes in the front left). Glue the leaves and the flowers together as shown in the picture below.
Measure the circumference of the wig right above the fringe and cut the mint elastic band of the same length. Sew it together and it should now be 1 cm shorter. Glue the flowers on the headband.
When the glue has dried, put the headband on the wig and cut the fringe to the right shape.
The wig is ready to wear and all that’s left is to hope that your child will be willing to wear it.
If your costume isn’t complete yet, you can find the dress tutorial here and the wristband tutorial here.
