The MLP Arena
Creativity => Customs => Topic started by: SilkSpun on March 21, 2013, 09:57:41 PM
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Hey everybody! I got a lot of interest in my soft fluffy yarn rehairs I did....
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...so here's a tutorial on how you can do it yourself! I didn't invent this method all by myself or anything - I had been using it for years, but for making faux fur accents on costumes instead, and it's fairly well-known among other creative communities like that. In any case, I thought it would work great for rehairing ponies, and it does! Without any further ado, here's how you do it:
Materials:
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100% acrylic WORSTED WEIGHT yarn (AKA standard or medium weight - ask the yarn store person for help if you don't know what to look for!)- do NOT use cotton, wool, alpaca, or any other natural blend. The softer the better, so avoid cheap scratchy bulk yarns like Red Heart or I Love This Yarn.
Hair straightener with adjustable heat setting on LOW
Metal-bristled pet slicker brush
A smooth, disposable surface to brush on top of - this is because the pet bristles are pretty scratchy, you will totally ruin the finish on your tabletop if you're not using something like smooth cardboard or cardstock!
Rehair tool - IF you're using the needle-and-thread method instead, follow all the following steps but DO NOT separate your yarn in half! Simply tie a knot in the middle, thread one half of the yarn strand through a hole in one row, and the other half through the neighbor hole in the other row.
Not pictured: GLUE! whatever brand you prefer for sealing roots after using the rehair tool (I prefer Aleene's Tacky Glue)
GETTING STARTED:
Cut your lengths of yarn - the longest you can usually get your fiber is about 6" (12" total, since you fold it in half). So, cut a BUNCH of 12" segments (or however shorter).
>>NOTE!<< The following steps for splitting a piece of yarn in half is only necessary for G4 PONIES! Their plug holes are much smaller, and it's hard to fit a whole piece of yarn folded in half otherwise. With G1s (and possibly others), you can skip right to the folding-in-half-for-brushing stage...
Take one piece of yarn and twist it slightly in the middle to expose the segments, like so:
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Gently separate the segments into two halves, with two segments per half:
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Now you take your length of yarn, and fold it exactly in half, holding it firmly in the middle:
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Take your bristle brush, and GENTLY and SLOWLY start to brush the yarn from tip to root. Only work your way up a couple millimeters at a time with each brush. You're only trying to untwist the fibers, so be gentle! If you pull too hard, the thin fibers will break, and you'll get a very short plug and unnecessary fiber loss.
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This does produce a LOT of waste fluff, though! This is all the fluff from just ONE plug:
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By the time you're done, you'll have a huge pile of fluff bigger than your pony, haha! Don't let it freak you out, though - this happens because when yarn is woven, it's comprised of loads of single-size fiber segments all twisted together at intervals. When you cut off a segment of yarn and brush it out from the middle, any fiber segments that aren't anchored right in the middle will be sloughed off - so it's just the ends of other fibers that you've cut.
Anyway, you now have one fluffy little fiber plug! Hooray! If you want floofy wavy mohair-like hair like Pinkie or Sundance up there, you can go ahead and root it!
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If you want silky-smooth hair like Lyra up there, though, go ahead and run your hair straightener set on LOW over it once, give it a brush, then maybe straighten over it once again- It's like TOTAL MAGIC, now it's super soft and silky, like this:
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Now just pick it up in the middle with your rehair tool...
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...and pop it in!
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Now look at that long silky hair plug!
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fluttershy: "yay."
After you've filled in all the plug holes, coat the roots inside the head in a generous helping of glue, then let it dry for 24 hours. Once it's dry, you can brush and style as you like! I should note, though, the un-straightened wavy yarn hair isn't very brushable - it's just too thick! It can, however, be teased, styled, separated, and combed through with your fingers...
Making the tail uses pretty much the same method: Tie a bunch of strands together as if you were making a normal nylon tail, then just brush 'em out! (Note, you don't have to split the yarn strands in half before tying them together, though.) Easy peasy~
I hope you all enjoyed the tutorial! If you wind up using this method to rehair any ponies, please show me, I'd love to see what you make!!
:frolic:
<3 Anyway, have a good one!
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WOW! :shocked: Thanks for the info. Those rehairs look absolutely marvelous!!
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these are fantastic I might give it a try one day.
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I love how it looks straightened. I love it both ways, but I love the smoothness of the straightened version. I may give this a go at some point.
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Ya know what, I have a box of nan's old yarn under the bed I had no idea what to do with.... Look out bald ponies, you're gettin' yarn haired!
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Straithened yarn hair looks really nice, and I assume it's much cheaper than dollyrair etc. I think I might try this :)
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Lovely work!! I will have to try the straight approach! Thank you so much for taking the time and being willing to share <3 Do you mind if I add this to the Arena Tutorial stickies?
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Gorgeous! Thanks for all the info :)
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sonuva... now I gotta think up a new custom! and may plate is already so so full.
G D it your charging such a great price too. You can expect my PM at some point.
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Thanks for the tutorial! I will surely try this at some point :D
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awesome - will have to try!
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Bookmarking this for later, thank you for sharing your technique!
(can't get over how stunning that Lyra looks! <3)
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Thank you so much for doing this! I will definitely bookmark this page :)
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Straithened yarn hair looks really nice, and I assume it's much cheaper than dollyrair etc. I think I might try this :)
It's definitely cheaper! A ball of the yarn I like to use (bernat satin, just regular soft acrylic yarn) is only about $4 per ball, and you could probably rehair a dozen g4s just with that. I guess the only downside is that it's more time consuming, since all that time cutting, splitting yarn, brushing, and straightening each individual plug does take a while.
Lovely work!! I will have to try the straight approach! Thank you so much for taking the time and being willing to share <3 Do you mind if I add this to the Arena Tutorial stickies?
You definitely can! :lol: As long as that doesn't make it move off this board, since then I don't think too many people would see it...
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This is a great tutorial! Thanks for making it. Now I'm not only trying to come up with a custom to try it on, I'm also thinking about what else around here needs some faux fur . . . :lol:
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i gotta keep track of this one!
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So do you have to straighten each plug individually? Or could you do a bunch at once without burning/melting the yarn?
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So do you have to straighten each plug individually? Or could you do a bunch at once without burning/melting the yarn?
You can straighten several at once, but then you usually wind up having to brush out/straighten over them a couple more times extra, anyway - if any fibers fold over or cover each other because you have a larger bunch, they don't get straight enough. It kind of winds up being the same amount of work either way! ^^;
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This is awesome! Thanks for doing this!
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Is there a way I tell if the yarn I have is acrylic or cotton/wool/alpaca?
Great tutorial by the way, thank you for sharing it :heart:
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Is there a way I tell if the yarn I have is acrylic or cotton/wool/alpaca?
Great tutorial by the way, thank you for sharing it :heart:
Had to look that up, but here you go (http://www.wikihow.com/Tell-Wool-Yarn-from-Acrylic-Yarn)! Maybe that'll help. I always keep my yarn labels tucked into my yarn balls (or obsessively catalog colors in a text file, heh).
Or if you just have NO idea, try brushing out and straightening a bit anyway - because hey, if it works, who cares what it is? ^^; Generally, if you brush it out and it frizzes instantly, loses a lot of fiber and gets really short, then doesn't straighten well at all, it's probably a natural blend.
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Is there a way I tell if the yarn I have is acrylic or cotton/wool/alpaca?
Great tutorial by the way, thank you for sharing it :heart:
Had to look that up, but here you go (http://www.wikihow.com/Tell-Wool-Yarn-from-Acrylic-Yarn)! Maybe that'll help. I always keep my yarn labels tucked into my yarn balls (or obsessively catalog colors in a text file, heh).
Or if you just have NO idea, try brushing out and straightening a bit anyway - because hey, if it works, who cares what it is? ^^; Generally, if you brush it out and it frizzes instantly, loses a lot of fiber and gets really short, then doesn't straighten well at all, it's probably a natural blend.
Thanks a lot :) I'll just try it out!
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So you're popping the hair in from the outside then. What's the tool you use? It looks like a seam ripper.
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So you're popping the hair in from the outside then. What's the tool you use? It looks like a seam ripper.
It's a rehair tool! I just made my own, but you can buy them from people online too. Mine is just an xacto blade handle, the tip is an embroidery needle with the eye cut at an angle. There are tutorials on youtube showing how it's used. It's a LOT faster than using the needle-and-thread method for me!
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Thanks! I felt kinda dumb asking cause you DID call it a rehair tool, but I'd never seen one before. I have an embroidery needle. hmm....off to make one LOL
I have a yarn rehair in progress. I'll show you when it's done. Thats for the inspiration :)
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Great tutorial, thanks! :)
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This is my girl so far :) you rock for posting this!
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This is my girl so far :) you rock for posting this!
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OMG, SO FLUFFY. :whoa:
She looks great so far, I'm so glad you liked the tutorial! As a tip I think I forgot, once the glue is dry, you can get her hair more tame and sleek by giving her another brush-through all over, and if you want her hair to lay a certain way, get it wet in very hot water, smush it down, let it dry, then brush it out again.
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OMG, SO FLUFFY. :whoa:
She looks great so far, I'm so glad you liked the tutorial! As a tip I think I forgot, once the glue is dry, you can get her hair more tame and sleek by giving her another brush-through all over, and if you want her hair to lay a certain way, get it wet in very hot water, smush it down, let it dry, then brush it out again.
Haha I know right?! The fluff is amazing! Thanks for the styling tips :) I'm hoping to tame it a little more after the glue dries.
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This is my girl so far :) you rock for posting this!
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Holy cow, this is amazing! So this method DOES make perfect "floating" and show accurate Princess hair for Luna and Celestia... :frolic:
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Indeed it does, flutterwry! Lovely Celestia hair!
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Just got done rooting everything! I made her tail-plug-hole bigger so she could have some extremely poofy hair going on!
She kind of looks like an Easter egg. :P Going to glue her mane and then put her back together. Gotta decide on a new cutie mark too!
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Just got done rooting everything! I made her tail-plug-hole bigger so she could have some extremely poofy hair going on!
She kind of looks like an Easter egg. :P Going to glue her mane and then put her back together. Gotta decide on a new cutie mark too!
[img]
Aw, cute! Since it's the season, maybe something easter or spring-themed for the cutie mark!
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YOu could use all that extra fluff for plushie stuffing.
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yay finally hair for baity sweet stuff :D
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I didn't have any pony hair to reroot a beaten up Posie I bought about a week ago, but I did have some neon pink acrylic yarn in the closet, sooo...
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Thank you again for the inspiration!
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I didn't have any pony hair to reroot a beaten up Posie I bought about a week ago, but I did have some neon pink acrylic yarn in the closet, sooo...
[img]
Thank you again for the inspiration!
Oh my gosh she looks great! :whoa: That is some electric pink, haha! I looks really good with her symbols. I'm glad you liked the tutorial, thanks for sharing this! <3
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Stunning rehairs!!
I have to try this :frolic:
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Oh i need to try this :D
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Aaaaahhh I'm so glad you posted this I love this! I'm excited for a craft day with you maybe soon! PONIES!
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OMG Thank you so much for posting this!!! :shocked: I need hair like this for my boy ponies and this is perfect! I thought the yarn would just disintegrate when brushed. This is so amazing and your ponies look so LOVELY! :D Thank you again!
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so all I ned to do is brush out some yarn? neat
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Love that bright pink posey!!
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how do you get that wavy kink to it?
Post Merge: April 09, 2013, 09:17:37 PM
and if it gets dusty/dirty/wateva's, how do you clean it?
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how do you get that wavy kink to it?
Post Merge: April 09, 2013, 09:17:37 PM
and if it gets dusty/dirty/wateva's, how do you clean it?
The wavy fluffy hair is done just by brushing out the yarn, and not straightening it.
The straightened yarn can be washed in hot water with soap/conditioner and (gently) brushed just like nylon hair. The unstraightened yarn can be washed in cool water with soap/conditioner, allowed to dry, then combed through with your fingers... Mostly because heat tends to relax the waves that the spun yarn provides naturally. You can pretty much treat it just like Nylon hair in most aspects, the only difference is that the fibers are VERY thin, so they break off fairly easily, meaning you have to be more careful when brushing or washing. If the hair were only dusty, I'd recommend giving it an "air bath" with a blow-dryer, then re-styling it.
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:heart: Cute! Luv Sundance :heart:
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Has anyone tried this with multicolored yarn yet? It may be possible to get a bit of a gradient...
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Thanks for the cool tutorial! :)
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Finally finished my Lily of the Valley girl!
She was rehaired with gradient acrylic, I really love how it's easy to see at the roots and blends into the rest of the mane. :3 I may have found a new hobby!
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I cannot wait to try this!!!! OMG Silky Snuzzle in my future!! Thanks so much for the tutorial!!!!
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I think I will be trying this... maybe on a Pinky Pie since I have many of them.... :: wheels are turning::
Thank you for this inspiration!
:heart:
BPT
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Were you selling these at the fair? I REALLY wanted the large G4 with white yarn hair she was so pretty but I was out of monies :O
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Were you selling these at the fair? I REALLY wanted the large G4 with white yarn hair she was so pretty but I was out of monies :O
Haha nope, that wasn't me! Neato that you found some other yarn rehairs, though. I wonder if they saw this tutorial or just worked out their own method... :lol:
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I tried this on a pony of mine and I think I brushed too hard because I had several whole strands come out. It doesn't look like she is bald but I think I could have kept some more of the hair if I hadn't been so enthusiastic.
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Very cool, was just eyeing one of our recent Minty thrift finds as her mane is rather shot, might be fun to rehair with some fun yarn.
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I tried this on a pony of mine and I think I brushed too hard because I had several whole strands come out. It doesn't look like she is bald but I think I could have kept some more of the hair if I hadn't been so enthusiastic.
Eek! Did you glue the hair in place before brushing it? D: Your brand of glue might not be strong enough, or maybe you didn't use enough glue... I've recently been using E6000 instead of Tacky Glue to secure the hair, due to Tacky Glue not being waterproof (found that out the hard way when doing some boil-perms, lol whoops...). I think it's a bit stronger, too. You just need to make sure you REALLY get the roots inside the head saturated!
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I knotted it inside the head. With two strands of a four strand yarn in each hole.
I think maybe brushing broke some of the double strands off so it's really now one in each plug...
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Wonderful tutorial! Thank you so much! I can't wait to try this!
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I can't wait to try this, thanks for making a photo tutorial with fantastic instructions :)
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Has anyone tried this with multicolored yarn yet? It may be possible to get a bit of a gradient...
I have microfiber yarn--now I have an awesome sea-pony idea for after the move! :D
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WOWWWW :dribble:
Thank you so much!!!!!!!! :tackleglomp: :hearts:
I´m doing my first custom and here, in Argentina, I don´t know where to find doll hair, so I will use your method!!!
I love all your ponies!! Thanks again for share and make the tutorial!!!! :hug: :lovey:
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Thank you so much for posting this, I am definitely going to try it as well! But I had a question... can I rehair the pony without brushing the yarn out individually and then brush it out once the whole head is rehaired? Just wondering! :biggrin:
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Thank you so much for posting this, I am definitely going to try it as well! But I had a question... can I rehair the pony without brushing the yarn out individually and then brush it out once the whole head is rehaired? Just wondering! :biggrin:
I've been experimenting with that lately because I've been trying to cut down on time! :lol: Unfortunately, while it DOES work (just make sure you have your roots glued before brushing), it does tend to give slightly different results, which I don't find as nice... for the brushed-out poofy style, brushing the yarn all at once tends to make the waves straighter and more "fused together", so you don't have really nice defined wavy hair like you would otherwise. If you straighten it after that, it's almost impossible to get the hair straightener right up against the head, so you wind up with kind of frizzy roots. Either way seems to result in shorter fiber, too, by about 1/2", because I think you get more fiber loss. You still need to kind of do it in small sections anyway, otherwise the brush and hair straightener just can't handle it.
It DOES work, though, and I am very picky for quality, so take all that with a grain of salt. :lol: I think I wound up saving about half an hour in time (where a normal straightened reroot will take almost 2 hours), so it's a bit of a trade-off.
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I teied this and ended up with a big ball of fluff, no rootable fibers. :( What am I doing wrong?
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I teied this and ended up with a big ball of fluff, no rootable fibers. :( What am I doing wrong?
This was me too. I am determined to get it right though. This is the perfect stuff for boy pony hair.
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Use better quality yarn. ;)
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Use better quality yarn. ;)
Such as?
Brands? Where to buy?
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I don't know where you live and if this brand can be found there, but I for one used Schachenmayr SMC "Bravo" for my neon pink Posey, and I bought it from a shoppe that specializes in yarns and knitting. :) It would be interesting to hear though what brands others have used and for what kind of results? :happy:
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I think the type is more important than the brand/quality. It needs to be an acrylic yarn. I know people have had nice results using Red Heart brand, which is on the cheaper end.
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actually I've tried a few different brands of 100% acrylic and so far gotten nothing but a pile of fluff for my efforts ^^;
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Ah well in that case, I hope others chime in with brands and results. I've been meaning to try this out, but haven't gotten to it yet.
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I mostly use Bernat Satin! You can get it online, I just use it for most of my reroots because my local craft store carries a TON of it. It doesn't have to specifically say "microfiber" on the packaging, just as long as it's 100% acrylic, with the fibers being VERY fine. Pick a yarn that is very smooth and soft. If it seems to have a bit of a "halo" of fiber fluff around it, that's usually a good indication of its softness and the micro quality of the fibers:
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(that's Bernat Satin btw)
I also look for yarns that have a very satiny, shiny luster to them - which winds up making the rehair shiny and satiny too!
And yes, you DO get a pile of fluff when doing this! :lol: Brushing out the yarn sheds a LOT of fiber. I have a whole grocery bag almost filled to the top with fluff just from rehairs I've done these last two weeks. Just brush the yarn out gently, remove the excess fluff from your pet brush, and keep brushing it out until the shedding stops. That leaves you with a strongly-rooted plug without a lot of excess fuzz floating around in the hair.
Also, depending on the brand you're using, sometimes the max fiber length will be a bit shorter or longer - Bernat Satin seems to max at 6", whereas a turquoise "anti-pill" acrylic microfiber I have (forgot the brand) is only 5" max. So, it's kind of trial and error concerning length, since that has to do with how long the company makes each of their fibers.
Hope that helps!
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I finished my first custom, I used an old wool, I had to dye it.... I quite like the result, but with a better wool it would be better (I was to impatient to finish the pony, so I didn´t go to a shop to buy wool :lol:)
Here you can see my custom ;)
http://mlparena.com/index.php/topic,336854.new.html#new
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I guess what I'm saying is ALL I get is a pile of fluff. No hairs, no fibers. The yarns gets shorter and shorter then...nothing.
I'm using Caron Simply Soft (I happen to have a ton from crocheting, my fav) 100% acrylic and it is SUPER soft.
Maybe I'm just brushing too hard!!
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I guess what I'm saying is ALL I get is a pile of fluff. No hairs, no fibers. The yarns gets shorter and shorter then...nothing.
I'm using Caron Simply Soft (I happen to have a ton from crocheting, my fav) 100% acrylic and it is SUPER soft.
Maybe I'm just brushing too hard!!
This is me too, I am going to try again today...
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It's okay, I must be going too rough too.
I can kind of almost get the results pictured when I use the soft fluffy side of the pet brush or a frizzed out toothbrush.
I tried using the chunky super soft, and that was... yeah no. Don't.
I'm getting close with Bernat Premium (they didn't have satin) when being extra gentle.
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Huh... The only thing I can think of that might be causing this is that maybe you guys aren't holding onto the center of the folded yarn firm enough while you're brushing? When I'm brushing it, I have at least a centimeter of the yarn pinched between my fingers which I don't let go of until the whole thing's brushed out. If I were to partially let go or not have a tight enough grip, the fibers would definitely all get pulled out during brushing.
It might also be the type of brush you're using. You need to use a wire slicker brush, like this (http://www.net-thrift.com/images/groomaxSlickerBrush.jpg), NOT a pin brush or bristle brush, like this (http://i00.i.aliimg.com/wsphoto/v0/559318452_1/Free-Shipping-DELE-Pet-Pin-and-Bristle-Brush-Double-Sided-Brush.jpg). The slicker brush is designed for detangling long-haired pet breeds, whereas the pin brush is designed for short-haired breeds, specifically to remove shedding. I imagine if you used that kind of brush on yarn, it'd just pull out all the "shedding" fibers it could. ^^;
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0.0! i've got about 6 plugs in my first attempt.
trying to keep it long so i can cut it short.
typically how long do you start with before you brush the yarn?
i'm trying to do a mh doll.
oh do you need a different kind of glue when you're done to keep the yarn in place?
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I see where I messed up. I have the slicker brush but I was trying to do a huge bunch at once, not a single strand of yarn. I can probably say I was pulling too hard at well because I was rushing it before work. I will try again soon and let you know :D Thanks for all your help Silk!
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I went out and bought some yarn, I can't wait to try it... may have to buy a new brush like that though, the ones I have all still have cat hair in them, lol
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Finally figured it out! I was brushing too hard and not holding it in the middle. Thanks! I can't wait to have a finished pony with yarn hair!!
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Working on a feathermay using this method! I'll let you know how it goes. :biggrin: :work:
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I finished putting in a yarn tail and I can't stop petting it, it is SO SOFT! I was brushing too much before I straightened it when I was disintegrating the yarn. For anyone else like me: just separate the fibers some, then straighten, then brush.
Thanks again for posting this tutorial. I JUST LOVE the results! :cheer:
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Feathermay progress! I've got her rooted and tailed and ready for reassembly. I just need to glue her hair in and pop her head back on. also i think my waste pile is about three times the size of my pony. :unsure:
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Thank so much for the tutorial and pictures! ^.^
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Finally found this again, lol thinking bout trying this out on a fashion style pinkie <3
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Bookmarked. Now.
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I had good luck with this using an eyelash/eyebrush comb. I didn't have the money to go out and buy a wire brush.