PHOTO TUTORIAL -- Yarn fiber rehairing! [VERY pic heavy!!]

[Valerie]

WOWWWW 


Thank you so much!!!!!!!! 


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!!!! 

[Sunshine]

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!

[SilkSpun]

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!

I've been experimenting with that lately because I've been trying to cut down on time! 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. 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.

[BarbedDragon]

I teied this and ended up with a big ball of fluff, no rootable fibers. What am I doing wrong?

[Salli]

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.

[Mirnyj]

Use better quality yarn. 

[CarnationTwirl]

Use better quality yarn. 

Such as?
Brands? Where to buy?

[Mirnyj]

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? 

[blackestbird]

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.

[CarnationTwirl]

actually I've tried a few different brands of 100% acrylic and so far gotten nothing but a pile of fluff for my efforts

[blackestbird]

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.

[SilkSpun]

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! 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!

[Valerie]

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  )

Here you can see my custom

http://mlparena.com/index.php/topic,336854.new.html#new

[BarbedDragon]

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!!

[Salli]

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...