My latest puppet Posted by Anton's Angels on Nov 26, 2014
This is my latest puppet: Regan
Created for a cabaret parody of 'The Exorcist' movie.
This was my first try at wool hair wefting.
QUESTION:Has anyone had any experience in styling wool hair wigs?. By that I mean waves, curls etc,(think Marilyn Monroe) not plaits etc. I've heard it's possible to use heat?
I also tried with experimenting with this puppet using fusable webbing (the iron on kind) to create fleece on fleece styling eg on lips, teeth and tongue
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Re: My latest puppet Posted by Shawn on Nov 26, 2014
Cool puppet! Love the representation of the bed.

You can straighten wool hair with an iron. For styling you should be able to use a curling iron on it or even simply wet it and put it in curlers and let it dry. Natural fibers can use heat for styling. Synthetic fibers can not. To style a synthetic fiber you would wet it put it in curlers and then if you really wanted it to hold that curl you would take a steamer to it. Yep a steamer. This is just enough wet heat to "melt" the fibers into the curl. Notice I use the word melt... that is because if you try to use an actual iron on them it well simply melt the fiber and cause a mess.
Re: My latest puppet Posted by Shawn on Nov 26, 2014
The fusible webbing can be a great way to apply accents like you did. It won't hold up as well over time as say stitching or other glues but should last you several years with care. Washing and heat is what normally weakens the bond and since as a rule you are not putting the puppet in the washer and dryer this extends the life.
Re: My latest puppet Posted by Billy D. Fuller on Nov 26, 2014
Love it!
Re: My latest puppet Posted by Krafty Karacters on Nov 26, 2014
Cool puppet. I like the vomit on the dress.  Thanks for asking the wool question, I have not made any wool weaving or styling.

Thanks for all the info Shawn, I will now put this on my list of things to try.
Re: My latest puppet Posted by mrbumblepants on Nov 27, 2014
The "I <3 Satan" is a really nice touch.
Re: My latest puppet Posted by Anton's Angels on Nov 27, 2014
Thanks for the compliments guys really appreciated. The nightdress does come off during the show revealing under the fleece the words: "Help Me!" written with 100 LED lights.

Thanks Shawn for the tips on puppet hair. The yarn I have is acrylic (its cheap and heaps of colours) I will definitely try the steamer method and see how I go.
I was also thinking a watered down mix of PVA glue (I think you usa'ers call it elmers) might make a useful type of holding hairspray?
Re: My latest puppet Posted by mkshatto on Dec 30, 2014
What a clever design, so many terrific details! I would love to see this show. Do let us know if video clips were posted anywhere.
Re: My latest puppet Posted by Shawn on Dec 31, 2014
Posted by: Anton's Angels on Nov 27, 2014
I was also thinking a watered down mix of PVA glue (I think you usa'ers call it elmers) might make a useful type of holding hairspray?

Yes that might work but you need to experiment a bit with your mixture. Too much PVA and it can dull the yarn. You mentioned Marilyn Monroe style hair.  It might be a bit tricky.  If I was doing it with an actual hair wig I would set it in curlers then steam it. Even with an acrylic blend of hair I might use a bit of setting solution or hair spray on the hair before I set it in the roller. Would need to take care with your mix ratio because you would not want it to stick to your roller. Even have that on hair wigs sometimes.  Once the wig is steamed and then let dry and rest for for a period, you want it completely dry, you remove it from the rollers and style into the waves you want.  Now is the tricky part. If you spray it with the PVA mixture it may lose some of the wave and curl because of the weight of the mixture in the yarn. You can use long corsage pins to hold the style in place. I do it with wigs all the time. Kind of hard to explain but push them into the wig block strategically to hold the style in place.  Be patient and try some dry runs on small bunches of yarn to see how it reacts.
Re: My latest puppet Posted by pagestep007 on Jan 16, 2015
Judges' wigs look like they have been 'glued' in rolls. I am wefting some wig material with synthetic wool at the moment. I could give it a quick test with the Elmers glue if you like. I also figured out how to do a 'part', or how to fill that last little gap when making Bullion Fringe by doing a double sided fringe for the length of the part.... maybe a tutorial might show it better.
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