Kaxen's BJD Hardcap Wigmaking 2024 Version
Pros of hard wig cap style:
The best method for short hairstyles (and I am a masochist who loves short swept-back hairstyles)
Are you the kind of person who gets tilted over lace front wigs having a line of extra net or not fitting your doll's forehead? This wig will fit and you can chop the wig cap even closer.
I hate hand sewing, so I never do sewn wefts with soft wigcaps, and sewn wefts don't work well for exposed hairlines so GLUE, GLUE, BABY.
Cons of hard wig cap style:
This wig will not fit on another doll unless it's maybe from the same company or has a really generic head-shape
Tools
Nonstick mat - Michaels sells Messy Mats which are very thin but stiff film mats that are nonstick. Silicone mats for pet bowls are often very cheap! A lot of craft-specific silicone mats have more price mark-up despite being the exact same thing.
Silicone spatula - for spreading glue. Just the generic silicone tools are fine. Comes in different sizes.
Glue of choice - Different glues react differently to different fibers and different colors. Pick whatever you like that has a slight flex to it and is waterproof once it's dry. If you prefer to style hair with high temperatures (especially the boiling water method), pick something that will resist high temps.
Glues I personally hate passionately: Beacon Adhesives Fabri-tac.
Why Fabri-tac sucks:
Smells terrible
Warps over time, wigs have literally stopped fitting the doll it was for
Rock hard when dry, literally the worst option for fabric???????????
Glue bottle cap always gets fucked up and useless.
Like jesus christ just get some fray check if you need fabric glue
Slicker brush: No matter how thorough you are with glue, you will have loose fiber. Comb it out. Buy two if you want to be able to have a poor man's wool carder so you can re-align fibers and use them later. WHY ARE WOOL CARDERS SO EXPENSIVE?
Fibers -
Suri alpaca: Very fine strands, low gloss, can use hair irons on it
Tencel: very fine strands, high gloss, can use hair irons on it, plant-based. Great for 1/6 scale and Anime Bullshit hair
Viscose (not pictured): very fine strands, high gloss, crinkles like hell if it gets wet, can use hair irons on it, plant-based
Silk (the silver wig lower down the post): very fine strands, high gloss, can use hair irons on it
Mohair: medium strands (thinner if it's kid mohair), high gloss, can use hair irons on it. Various levels of curly.
Synthetic: medium strands, high or low gloss depending on what you get, ymmv on hair irons check before hand how much temperature it can handle. Already made of plastic so plastic-y glue doesn't make it look weirder. Comes in the longest strands.
Wool roving (not pictured): fine strands, no gloss, doesn't really look like straight hair, but works well for styles like dreads.
Acrylic yarn (not pictured): fine strands, gloss level varies, cheap, but you pay in "spent all afternoon unraveling yarn to brush it out" MICROPLASTICS BAD.
I looked at combed mohair prices and it made me scared. How much fiber do I need?
1/3 heads (8-9in circumference): 1/2 oz is a comfortable amount for shorter styles and more the longer the hair will be
1/4 heads (6-7.5in circumference): 1/4-1/3 oz.
1/6 Mature tinies (3in circumference): 1/4 oz, the usual minimum order, will be a ton
Processing mohair yourself is cheaper, but it's a lot of cleaning and combing.
Making the wig base
Fabric base: sheer woven fabric or thin stretch fabrics (pantyhose, mesh hair nets, etc) in a color that does not clash too much with the skintone of your doll
The smaller the doll and the shorter the hair style (especially exposed hairlines!) the thinner you want to go to avoid seeing the wig cap too easily.
Cover the doll with plastic wrap, tighten the fabric as much as possible to mold to head, spread glue around so fabric will stay in this shape.
Putting rubber bands around ears helps shape.
Putting the fiber on
I'm pretty sure preparing wefts beforehand by gluing them on a nonstick mat and then cutting off pieces to stick on the wigcap is easier for exact placement, but I think that takes too long, so I just glue that straight on the wigcap.
I prefer not to use sewn wefts because I don't like that chunky line.
Work back to front and/or wherever the hair parts.
Hold up a small lock of hair and then use the silicone tool to swab a lil glue on it.
The smaller the doll, the smaller bundles you want to add the hair in so the bulk level isn't too crazy. Not as big of a deal for 1/3 scale dolls, the biggest deal with 1/6 dolls.
Hairline and hair parting methods
Rooting
I use the rooting tool from Dollyhair (but you can basically use any small hand tool with an adjustable chuck that can hold the rooting needle)
Pros:
Imitates growing hair
More versatile in styling options if you root a large sections of the wigcap because then the hair can flow in different directions without exposing which way it was glued
Cons:
Slow, the more realistic you want to go, the smaller each root plug should be. I use size 8 or size 6 needle on 1/3 dolls, but I could probably go smaller.
Tiny bits of hair and glue inside the gap may affect the fit of the wig cap.
Takes three billion years to dry the inside because you will swab glue on the inside of the wigcap and then smoosh the wig cap against plastic wrap on your doll's hair to keep the wig cap properly molded to your doll's head
Works terrible on mature tiny 1/6 wigs
TTRPG Mini Grass Style
Pros:
Fast, just put a daub of glue and slap a tuft on
Hair can be pushed in multiple directions without looking awkward
Cons:
Harder to do with longer hair and thicker fibers, may just tip over before the glue dries. Works better with short suri alpaca or tencel than mohair
Fold Over Method
Pros:
Easy!
Can hide wigcap edges
Cons:
Not realistic
Works worse with stiff fibers that may not lay flat after being folded over (may need heat treatment to work)
Ugly glue zone
Chopping the wig open to cram in fibers where the hair parting is
Pros:
Less ugly glue zone than the foldover method
Cons:
Margin for error for not warping the entire wig cap is not great! More risk than the rooting method.
Wildcard showing up with a steel chair! (mostly because this doesn't really need a separate post)
Flocking + painted edges
Pros:
Fast, swab on the adhesive and shake a ketchup bottle of fiber powder on it.
Useful for shaved hair
Cons:
Well, now you have Craft Herpes (glitter, fiber dust, y'know how it is...)
Not all doll sculptors have very flush headcap boundaries
Gotta redo the face-side of the flocking whenever you want to change the face-up
