Amigurumi Doll Hair: Wig Caps, Strands, Curls and Braids

A bald doll head is a blank: the same face can become a toddler with two stubby braids, a dancer with a top bun or a character with waist-length waves, and the only thing that changes is the yarn on top. Amigurumi doll hair comes down to three building methods, a crocheted wig cap, strands rooted with a hook, and crocheted curls, and nearly every style is one of them or a combination. Pick the method first, then the style.

Choosing Yarn for Hair

Yarn for amigurumi doll hair does not have to match the yarn of the doll. What matters is how it hangs.

• Smooth cotton hangs straight, keeps a crisp parting and frays little when cut. Good for bobs, bangs and braids.
• Acrylic is lighter and slightly fluffy. The plies can be untwisted and brushed out for soft waves, but brushed hair cannot be made smooth again.
• Fuzzy or textured yarn hides the scalp well and suits short curly styles, though single strands are hard to root evenly.

Use the same weight as the head or one step thinner. Thick hair on a small head stands out stiffly instead of falling. For a wider look at fibers, see the guide to the best yarn for amigurumi.

Plan the Hairline and Parting First

Before attaching anything, mark the hairline with pins: across the forehead about three rounds above the eyes, down in front of where ears would be, and around the nape roughly level with the bottom of the eyes. Then run a line of pins for the parting, down the center or to one side. Every method below fills in the area inside that outline, and the pins keep both sides even.

Three Methods Compared

Method	Best for	Trade-off
Wig cap alone	Short hair, a base under any style	Looks like a cap unless strands are added
Strands rooted in the head	Long loose hair with a natural scalp	Scalp shows unless hair matches the skin tone or is rooted densely
Strands rooted in a cap	Full hair with fewer strands; removable until sewn	Adds a little bulk to the head
Chain curls	Ringlets and curly bobs	Uses more yarn; curls are heavy

Method 1: The Crocheted Wig Cap

A wig cap is the top half of the head worked in the hair color. The abbreviations used: MR magic ring, sc single crochet, inc increase (2 sc in the same stitch), Rnd round, FO fasten off, ch chain. Work in a continuous spiral from a magic ring, with a stitch marker in the first stitch of each round. This cap fits a head that is 30 stitches around at its widest, such as the one in the beginner doll pattern.

Wig cap (make 1)

1. Rnd 1: 6 sc in MR (6)
2. Rnd 2: inc x 6 (12)
3. Rnd 3: (sc 1, inc) x 6 (18)
4. Rnd 4: (sc 2, inc) x 6 (24)
5. Rnd 5: (sc 3, inc) x 6 (30)
6. Rnds 6-9: sc 30 (30)
7. FO and leave a long tail for sewing.

For a different head, increase until the cap has the same stitch count as the widest round of the head, then work even rounds until it reaches the pinned hairline. Try it on as you go. Tilt the finished cap toward the back so it sits higher on the forehead than on the nape, and sew around the edge with small stitches.

Method 2: Rooted Strands

This is the latch-hook knot, made with an ordinary crochet hook.

1. Wrap yarn around a book or a piece of card that is slightly taller than the hair length you want, and cut along one edge. Every strand is now the same length and twice as long as the finished hair.
2. Slide the hook under one stitch of the head or cap.
3. Fold a strand in half, catch the fold with the hook and pull it through to form a loop.
4. Bring both tails through the loop and pull snug.

You do not need a strand in every stitch. Root a full row around the hairline and along both sides of the parting, where the scalp is visible, then fill in every second stitch on every second round. Check from above and add strands where the base shows through.

Rooting straight into the head gives the flattest result. A hair-colored cap hides thin spots, so fewer strands are needed.

Method 3: Chain Curls

A chain with two stitches crowded into every link has too much fabric on one edge, so it twists into a corkscrew by itself.

1. Curl: ch 21, then starting in the second ch from the hook, work 2 sc in each ch to the end (40)
2. FO and leave a tail for sewing. Twist the curl with your fingers to set the spiral.

A longer chain gives a longer ringlet. Sew curls by their starting end around the hairline first, then fill toward the crown. To avoid cutting the yarn each time, work the curls straight onto a wig cap: join the yarn to a stitch on the cap edge, make one curl, slip stitch into the next cap stitch and repeat.

A Simple Bun and Braids

Top bun

Root long strands around the whole hairline only, leaving the crown empty. Gather them all upward, tie them at the top of the head with a strand of the same yarn, then twist the tail into a coil, wrap it around its own base and stitch it down. The strands sweep up from the edge and cover the scalp without any filling in.

Two braids

Root strands along a center parting from forehead to nape, plus the hairline. Divide the hair left and right, tack each side to the head with a few stitches at ear level so the parting stays put, then braid below the tack and tie the ends with a short strand.

Trimming

Cut last, and cut less than you think. Smooth the hair down with your fingers, hold the scissors level and trim a little at a time while turning the doll; hair that was cut too short can only be replaced, not lengthened. For bangs, comb a few front strands forward and trim them just above the eyes. Sewing the cap on uses the same stitches as any other piece, covered in the guide to sewing amigurumi pieces together.