But before I get to the very large hairstyle, here's my finished Christmas stocking!

Above is my finished stocking and below, the photo on the kit.

The yarn is horrible (100% acrylic) and I couldn't bare to touch it any more so I left off all the duplicate stitch and just called it done. I might use the little present design to do a proper fairisle Christmas stocking knit like a real sock (some day), but definitely not soon.

And now, onto the spectacular hair!

Below is my Bliss's Dolly so far (you can download my pattern for free here).

I was going for a girly version of Guy Sebastian's hairstyle and I think it turned out quite well.

:-)

The hair is made by taking a lock of English Leicester wool, pulling off a piece about half the width of a pencil, threading it through the knitting and tying in a knot. When you've put in a few you can secure them by brushing lightly which fuzzes up the wool and stops the knots from coming undone. It's noit a suitable technique to use if the doll is for a child though.

I used locks from a rainbow dyed fleece, so her hair has highlights and ranges from really dark brown, to incredibly dark purple, all the way to bright shiny copper.

As you can see, I still have the arms and face to do. I find marking out the face with pins is a great way to get the expression you want. If you make a lot of toys, I also recommend borrowing books on cartooning from your library so you can learn how different expressions are made.

Now, I'm off to get a cuppa and sew my arms together!