Zoe Lily-Belle of the wild hair

Her hair took, like, forever. And I wish it wasn't all sticking out every which way. Still, she's pretty cute.

There are a few more issues with her pattern. On the arm, when working the thumb (and I think this is absolute genius using a bobble for the nose and for the thumb, seriously) make sure you work it like a bobble stitch, and leave one loop on the hook for each sc in the cluster, and then yo and pull through the remaining loops before going on to the next stitch. Then, Rnd 9 should read: *sc in next 4, sc2tog* repeat (10). Otherwise, you go 2 stitches into the next round.

I did the shoes directly onto the legs, which I'm pretty sure you can tell from the pictures. Would probably look better if I did a round of slip stitches on top of that color-change round, so it isn't obvious. Except it doesn't bug, and I think she's cute, so I'll probably leave it.

If you want to do them like mine, do the invisible color change, then: 1 rnd sc, 2 rnds hdc, *1 sc, 1dec* rnd, then dec every stitch around until you have 5 stitches left. Finish off. Stuffing as you go, especially the second shoe, since you won't have a way back in there.

I had to work more rounds for my wig cap. I increased (just like for the head) until I had 42 stitches, then did 2 rnds sc.  I worked loose, but I still needed more rounds for it to cover the head in the right way. Sew it on, just around the edges, leaving at least 5 rounds above the eyes, and it should be a few rounds above the neck at the back. A loose stitch is good here, so you can easily loop the hair through it.

To cut my hair pieces, I used a nifty little item called a Trim Tool.

It has this adjustable thing that goes in different slots (for different lengths), and you wind your yarn around it, then cut it using the special slots at the top and bottom. This is what I use when making tassels, too. I love my trim tool.

If you don't have one, but you need to cut a bunch of yarn into equal lengths, I suggest cutting two pieces of stiff cardboard (from the back of a legal pad or similar notebook - really stiff, thick cardboard) the length you need, and about 3"-4" wide. Hold both pieces together, and wind your yarn around it however many times, then cut it by sliding your scissors between the two cardboard layers, and cutting at both bottom and top. (make sense?)

I cut a whole bunch of 5" lengths of yarn.

After sewing her wig cap to her head, I looped yarn lengths (latch-hook-style) through all the stitches around the edge, then, following this advice, I decided where the "part" would be, and looped through every stitch on either side, making my loops in opposite directions (so the loop over the two ends was hidden under the hair). I then looped in hair about every other stitch, every other row, to fill in the rest of the head. I then added in a few more in places where it seemed to need it. I cut her bangs and a few other hairs to frame the face (scary, because yarn hair doesn't grow...). I'm okay with it, it's cute, but it's not what I had in my head when I started.

I embroidered her eyebrows (you can't see them) and eyelashes (sorta visible) referring to the picture. For the lashes, since my safety eyes were on really tight, I started at the outside end of the top lash, looped it around the eye (pull tight!), pass thread under first lash, then out to end of second lash. So maybe it would have been better to embroider those before attaching the eyes...

(I must have stuffed mine too much, because her arms won't stay down.)

 

I did get an email back from the designer, but she wasn't sure if my suggestions were correct, because it had been a while since she'd done any ami. I'm pretty sure I'm right, being the math geek I am, but you may have to try it out yourself and see what works for you.

She's a great doll to use as a jumping-off point to design your own, I think. Good basic shape, with some great ways to get details. If you get confused, email me. I scribbled all kinds of notes all over the pattern as I went. I tried to get them all down here, and in the previous post, but I could have missed something.

Yarns: Vanna's Choice in Beige, Espresso, Fern, & White. Red Heart Eco-Ways in Cinnabar for hair. DMC embroidery floss, 6 strands, in black for eyebrows & lashes.