I wanted to see how Tilly would look with long hair made from yarn, instead of her usual short felt bob.

It’s fun to try out different types and colours of yarn, and there’s more scope for creating different hairstyles.

 

 

To adapt the Tilly doll pattern for yarn hair, instead of using the templates for the head front, hair and fringe, I cut two pieces from the back of head template.

 

 

 

I stitched the darts and embroidered the face, adding some eyebrows for this version, then stitched the two head pieces together, right sides facing, turned the head right way out and stuffed it.

 

 

To make the hair I used a piece of cardboard 12 x 9 inches / 30 x 23cm with two snips cut in one edge as shown. One holds the cut end of the yarn, the other can hold the yarn in place if you need to pull more from the skein or de-tangle as you wind.

It’s important not to wind the yarn too tightly as it makes the hair difficult to remove from the card and also shortens the hair slightly.

 

 

For the back hair I wound the yarn 50 times round the card. The number of winds needed will depend on the thickness of your yarn. Mine is quite a thick Aran or chunky weight pure wool .

I backstitched the loops together along one edge of the card, making sure to catch all the yarn in the stitching, then cut along the opposite edge and removed the card. This left a double length of hair with a seam across the middle.

 

 

Next I pinned and stitched the seam on the yarn from one side to the other across the top of the head, then folded the hair back over the head, smoothed it and stitched across the back near the base of the head.

To make the front part of the hair I cut a length of yarn twice the long edge of the card and laid it across the short end. I then wound the wool 20 times round the card, gathered it with the loose length and knotted it to create a parting.

 

 If you want a centre parting, knot it at the edge of the card, or if you want a side parting make the knot part way along the card so your hair will finish the same length on both sides.

Finally I stitched the parting to the head, twisted each length of hair at the side and stitched it in place near the base of the head. To prevent a bare gap, I stitched along the main hair seam across the top of the head, catching down the edge of the twisted front hair.

 

 

 

I loved my long-haired version of Tilly so I made two more – Ellie who is in the step by step photos, and Isabel with a centre parting. I then had fun styling their long hair—my work is really play sometimes!

 

If you’d like to make your own Tilly doll, you can find the pattern here.

53 Comments

  1. Suzie

    Love the Tilly doll – how do I go about purchasing the pattern? I’ve

    Reply
  2. Carol Reynolds

    Love the Tilly doll. By any chance do you sell them already made? And if so, how much?

    Reply
    • Tilly Puffin

      Hi Carol. At the moment I don’t sell the dolls ready-made, but I may try making a few for sale at some point. Thanks for your interest.

      Reply
  3. Susan

    I LOVE YOUR TILLY DOLL! !
    My Mariana doll is a little bigger. I stuffed her too hard, but once I have enough time again,I want to correct that.

    Reply
    • Tilly Puffin

      Thank you Susan!
      You could carefully unpick some of the seams and remove a little of the stuffing, or even take it all out and stuff the doll again. It’s always worth doing a step again so that you’re happy with the finished result.

      Reply
  4. Linda Warne

    How much is the pattern in uk pounds please

    Reply
    • Tilly Puffin

      Hi Linda,
      At the current exchange rate it’s £10.49. You can select your currency at the top of the page.

      Reply
  5. Susan.Deetlefs

    I love your Tilly and Puffin dolls! I also have a lovely doll, I made her from a fine and very good quality unbleached linen. Her name is Mariana. We are from South Africa.

    Reply
    • Tilly Puffin

      Hi Susan. Linen is lovely for making dolls – I like the sound of Mariana!

      Reply
  6. Gladys Alvarez

    Hi!
    What a beautiful face they have! And a perfect little mouth!
    Love the simple yarn hair and the do!
    Lovely
    Thank you for the clear direction.
    God Bless
    Gladys

    Reply
    • Tilly Puffin

      Thank you so much for your lovely comment, Gladys!

      Reply
  7. Idella

    Do you sell kits for Tully andPuffin?

    Reply
    • Tilly Puffin

      Hi Idella,
      It’s something I’m thinking about for the future. Thanks for your interest!

      Reply
  8. Uma Kannal

    Beautiful, I will try thisidea.

    Reply
    • Tilly Puffin

      Thank you Uma!

      Reply
  9. Anna Schwarzwalder

    Adorable! Is there a (slow) video? This would make a great video Tutorial.
    Also are there Machine embroidery Faces that you like? Appreciate your efforts on our behalf, it looks so FUN.

    Reply
    • Tilly Puffin

      Hi Anna,
      At the moment I only have a video showing the embroidery of the face – it’s on my YouTube channel here; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WC51Oj33nSo&ab_channel=Tilly%26Puffin
      I’ll certainly consider making a video showing the yarn hair. I haven’t tried machine embroidering the faces – I find hand stitching much easier with more control.
      Thanks so much for your comment!

      Reply
  10. Edelyn

    I would love to try making the doll, they really look so beautiful, i would love to make them for my granddaughter

    Reply
    • Tilly Puffin

      Thanks Edelyn, I hope you enjoy making Tilly. There are a few tutorial videos on my You Tube channel if you need any help.

      Reply
  11. Terrie

    Hi, Tilly
    I just started making Rag Dolls. Got the girl dress but don’t know how to make boy clothes. Do you have a pattern for boy clothes? Actually, both. Thank you.

    Reply
    • Tilly Puffin

      Hi Terrie,
      The dungarees and shirt which are part of the Puffin Cat pattern, or the stripe top and trousers in the Tilly doll pattern could be worn by boys or girls. I’ll be working on more clothes patterns in the new year.

      Reply
  12. Carrie

    Beautiful dolls .. my granddaughter’s would love them

    Reply
    • Tilly Puffin

      Thank you Carrie!

      Reply
  13. Judy Whitt

    How to get pattern for doll

    Reply
    • Tilly Puffin

      Thanks so much for purchasing the pattern, Judy. For anyone else reading, the Tilly pattern is available here;

      Reply
  14. olive shelton

    thank you so much, i look forward to print the pattern for Tilly doll,

    Reply
    • Tilly Puffin

      Thanks Olive, I hope you enjoy making Tilly!

      Reply
  15. Sandra

    Thanks for your instructions Tully as I was really stuck for the hair on the doll that I have made. Your instructions looks like it will be easy to follow. I will let you know how it turns out.

    Reply
    • Tilly Puffin

      Thanks Sandra, do let me know and I’d love to see a photo!

      Reply
  16. Jean

    Love your patterns

    Reply
    • Tilly Puffin

      Thanks so much Jean!

      Reply
  17. Pia

    Har du mønster på tøjet til Tilly dukkerne? ?

    Reply
    • Tilly Puffin

      Hi Pia,
      The top and trousers are included in the Tilly doll pattern which you can find here;
      The dungarees are included in the pattern for Puffin the cat, and the little skirt is part of an outfit pattern which I’m launching in the next couple of weeks.
      Thank you!

      Reply
  18. Margaret Whitaker

    Hair is always a problem for me. I must commend your styles. Wonderful!

    Reply
    • Tilly Puffin

      Thank you Margaret!

      Reply
  19. Pink Penguin Crafts

    Just what I’ve been looking for! Looks amazing. Thank you for sharing your talents

    Reply
    • Tilly Puffin

      I’m so glad it helped, thanks for letting me know!

      Reply
  20. Teresa Hailey

    Thank you it really help me a lot and you did explain it very clearly and the pictures more

    Reply
    • Tilly Puffin

      That’s great, thanks Teresa!

      Reply
  21. carol

    Love it want to make it,

    Reply
    • Tilly Puffin

      Thanks Carol! The Tilly pattern is available here if you’d like to make her.

      Reply
  22. Emily

    How do you keep the yarn from unraveling?

    Reply
    • Tilly Puffin

      Hi Emily,
      I haven’t had any problem with the cut ends of the yarn I used unraveling. If you use a yarn with a good twist it should be fine.

      Reply
  23. Lesley

    This looks brilliant, I intend giving it a try. Thank you.

    Reply
    • Tilly Puffin

      That’s great, enjoy your doll making Lesley!

      Reply
  24. Doreen

    Just love it

    Reply
    • Tilly Puffin

      Thanks Doreen!

      Reply
  25. Mary A

    What a great idea, I love how you did this. I plan to give this a try, It looks great and you can do so many colors and styles.
    thank you

    Reply
    • Tilly Puffin

      You’re most welcome, Mary. Enjoy experimenting and I’d love to see how you get on!

      Reply
  26. Avvy

    It looks fantastic! I really like how they all look. Could you do a video? That would really help.

    Thanks so much for taking time out to do this

    Reply
    • Tilly Puffin

      Hi Avvy, I’ve actually just started recording some videos showing techniques for making the dolls. I’m starting with embroidering the face and I’ll go on to do the hair.Thanks for getting in touch!

      Reply
  27. Danielle

    Bravo

    Reply

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