 There are many possible sources for custom hair. Ideally, I'd love to work only with "real" pony hair from other custom bait. Unfortunately, such sources are not always easy to come by. I've also used hair from dolls and other toys, Halloween wigs, and beauty-supply hair (and for one custom, real human hair). For Tropicala, I used green hair attached to a witch hat I found in the Halloween aisle at Walmart:  Halloween hair is iffy as a source; sometimes, the quality leaves a lot to be desired. The hair on these hats, however, was surprisingly nice. So I had this cascade of green hair sewn onto a witch hat, and I needed to make it into a series of individual plugs. Here's how the hair was attached to the hat:  It was too much trouble to remove the stitching, so I cut off a small section at a time to work with. I kept a glass of water nearby, and dampened each section to make it easier to work with. Then I separated the section into small sections, like this one:  How much hair to use for each plug depends on the sort of hair you're using. Look at how much hair goes into each plug of a factory-haired pony, and estimate from there. At this point, I also have my trusty Mod Podge handy:  Mod Podge, like Goof Off, is my friend. It's easy to work with, it's waterproof and clear when dry, and if I screw up and get any where it shouldn't be on a plug of hair, the excess peels off. After separating a plug's worth of hair, I double-knot one end and dip the knot liberally in Mod Podge (I usually just keep the Mod Podge lid handy for this). The Mod Podge should coat the knot; when it dries, it'll seal the knot in place:  Then I put the plug on a scrap of paper (usually a magazine page) to dry. I end up with an entire page full of plugs that are temporarily glued down:  An average mane seems to take about a hundred plugs. I count the plug-holes beforehand (some have taken as many as 140), and usually make about ten more plugs than I'll need, just in case. I let the plugs dry at least overnight. Since they're all stuck to pages of scrap paper, it's very easy to put them somewhere out of the way. This is especially useful if I won't be finishing the custom immediately. I also make the tail at this point. Usually, I cut off a lock of hair, fold it in half, and secure the looped end with whatever I have on hand (I don't have a pic of this, unfortunately). I usually end up using spare bits of wire and/or ribbon -- anything will work, as long as it stays secure and creates enough of an anchor to keep the tail in. I also coat the anchor in Mod Podge to make it even more secure; then I set it aside to dry with the plugs. When everything's dry, it's time to rehair. Here's my basic set-up:  I have some of the hair plugs, scissors, a spool of thin wire, and a pushpin. I also keep tweezers and/or needlenose pliers handy; I can't imagine why I didn't put them in the shot. :P I'm not sure what size/gauge the wire is; it came with a science kit about a million years ago. Look for thin wire in the jewelry or silk plant department of your local craft store. As for the plugs, I've pulled them off the scrap paper and trimmed off any extra dried Mod Podge, and I've pulled at each knot to make sure they'd make secure anchors.
Anyway, here we go. I've cut about ten inches of the thin wire and folded it over. It's a little hard to see in the pic:  I find it easiest to start at the front of the custom's head and work back, concentrating on both rows of plugs at once. When I'm ready to insert a plug, I first stretch the hole a little with the pushpin:  Then I insert the doubled-over wire, loop end first, from the outside of the pony's head, and I pull it through the neck hole (I usually have to fish it out with the needlenose pliers). Obviously, I don't pull it all the way through -- I pull just enough out to let me open the loop and put a plug of hair through:  Then I pull the loose ends of the wire back through from the outside of the head:  This pulls the plug of hair up through the plug hole. I pull out the loose ends of the hair while leaving the knot in place inside the head (it should be very yankable and secure), and now I have a very silly looking pony:  I usually go through about half a dozen strands of wire during a mane rethreading. They weaken and snap after a while, or they get caught up on the knots inside the head. Rethreading can be a struggle; it can be very frustrating. Honestly, it only gets better through practice and a lot of trial and error. Here's where I was after about twenty minutes:  And here's where I usually vow never to rethread another mane, ever again:  And just when I think I'm about to lose my mind, I'm done:  For this custom, it took me an hour to make the plugs, and two hours to put them in. I find that rethreadings goes much more quickly with some good background noise, like a favorite movie (anything starring Hugh Jackman will do!) or a few episodes of The Golden Girls. I thread the new tail the same way I do the plugs in the mane, only I use a length of ribbon instead of wire (the wire would just snap in this case). I thread a loop of ribbon into the tail hole from the outside, put the tail through the loop of ribbon, and pull the ribbon back out, bringing the tail out with it. And then all the hair's in place, and I find myself with a Frankenstein's Bride pony:  Rethreaded hair often looks like that until it's styled. ^_^ With that terrible drudgery done, it's on to something a little more fun... :main tutorial page: :prepping the pony: :dye jobs: :symbol painting and final prep: |
MintyTip: For suitable wire, check the jewelry and silk plant departments of your
local craft store. Silk plant wire tends to be very strong and very thin.