*Also available: Gentle Black, a natural-looking dyed Angora Mohair*
BABY BLONDE ANGORA
Kathy of Hope
Helpful Hints from Kathy:
TESTING COLOR:
Take a thick curl of the angora...about 1 inch wide and 5 to 6 inches long. Lay it on a white cloth ...or towel or double paper towel. Spray with your conditioner until soaking wet. Leave over night. Check for stain on white cloth...No stain .... then it will be OK to root your baby.
STYLING:
After you have sealed the babies hair inside...and it is waterproof and dry..
Turn the dolls head upside down...spray the hair with "NO TANGLES BABY CONDITIONER" . With a large ...WIDE TOOTHED comb...get all the excess mohair combed out. It is easy with conditioner.
Now ...(still upsidedown and it looks a little like a wet afro style) at least mine do. LOL wet hair will be sticking out all over.....now with sharp scissors trim to about 2 inches all the way around. Now comb again and then push all hair gently towards the babys' scalp so it kinda curls. Let dry or style another way ...what ever... don't use too much conditioner , if you do it again , as it takes away the shine . You can just dampen with wet fingers and it is easy to curl or wave.
If you are confused ...please ask questions.
WASHING MOHAIR (Do Not Try This At Home):
My washer is a pretty big size. I fill about 8 or 10" delicate wash mesh bags" with about 1/2 pound of Mohair each. Put full mesh bags on floor of laundry room. Now fill the washer with HOT water...The water has to be hot enough to melt the grease in the Angora hair. (Hubby set temperature up above medium on the hot water heater. Just hot enough I cannot put my hands in it.) Now I put 1/2 cup of Dawn liquid in the hot water. ...make sure you have stopped the washer when it is full.
DO NOT ALLOW IT TO AGITATE at any time while you are washing Angora....if it does
agitate you will learn how to "felt" it real quick. Wads and wads of hard wool.....
OK ...Now get your Baseball bat.....I use a wooden one ...plastic will work too ...Gently put your bags of Angora in the washer....Gently push the bags to the bottom ...one at a time .. just so they are all good and wet.....all the air bubbles are out. Let soak for about an hour. Do not let the water cool down or the grease will harden. (gently push down the bags every so often)...Now set your washer on High Spin...DO NOT ALLOW IT TO AGITATE....
Repeat this DAWN soak three or four times if the Angora is really dirty.
The last washing soak is done with one cup of DREFT ....this wIll remove the odor and make the Angora very soft.
Rinse ... soak … using warm water the last three steps. Use one cup of white vinegar added SLOWLY mixing into the rinse water. Don't just pour the vinegar in on the Angora. Do TWO RINSES with vinegar. Always pushing the Angora down in the rinse with your ball bat. Soak 1/2 hour... High Spin after each time.
Final Soak is in warm water with 1/2 cup of Hair conditioner...just a good one like you would use on your own hair. I use TRESemme'....Economical but nice smelling too. Soak in conditioner about an hour. HIGH SPIN
Now I take all my bags of nice clean Angora and spread it on big plastic bags on our deck to dry. (And hope it does not rain...). All your Angora is now ready to dye or if it is a natural color it is ready to comb....
I store the clean Angora in big plastic Glad Bags...the kind that smell nice. When my Grandchildren come in with their friends,,,they say "be careful of those bags...they have Nanas' Goats in them."...
You may use a hairdryer to blow inside every few minutes OR make a couple of CHILD SIZE tube sock rice bags – use UNCOOKED rice (these bags can be warmed in your microwave, but not more than 45 seconds and then placed in the dolls' head.)
***DO NOT put the dolls' head in the microwave***
Just pick up 1/2 inch wide piece of this Angora, then use the “fan” or “spread” method. Thin it across the baby’s head to about a one inch fan. Hold it firmly to the baby’s head. Go with the natural growth direction and push your needle at a SLIGHT angle 3 or 4 times across the one inch spread. When you push the needle...let up slightly on the firmness that you are holding the hair down (if you hold too tight, it will sometimes break the tiny hairs). Do not ‘overwork’ the mohair because if it is combed too much, it loses its elasticity which can cause breaking of the strands.
THIS ANGORA MOHAIR is my CHOICE for my BABIES and it will be YOURS, too!
Check out my listings on EBAY to see what I have available now.
Pricing....the Blondes start at $27.95 and go gradually up to $35.95 for my Gentle Black. It is according to how much time I spend with them...The darker colors can take up to three days to rinse. I soak and rinse until the water runs crystal clear. No dye streaks on the babies. Please email me for orders. Thanks! Kathy
