Learn to Stabilise the Neck of Your Crochet Doll to Prevent a Floppy Head
One of the most frustrating things when you crochet a doll is to realize that the head is floppy. Suddenly your cute doll suddenly looks like a bobble head doll – help!
For cuteness, we often crochet dolls with heads that are proportionately larger than their bodies. We’re not sure why that makes them super cute but, well, it does! Then we add all this hair and so this head is super heavy for the tiny body. So what happens? Floppy head!
The good thing is that this is a really easy thing to prevent. In this tutorial we will how you our favourite way to prevent wobbly heads for your crochet dolls!
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Step 1: Crochet a tube slightly smaller than the neck of your doll
The first step is to crochet a tube that is slightly smaller than the neck of your doll. It’ll usually be around the size of the arm of your doll. For our Zoya and Zayd crochet doll series, we crochet a tube of 8 stitches wide. We make 8 SC into a magic circle and then crochet one SC in each stitch until it’s the desired height (approximatly 2.5 to 3 inches).
Use a yarn that is the same or lighter than the yarn you’re using for your doll to ensure that it doesn’t show through. The tube is a great way to use some leftover scrap yarn!
Step 2: Stuff, stuff, and stuff the tube
We then stuff the tube – like A LOT! To stuff it, we usually use leftover scrap yarn that we have (you know those tiny scraps – we save them in a ziplock bag for just this purpose!). Stuff it as much as you can so that it’s really firm and will hold up the head!
Step 3: Insert the tube into the neck of your doll
Insert the tube into the neck of your doll. The tube should be halfway into the body or your doll and the other half in the head of your doll. Make sure that it’s well stuffed and feels stable.
Step 4: Insert 2-3 passes into the neck of your doll, through the tube, to ensure that it stays in place
This last step is super important. When kids play with dolls, things move around. And that can include your awesome neck tube! (This is why we recommend crocheting a tube, rather than using something like a foam roller that can move out of place.)
So once you’re done with the head, you can take the yarn that you fasten off and bring it out in the neck of your doll. Now make two to three passes in the neck and through the tube to hold it in place.
And voila, that’s it! Your doll head should now be stable – yay!
