Rag Doll & Softie Patterns by Oh Sew Dollin

Supplies Needed:
*100% wool yarn (any brand is fine but single ply works best)
*Wooden dowels (for tight little curls as shown purchase 1/8 inch dowel rods, for looser curls purchase bigger dowels)

How to:
*Cut the dowels into pieces about 8 inches long. The thinner rods, 1/8 to 1/4 inch can be cut with kitchen shears. The thicker rods will need to be cut with a saw.

*Pull the end of the yarn from the center of the skein and tie very tightly to one end of the dowel. Wrap the yarn tightly around the dowel until the dowel is full and tie at the other end. You can wrap these while watching T.V. (or waiting at the doctor's office etc.) You will have lots of curls made up really quick.
*Fill a dutch oven or large pot with water and bring to a rapid boil on top of the stove. Drop all of the wrapped dowels into the pot of boiling water. Let the wrapped rods boil for about 5 minutes. Remove the rods with tongs and drain on a layer of paper towels. Roll the yarn wrapped rods in a clean cotton terry towel and squeeze to remove all excess water.
*Heat oven to 175 degrees.
*Place rods on a clean cookie sheet and dry in the oven. Monitor closely. I placed a few larger dowels that were not wrapped on each end to form a drying rack and laid the wrapped dowels on these to raise them up off of the cookie sheet. The curl will be heat set and permanent, UNTIL the hair is wet or washed.

You can play around and make a lot of different hair styles with the different curl sizes. I will be using this on new Annie's soon. I am making several size curls and loose waves. I hope you will give this a try, it is easy, don't give up, just remember to use 100% wool yarn.