TUTORIALS

LONG HAIR

Make your hairstyle the same color yarn as the rest of the hair. These photos show a contrasting color so the technique is easy to see.

1 Cut several yarn strands twice as long as you want the hair to be. When in doubt, go too long rather than too short; then trim in step 4 if necessary.

2 Insert the crochet hook into one of the front loops of a hairline stitch and hook the midpoint of one of the yarn strands onto the hook. Using a smaller hook may help.

3 Pull the yarn strand through the loop. Wrap the two ends around the hook and pull through. This is called a cow hitch knot.

4 Repeat steps 2–3 around the head. Fill the crown of the head and the sides of the face, but for the remaining parts you may cover only every other row. Trim hair to your liking.

COMBED-BACK HAIR

Used for Jay Gatsby.

1 Thread a tapestry needle with about 24 inches of yarn. Bring the needle through the head at the point where the hairline and the side of the face meet. Knot the inside end.

2 Reinsert the needle at a spot two rows up and on a sharp angle. Bring it back out next to the starting point.

3 Reinsert the needle at the same point above the hairline, forming a narrow inverted V. Bring it back out at a point next to the previous stitch.

4 Reinsert the needle at a point next to the vertex of the previous V-shaped stitch. Bring it back out at a point next to the previous stitch. Reinsert the needle at the same previous point above the hairline, forming a second narrow inverted V.

5 Repeat this process across the hairline. When you reach the opposite side of the face, weave in the tail or tie it to a stitch on the inside of the head.

SIDESWEPT BANGS

Follow the directions for Combed-Back Hair (above), but begin 1 to 2 stitches to the side of the face one row above the hairline and bring the bangs down at a sharp angle onto the forehead. The vertex of the narrow V shape you create should be on the forehead.

SURFACE CHAIN

Used for several characters, including Elizabeth Bennet, Dorothy, the Scarecrow, Daisy Buchanan, and Hester Prynne.

1 Insert the crochet hook into a stitch and bring it out through the other side of the stitch.

2 Yarn over the hook and draw up a loop. Use a tapestry needle to pull the tail through to the inside of the fabric.

3 Yarn over the hook again and draw up a loop into a slip stitch.

4 Reinsert the hook into the next stitch and bring it out on the other side of the same stitch.

5 Yarn over the hook and draw up a loop into a slip stitch.

6 Repeat the previous steps to create a chain of slip stitches.